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Kalpavriksh on behalf of the National Working Group on Community Conserved Areas in India and in collaboration with Centre for Environment and Development at ATREE, organised a national workshop of members and honorary members of ICCA Consortium and others working on issues related to Community Conserved Areas (CCAs) in India. The workshop was held from 6^th to 8^th December 2023 at Fireflies Intercultural Centre, Bengaluru. Over 60 participants from diverse backgrounds, including representatives from adivasi and non-adivasi local communities, community-based, state and national level civil society organizations, academic institutions and independent researchers associated with CCAs across India attended the workshop.

In December 2022, CoP 15 of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) yet again recognised the pivotal role of Indigenous peoples and local communities in biodiversity conservation and climate action. Global conservation targets now emphasise their recognition and inclusion. However, at the national level, CCAs face challenges as they remain largely unrecognised, with exclusive conservation policies posing significant threats and challenges. Therefore, the workshop aimed to unite participants from the entire nation, fostering shared learning and collaboration to enhance the management and conservation of
CCAs.

The workshop started with a brief participant introduction, and an introductory session on ICCA Consortium and CCAs in India. The workshop included, discussion sessions on conservation and management planning in CCAs, discussing challenges and opportunities, and addressing inclusion
concerns such as gender, youth, caste, and class within territories of life. Additionally, learning sessions covered current legal frameworks, financial mechanisms available for CCAs including Carbon Markets, and the politics of research and documentation for CCAs. Another session focused on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, its implications for CCAs in India, and strategies for national implementation. The workshop concluded with a session on building strategy, advocacy, and action plans as part of the National-level Working Group to defend, strengthen, and support CCAs.

The three days of deliberations also led to drafting of a Statement on perspective of adivasis/ tribal/ indigenous peoples and other traditional local communities from CCAs – territories of life, in India. The participants urged all the relevant actors to support and follow the statement. In particular, the Statement urges the government of India, as a party to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to take into account the concerns and recommendations in the Statement while drafting the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) and other strategies towards implementing Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, in India. The Statement emphasised that the Tribal and local communities have traditionally protected biodiversity and played vital roles in climate change mitigation through nature-based solutions. Despite some recognition by domestic policies, these communities face significant structural, administrative, and legal hurdles in asserting their governance rights over ancestral lands. Their lands and resources are often diverted for development projects without consent, leading to displacement and cultural disruption. The implementation of policies like the Forest Rights Act (2006) and the Biological Diversity Act (2002) has been slow, inadequate, and failed to effectively empower the adivasis/tribal/indigenous peoples and other traditional local communities. The Statement calls for meaningful consultation with adivasis/tribal/indigenous peoples and other traditional local communities recognition of their customary boundaries, and respect for their free, prior, and informed consent for any activities and projects on their customary lands.

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