By Damein Bell, CEO, Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation The importance of our traditional homelands is inherent to our belief, culture, practice and life. The Gunditjmara community in southwest Victoria, Australia, knows that our ancestors engineered water channels, making barriers with the lava flow and stones to farm kooyang (eels) and fish. This practice … Read more

World heritage as a tool to heal Gunditjmara Country – Budj Bim Indigenous Protected Area, Australia

Vueti Navakavu: A success story from Fiji
Vueti Navakavu, an LMMA and registered ICCA on Fiji’s main island of Viti Levu, is a community conserved marine area.

Wapichan people’s plan to secure and care for their lands, Guyana
The Wapichan people live in the South Rupununi District of Guyana. The “Wapichan wiizi” (territory) is home to many animals, reptiles, plants, insects, birds, fishes and other water creatures, many of which are globally rare or endangered.

Traditional knowledge and customary sustainable practices to conserve the endangered red panda in Ilam, Nepal
The indigenous peoples of Ilam, East Nepal include the Kirant (encompassing the Rai and Limbu peoples), Lepcha, Tamang, Sherpa, Sunuwar, Gurung, Magar and Thangmi.

The Ogiek’s experience with protected areas in Mount Elgon, Kenya: Ways towards rights-based conservation
The population of the Ogiek of Mount Elgon is about 18,000 and about 3,000 Ogiek still live on our ancestral lands in Chepkitale on Mount Elgon, which supports a rich variety of vegetation ranging from montane forest to high open moorland.