Conservation Projects, Measures & Policies: Question 12

[ISCCLAdmin Brabec]

#5084

Please provide any additional information, examples and recommendations you believe would be useful to support the conservation of nature and biodiversity while promoting the full and effective enjoyment of cultural rights.

[Alda Azevedo Ferreira]

#5114

Based on research and examples from Brazil, the following recommendations and cases illustrate how these goals can advance together:
1. Strengthen legal safeguards and cultural rights – Brazil’s Constitution recognizes Indigenous peoples’ permanent possession and exclusive use of their lands and resources. FUNAI requires carbon or conservation projects to include participatory territorial management plans defining benefit-sharing and social oversight mechanisms. Conservation policies should always uphold self-determination, free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), and the right to veto projects that threaten cultural identity.
2. Guarantee participation and respect community protocols – Initiatives such as the Suruí Forest Carbon Project demonstrate that success depends on community-driven governance: approval came only after general assemblies in which each clan and village participated, and decisions were made by consensus. The National Council of Extractive Populations (CNS)’s Guidelines for REDD+ Projects in Extractive Reserves require dialogue with local associations and full FPIC compliance, ensuring that management plans, consultation protocols, and traditional lifestyles are fully respected.
3. Ensure continuity of cultural practices and equitable benefit-sharing – The FGV report highlights that maintaining traditional productive systems and resource management—essential for cultural and social reproduction—alongside fair benefit-sharing is key to safeguarding rights and food sovereignty. The Juma Sustainable Development Reserve (RDS) REDD+ Project channels carbon credit revenue into environmental monitoring, education, community empowerment, and sustainable income generation, showing that well-governed markets can fund cultural and environmental resilience.
4. Invest in training and institutional capacity – The COIAB (Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon) climate document recommends continuous training in climate policy and REDD+ mechanisms, using accessible language and Indigenous translation, and calls for full Indigenous participation in all levels of governance. The IPAM Policy Brief (2024) emphasizes that social and environmental safeguards must ensure gender equity and inclusion of Indigenous, quilombola, and traditional peoples, addressing persistent challenges such as lack of consultation, unequal benefit-sharing, and insufficient territorial protection. Dedicated funding for legal assistance and Indigenous technical training is recommended.
5. Protect cultural diversity and recognize intangible heritage – National programs such as Brazil’s National Program for Intangible Cultural Heritage and the National Inventory of Cultural References (INRC) could be expanded to document knowledge systems linked to biodiversity (e.g., traditional agriculture, medicine, ritual practices). Integrating cultural heritage and environmental policies ensures that protected areas also serve as living cultural landscapes.
6. Include women, youth, and people with disabilities – Women often serve as guardians of traditional knowledge and leaders in sustainable value chains. Conservation programs should guarantee gender parity on management councils and offer capacity-building programs tailored to women. Youth participation, as emphasized in the Pre-COP Letter of Traditional Peoples, ensures intergenerational transmission of knowledge. Accessibility initiatives, such as those in the guide Nature for All, should be scaled to enable participation of persons with disabilities in environmental stewardship.
7. Support territorial economies and sustainable alternatives – Programs such as Inatú Amazônia show that forest-based bioeconomies can generate income while preserving traditional knowledge and empowering women and youth. Encouraging agroecology, community-based tourism, and cooperative forest management aligns biodiversity conservation with cultural permanence.
8. Promote transparency and social monitoring – The FGV report calls for a public database of REDD+ and carbon market initiatives, including data on social and cultural impacts. This transparency would allow communities and oversight bodies to monitor safeguard compliance and activate protective mechanisms when necessary.
9. Integrate scientific and traditional knowledge systems – Indigenous leadership statements advocate connecting “Indigenous and non-Indigenous sciences” for climate and conservation strategies, emphasizing that traditional peoples are climate authorities. Research and monitoring projects should therefore include cultural indicators and rely on traditional knowledge holders as co-researchers.
By implementing these recommendations, conservation efforts can promote both ecological integrity and cultural diversity, recognizing that traditional ways of life are not obstacles but essential allies in maintaining biodiversity and confronting climate change.

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