It really couldn’t have come sooner.
The United Nations 2023 Water Conference this week in New York City has everyone who works to protect freshwater bodies, and the environment more broadly, abuzz. This is the first such conference in almost 50 years.
Amid all the excitement and networking and discussions, we need to remember that everyone in the world depends on fresh water for survival. So everyone, from those on the borders of Africa’s Great Lakes to Indigenous communities, need a seat at the table.
For me, that means something quite specific but highly impactful: declaring support and funding for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs).
IPCAs are exactly what they sound like — natural areas designated to be protected and conserved under the leadership of Indigenous groups as stewards of the land.
While IPCAs protect areas of great beauty and natural value from external harm and industrial development, they also support local Indigenous laws, governance, and knowledge systems.
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IPCAs benefit wildlife, local livelihoods and, of course, fresh water that resides in and travels through the area. They also support local Indigenous laws, governance, and knowledge systems.
In fact, inherent within the definition of an IPCA is the elevation of Indigenous rights and responsibilities with a long-term, multi-generational commitment to conservation.
We can see it already happening.
Just look at Canada, which seems to be on the right track when it comes to advancing the establishment and preponderance of IPCAs. Only last year, the Trudeau Government announced that it is investing $40 million to support Indigenous-led area-based conservation projects across the country.
This is a critical tool in Canada’s 30 by 30 toolbox — a worldwide initiative for governments to designate 30% of Earth’s land and ocean area as protected areas by 2030 — as well as clearly supporting its ongoing Truth and Reconciliation plan with Indigenous peoples in Canada.
Stephanie Thorassie has worked tirelessly over the last few years to lead four First Nations to establish an IPCA in the Seal River Watershed up in Canada. She will be addressing the conference in New York City to speak firsthand about her experience advancing an IPCA in northern Canada, and the unique benefits that Indigenous knowledge and belief systems can bring to environmental protection.
But Canada certainly isn’t the only nation leading the charge. In fact, Australia seems to be the vanguard here with 81 Indigenous protected areas established down under, not forgetting the significant progress made from New Zealand to Bolivia and Peru.
In a similar spirit, New Zealand famously grabbed headlines by conferring personhood status to a few natural spots, including the Whanganui River in 2017, in alignment with Indigenous Māori belief systems, and, significantly, conferring it the same rights as a human being.
But we need more.
Set amidst a backdrop of the ever-intensifying impacts of climate change, and with only seven years to go for us to achieve our internationally agreed-upon target of designating 30% of Earth’s land and ocean area as protected areas by 2030, we need new and effective approaches.
This week’s conference will gather commitments from nations and organizations working together to sustainably manage our precious water supplies
AQWA,
for generations to come.
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It also offers us a golden opportunity to bring international attention to the Indigenous role in water protection and the responsibility we all share towards our land and water. We can chart out a clear action plan to restore and protect our ecosystems that includes the case for more IPCAs and Indigenous leadership.
Marina Puzyreva is water policy advisor at the International Institute for Sustainable Development.
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