In recent years there has been an encouraging shift within the conservation community away from top-down, government-run, exclusionary protected areas, towards a recognition of and support for the effective stewardship of nature by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs). A key part of this positive trend is increasing investment by civil society groups in support of IPLC efforts to steward their lands and waters through effective governance and management of the access and use of natural resources.

However, there remains gaps in our knowledge and understanding of a) what factors are requisites for effective community-level governance and how we might measure changes in these factors over time, and b) how IPLCs and their supporters may take practical actions to strengthen community-level governance systems to deliver effective stewardship in an uncertain future. This SNAPP working group aims to fill these knowledge gaps and help communities strengthen their governance systems and enable more effective and sustainable management of natural resources under their jurisdiction.

OUR APPROACH: This working group will synthesize decades of case studies about  Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’ efforts to attain the authority, capacity and power they need to govern access to and use of natural resources within their lands and waters effectively.

This working group is supported through the generosity of the Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies to advance Indigenous Peoples and Local Community-leadership in conserving the planet’s natural patrimony.