ABSTRACT
Protection of the environment is not equivalent to protection for or support of environmental defenders. Conservation through protected areas has often induced or exacerbated violence, inequality, and displacement of Indigenous peoples and local communities. Intensified calls to protect biodiversity and dangerous trends of militarization in conservation renew the importance of supporting the self-determination of Indigenous peoples and local communities actively defending their territories. Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs) constitute an important opportunity to support Indigenous peoples and local communities in the defense of their ancestral lands. The appropriate recognition of ICCAs provides a means to both protect and secure tenure of communally managed lands, waters, and resources.
