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Our Approach

We believe that securing the land and resource rights of Indigenous Peoples is the most effective way to respond to the challenge of global climate change, protect biological diversity, promote sustainable development, and contribute to global health, peace and security. Our goals are lofty, but our work is practical. We are confronting serious problems and we are doing so in ways that are innovative and effective, focusing on the following priorities:

 

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples states that Indigenous Peoples have the right to self-determination and that in exercising this right, they have the right to autonomy or self-government. 

Land is Life supports Indigenous Peoples’ rights to self-determination, and to freely choose and pursue their own economic, social and cultural development by supporting: the strengthening their governance institutions and territorial and resource management strategies; community mapping and territorial demarcation; and the building of local, sustainable economies.

Give the challenges in realizing self-determination, we work with Indigenous Peoples to develop community-led protocols on Free, Prior and Informed Consent; we provide comprehensive, long-term support to Indigenous Peoples’ organizations to ensure that they are financially healthy, efficiently managed, and have the knowledge, tools and resources that they need to effectively seek and manage grants, and carry out the work of promoting and defending their peoples’ rights.

 

Indigenous Peoples have a vital role to play in both biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation and mitigation. Their territories - which encompass grasslands, forests, marine areas, deserts and tundra - are home to over 80 percent of the world’s biological diversity, and it is estimated that at least 40 percent of all ecologically unspoiled biomes are managed by Indigenous Peoples. That they are allowed to continue caring for their ancestral homelands is necessary, not only for their continued survival as distinct Peoples, but for the ecological and climatic stability of our entire planet.

Although the necessity to engage Indigenous Peoples and the critical importance of their traditional knowledge systems has been recognized in the Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention to Combat Desertification and other international agreements, Indigenous Peoples are still, in practical terms, treated as obstacles to conservation, and their rights are increasingly being violated in relation to climate change adaptation and mitigation schemes.

Land is Life works to ensure that Indigenous Peoples’ rights are both recognized and respected in all biodiversity and climate change actions, and that they are allowed to assume their rightful role as partners in national and global efforts to protect biodiversity and find solutions to the challenges presented by global climate change.

 

Indigenous women account for at least 238 million people globally and are among the most vulnerable sectors of society. They often face multiple forms of discrimination linked to their gender, age, ethnicity, geographic location and disability, leading to social marginalization, violence, and violations of their civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. 

Despite these challenges, around the world, Indigenous women play an increasingly vital role in the promotion and protection of their peoples’ rights. Whether leading community-based sustainable development projects, acting as mediators and peace-builders, or protecting territorial rights and ancestral knowledge, Indigenous women are taking strong, effective action that is making a real difference in the lives of their communities.

Land is Life prioritizes support for Indigenous women in all of our work because supporting Indigenous women is the most effective way to support Indigenous Peoples’ communities.

Indigenous Peoples face a myriad of barriers - cultural, legal, and institutional - to the realization of their rights. Additionally, their territories, lives, and livelihoods are under increasing threat from extractive industries, large-scale infrastructure and energy projects, industrial agriculture, and development programs that are designed with no input from Indigenous Peoples, and without consideration of their rights and priorities, and implemented without taking into account the impacts they will have on their communities.

Fostering enabling environments for advancing recognition of, and respect for, the rights of Indigenous Peoples requires the good faith engagement of a complex network of actors, including: States, bilateral and multilateral funders, civil society, the private sector, and United Nations entities, mandate holders and treaty bodies. 

Land is Life engages all of these actors to advance Indigenous Peoples’ rights:

- States to strengthen regulatory frameworks; advance legislation and policies favorable to Indigenous Peoples’ self-determination; and promote inclusive and accessible social, economic and political institutions (health, food security, governance, education, rights, and other sectors).

- UN treaty bodies and mandate holders to ensure States’ compliance with their obligations under international and domestic law to recognize the rights of Indigenous Peoples, including their land and resource rights. 

- Bilateral and multilateral funders (USAID, EU, World Bank and regional Development Banks, etc.) to ensure that the conservation and development projects and programs they support engage Indigenous Peoples as partners, and that they use their influence and convening power to mediate urgent human rights and conflict situations, and help create the legal, regulatory and social conditions necessary for Indigenous Peoples to practice self-determination and freely advocate for and exercise their collective and individual rights.

 

Not only do Indigenous Peoples have a right to participate in decision-making processes that impact their lives and territories, their engagement in these processes has been shown as vital to achieving true progress. From agriculture and food security to sustainable economies and trade, from democratic development and human rights to biodiversity protection and global climate change, from global health to gender equality, development with respect for Indigenous Peoples’ rights and cultures is not only practical, feasible and functional, but also leads to more successful outcomes.

Through preparatory meetings and policy discussions, analysis of issues, and information sharing, Land is Life works to ensure that Indigenous Peoples have a seat at the table wherever decisions are being made that affect their lives, lands and cultures, and to strengthen their ability to come to the table prepared to participate effectively.