Commemorate International Day for Biological Diversity 2026: WGII Launches 1 Million Hectares of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Conservation Areas as Indonesia's Biocultural Heritage

(Depok/Friday, May 22, 2026) Since 2000, May 22 has always been commemorated as the International Day for Biological Diversity. On this occasion, the Working Group ICCAs Indonesia (WGII) had the opportunity to speak at one of the panels organized by the Directorate of Biodiversity Conservation, Ministry of Environment. This year's International Day for Biological Diversity raised the theme "Indonesia's Achievements in Biodiversity Conservation #RoadtoCBDCOP17". As one of the non-governmental actors present, WGII also launched ICCAs data (Indigenous Peoples and Local Community Conserved Territories and Areas), to highlight the values, practices, and traditions of managing and protecting living spaces by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IP&LC) over generations. The living spaces of IP&LC, which are often intertwined with what is known as natural resources, are concrete evidence that when community living spaces disappear, not only ecosystems are lost, but also the human relationship with nature, traditions, and the future of the next generation.

As of May 2026, WGII, together with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities and supporting organizations, has successfully documented 1,010,430.68 hectares of ICCAs or areas that are maintained, protected, and managed by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities based on local wisdom and traditional knowledge, with the potential for ICCAs reaching 29,545,402.06 million hectares nationally. The largest ICCAs area is in the Kalimantan region, amounting to 671,323.60 hectares, followed by the Sulawesi region with 127,051.43, the Sumatra region with 89,543.39 hectares, the Papua region with 52,389.85 hectares, the Maluku region with 50,186.79 hectares, and the Java, Bali, and Nusa Tenggara region with 19,935.50 hectares. The number of ICCAs also demonstrates the cultural diversity closely linked with the success of management efforts, as well as the preservation of biodiversity, both at the species and landscape levels.

WGII's analysis of the ICCAs National Registration data and its potential reveals that 69.3% of community living spaces encompass important ecosystems, such as mangroves, natural forests, karst, peatlands, coral reefs, seagrass, and others. This ecosystem diversity is interconnected where Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities play an important role in maintaining ecosystem functions and sustainability, through local wisdom practices and local governance.

Cindy Julianty, Executive Coordinator of the Working Group ICCAs Indonesia, stated, "Indonesia is not just a megabiodiversity country, but also biocultural. Biocultural is important in the context of three things; nature/biodiversity, knowledge, and language." This ecosystem diversity is also accompanied by species diversity and its utilization. "We also found aspects of biodiversity utilization in the context of bioprospecting. Many other purposes were also found, such as to meet economic, livelihood, food, cosmetic, ritual aspects," added Cindy. Furthermore, she said, "the data we aggregate in the field has gone through a data verification process with the community. Many case studies were found, which can show that traditional knowledge is not divided by certain ecosystem types. Even in one conservation location, its ecosystems can be very diverse, some are small, some are large. No matter how big or small, ecosystems/ICCAs are equally important."

WGII encourages efforts to decolonize perspectives on biodiversity conservation, from the community's perspective. This step is considered important amid threats not limited to biodiversity, but also the loss of local languages in Indonesia. In biocultural wealth, language plays an important role. Therefore, in documenting ICCAs, the use of local terms and local names of biodiversity is prioritized. "This is to show that traditional knowledge has a close relationship with the sustainability of biodiversity," said Cindy Julianty. She also emphasized that discussions on biodiversity cannot only use a sectoral or single-discipline approach. According to Cindy, nature sustainability cannot be separated from social sustainability. "Biodiversity is multidisciplinary. It is important to ensure not only nature sustainability but also social sustainability. There is no nature sustainability without social sustainability."

Thus, WGII emphasizes to the Ministry of Environment that biodiversity conservation cannot be separated from the recognition of the socio-ecological relations of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities with their living spaces. Therefore, the implementation of the Indonesian Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan needs to ensure that Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities are placed as rights holders as well as the main subjects in conservation, including through the protection of traditional knowledge, and recognition of areas that are sustainably maintained over generations.

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For additional information, the latest documentation and data on ICCAs can be downloaded at the following link.

Lasti Fardilla Noor
Knowledge Management Manager, WGII
+6281388601039
[email protected]

Mega Ayu Lestari
Communications and Engagement Officer, WGII
+6287771425519
[email protected]