Photo Credit: Maui Nui Makai Network
Welcome to the online home of the Community of Practice (CoP) on Indigenous Conservation Standards projects and CS projects on Indigenous Land and Waters!
Our community aims to support Indigenous CS practitioners and conservation coaches working on CS projects on Indigenous Lands and Waters, fostering collaboration to grow our conservation practice into the future.
Indigenous People make up less than 5% of the global population, yet they inhabit a quarter of all land in the world. Indigenous lands and waters are valuable for conservation with 65% not being intensively developed. Indigenous territories represent 40% of land listed by national governments around the world that are being managed for conservation.
This general trend is itself reflected in an increase in CS projects with Indigenous people globally. A maturing body of work and a growing group of contributors significantly improves this community of practice for CS projects with Indigenous People on their lands and waters.
To share experiences with other Indigenous coaches and practitioners, join our group’s discussion forum, the CCNet listserv “CoP – Indigenous CS projects and CS projects on Indigenous Land and Waters.” Please contact Frank Weisenberger.
This map of Conservation Standards (CS) / Healthy Country Planning (HCP) projects with Indigenous and local communities has been developed to help CS / HCP coaches and practitioners to reach out and learn from others. This is a curated map – if you would like your project to be added, please contact Frank Weisenberger.
New Project: Scaling of Indigenous-led conservation using the Conservation Standards!
Seeking 3 x Regional Facilitators for development of case studies – Australia / North America / Latin America
The Community of Practice (CoP) on Indigenous Conservation Standards projects and CS projects on Indigenous Land and Waters is launching this new project, which seeks to identify and explore pathways for scaling the use of the CS by indigenous land and sea managers. We are looking for three Regional Facilitators to lead and run regional case studies. Expressions of interest are open until Sunday June 5th. Find the invitation for EOI here.
The interim Community of Practice – Indigenous CS projects and CS projects on Indigenous Land and Waters leaders are:
Sam Bayley
Regional Coordinator – Kimberley,
Conservation Management,
Australia
A key way to foster stronger collaboration in Indigenous Conservation Standards projects is to facilitate the sharing of experiences and appropriate tools. If your projects have developed tools and resources which are approved for sharing, please submit those to Frank Weisenberger.
Healthy Country Planning
Healthy Country Planning – This adaptation of the Conservation Standards has been proven and adapted on multiple Indigenous projects. In this link you will find presentations, workshop exercises, additional workshop resources to facilitate a Healthy Country Planning project or conduct a HCP training course, and examples from Healthy Country Plans produced by Indigenous communities in Australia. A brief summary of the HCP Process is provided in this document.
Please find examples here of Healthy Country Plans from Indigenous communities in Australia (additional examples can be found by searching for ‘Healthy Country Plans’ in your favourite search engine):
Articles and Publications
Here are peer-reviewed articles on CS projects with Indigenous communities and/or on Indigenous Land and Waters.
- Austin et al (2017): The Uunguu Monitoring and Evaluation Committee: Intercultural Governance of a Land and Sea Management Programme in the Kimberley, Australia
- Heiner et al. (2018): Moving from reactive to proactive development planning to conserve Indigenous community and biodiversity values.
- Moorcroft et al. (2012): Conservation planning in a cross-cultural context: the Wunambal Gaambera Healthy Country Project in the Kimberley, Western Australia.
- Workshop Report CCNET Rally 2018 Leura NSW: Improved collaboration, sharing and learning of Indigenous OS Projects.
Tools and Resources
Here are tools and resources that have been developed by CS practitioners working with Indigenous communities to support and improve the planning and adaptive management process:
- Healthy Country Planning – tools to support the process (September 2020)
- Healthy Country Planning Summary Reference Cards: A summary guide to each step of the Open Standards for use by facilitators and planning teams.
- WWF Chile (2020). Guía para la planificación y gestión de áreas marinas protegidas con participación de comunidades locales y/o indígenas basada en los estándares para la conservación. Chile. / Guide for planning and management of Marine Protected Areas with participation of local and/or indigenous communities, based on the Conservation Standards. This resource for the participation of local and/or Indigenous communities in marine protected area management and planning used HCP as a primary reference for inspiration and adaptation. It was originally produced in Spanish and has been translated to English.
- The Malama I Ke Kai: Community Action Guide was launched by the Maui Nui Makai Network to empower coastal communities to engage in the management of ocean resources. The Network’s mission is to protect and restore coastal and marine ecosystems in ways that honor and perpetuate local Hawaiian traditions, customs, and knowledge while embracing scientific insight. Here you can learn more about this effort.
CCNet Indigenous Projects Discussion Forum
We have a discussion forum, the CCNet Indigenous Projects ListServ, for practitioners who are part of CCNet’s Community of Practice: Conservation Standards Projects with Indigenous Communities. This forum reaches across national, cultural, and organizational boundaries to enable Indigenous Groups and conservation practitioners who collaborate in Indigenous CS Projects to share experiences, useful tools, and opportunities relating to their application of the Conservation Standards and adaptations such as Healthy Country Planning. Topics in this group relate to the practice of conservation and sustainable development in projects managed by and/or where resources are owned by Indigenous Communities.
To join this discussion forum, please send a message to Frank Weisenberger briefly sharing your experience using the Conservation Standards, Healthy Country Planning or another related approach in Indigenous projects or with Indigenous partners.
The forum started in May of 2019. If you are a subscriber, you can view the full archive.
Coaches Resource Library
CCNet maintains a variety of resources to support Coaches in the presentation and use of the Conservation Standards. Most of the resources are found in multiple languages in the Coaches Notebook that is part of CCNet New Coach Trainings. In addition, in our Resource Library you can find a wealth of support materials shared by Coaches and Conservation Standards practitioners.
Photo Credit: Ashleigh Baker
Our Collaborators
Every organization, agency, project, and individual has its own preferred set of terms. There is no right answer – the most important thing is that the members of your project team and the people with whom you work have a clear and common understanding of whatever terms you choose to use.
Photo Credit: Chris Scarffe
Download CS
The Conservation Standards is the product of inputs, field tests, and discussions among members of the Conservation Measures Partnership (CMP), which has final editorial authority over the Conservation Standards. Substantial input was also provided by members of the Conservation Coaches Network (CCNet) and other CMP partners.
Photo Credit: Felix Cybulla
Contact CCNet
To inquire about supporting CCNet or for general inquiries, please contact:
John Morrison - CCNet Global Coordinator john.morrison@wwfus.org
Cristina Lasch - CCNet Technical Coordinator clasch@tnc.org
Photo Credit: Diane Detoeuf
