Territories of Life: 2021 Report — ICCA Consortium

Dedicated to the memory of Ghanimat Azhdari (1983–2020), an Iranian GIS and community mapping specialist whose life was cut short in the tragedy of January 2020, this landmark report by the ICCA Consortium synthesises global evidence on territories of life — areas and territories conserved by indigenous peoples and local communities (ICCAs) worldwide. It is available at report.territoriesoflife.org and represents the most comprehensive global assessment of ICCAs to date.

The report documents the extraordinary scale of territories of life across the globe, estimating that indigenous and community-governed territories collectively encompass a significant portion of the world's land and sea areas, often with biodiversity outcomes that compare favourably with or exceed those of formal protected areas. It examines case studies from every inhabited continent, illustrating the governance diversity of ICCAs — from sacred groves to nomadic pastoral territories, from community forests to indigenous marine areas.

A central argument of the report is that territories of life are systematically undervalued and underrepresented in global conservation frameworks and biodiversity accounting. It calls on governments, international bodies, and the conservation sector to formally recognise and support ICCAs as a distinct and essential category in achieving global biodiversity targets, and advocates for the meaningful participation of indigenous peoples and local communities in all levels of conservation governance, from local to global.