Our Research

Why ABC Futures?

Biodiversity is declining worldwide. In response, countries that are part of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) (Secretariat of the CBD, 2023). The framework sets an ambitious goal: to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and to live in harmony with nature by 2050.

One of its most visible goals is Target 3, commonly known as the 30×30 target. This target aims to conserve at least 30% of the planet’s land, freshwater, and marine areas by 2030. Conservation should occur through well-connected and representative Protected Areas (PAs) and Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs). Importantly, the framework also recognises Indigenous and Traditional Territories (ITTs) as key spaces for conservation (Secretariat of the CBD, 2023).

ITTs refer to lands and territories inhabited, managed, or governed by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs). These may include Indigenous territories, community lands, or other traditionally managed landscapes. In Latin America, for example, they may also include territories governed by Afro-descendant communities.

However, recognition and legal status vary widely between countries. In some places, Indigenous land rights are formally recognised. In others, they remain unclear or contested. Because the GBF refers to ITTs primarily through recognition rather than formal inclusion, their exact role within the 30×30 target remains somewhat ambiguous. Nevertheless, ITTs are increasingly referenced in National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) and in the GBF monitoring framework, which suggests they will play an important role in future conservation strategies.

ABC Futures explores how these territories can contribute to global conservation goals while supporting the livelihoods and rights of the communities who manage them.

Indigenous Territories and Biodiversity Conservation

Indigenous and Traditional Territories are not new to conservation. In fact, they may represent the oldest forms of area-based conservation in the world.

Research suggests that Indigenous lands alone cover approximately 30% of the global land surface (Garnett et al., 2018). These territories overlap with around 40% of formally designated Protected Areas (PAs) worldwide. In many cases, they have been found to perform as well as or better than Protected Areas in conserving biodiversity (Jonas et al., 2021; Stevens et al., 2024; Zhang et al., 2023).

Scientific studies show positive conservation outcomes in several areas, including:

Terrestrial mammal conservation (O’Bryan et al., 2021)
Protection of intact forest landscapes (Fa et al., 2020)
Forest structure and ecosystem integrity (Sze et al., 2024)

These findings suggest that Indigenous territories protect a substantial share of the world’s biodiversity (Dawson et al., 2021).

However, ITTs are also under increasing pressure. Major drivers of biodiversity loss include:

climate change
logging and mining
environmental crime
agricultural expansion

These pressures often translate into social and political conflicts. Globally, Indigenous peoples are involved in more than 34% of documented environmental conflicts, with over 75% linked to extractive industries and land-use change (Scheidel et al., 2023). These pressures threaten not only biodiversity, but also the rights and the livelihoods of indigenous and traditional communities.

Indigenous knowledge and local realities

The conservation outcomes observed in ITTs are closely linked to the knowledge, practices, and worldviews of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) (Levis et al., 2024; Matuk et al., 2019).

These knowledge systems guide land stewardship, resource management, and cultural practices. They shape how communities interact with forests, wildlife, soils, and water systems.

At the same time, many IPLCs face significant social and economic challenges. These challenges may include:

Limited economic opportunities
Remote geographic locations
Reduced access to education and healthcare
Loss of traditional livelihoods
Limited pension or social support systems

Environmental pressures often worsen these challenges. Climate change, illegal mining, logging, and hunting can undermine both ecosystems and community wellbeing.

Supporting communities in maintaining, revitalising, or renewing their knowledge systems can help address some of these challenges (Matuk et al., 2023). At the same time, legal recognition and stronger governance frameworks are needed to address external pressures.

Overlapping conservation systems

Another complexity is the overlap between different conservation designations.

Indigenous territories sometimes overlap with Protected Areas (PAs) and Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs) (Fugure 1). These overlaps can create both opportunities and tensions.

Figure 1: Overview of different types of terrestrial area-based conservation recognised by the CBD and part of the 30×30 target. Source: elaborated y B. Verschuuren, based on Garnett et al., 2018.

For example, shared conservation goals may encourage collaboration between communities and protected area authorities. At the same time, differences in governance systems or land-use practices may lead to conflicts over land rights, access to resources, or conservation priorities (Stevens et al., 2024).

Furthermore, Indigenous territories are not only conservation spaces. They are also living landscapes where communities pursue livelihoods, cultural practices, and political autonomy. Supporting ITTs therefore requires strengthening local capacities, while also building supportive institutional frameworks similar to those developed for Protected Areas.

Contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals

ITTs make a critical contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Several SDGs either explicitly or implicitly support indigenous people by promoting social inclusion, environmental protection, and cultural preservation. With biodiversity under indigenous management and governance, indigenous knowledge and values become increasingly important.

Key SDGs that align closely with indigenous rights and biodiversity conservation include:

Figure 2 – Key Sustainable Development Goals aligned with Indigenous rights and biodiversity conservation.

Indigenous territories also contribute to many socially oriented goals, including:

Figure 3 – Socially oriented Sustainable Development Goals supported by Indigenous and Traditional Territories.

SDG 1) No Poverty – which disproportionately affects indigenous communities, by ensuring equal access to resources, land rights, and social protections;

SDG 2) Zero Hunger – which aligns food security and sustainable agriculture with indigenous knowledge systems and traditional farming practices;

SDG 3) Good Health and Well-being – which addresses the unique healthcare challenges faced by indigenous populations;

SDG 4) Quality Education – which ensures inclusive education, respecting indigenous languages and cultural knowledge;

The challenge we address

The global diplomatic community adopted the 30×30 target over two years ago, yet its implementation raises important questions.

The ambiguity by which ITTs are made part of the 30×30 target on the one hand and the large promise they hold for biodiversity conservation on the other hand makes them a key subject for study.

PAs are most directly vulnerable to environmental pressures, whereas ITTs suffer disproportionately from the same pressures (Scheidel et al., 2023) as well as from additional pressures that impact their knowledges, practices, and worldviews, as well as their livelihoods and health.

This leads us to ABC Futures main objective:

To explore how ITTs can effectively be part of the 30×30 target while resisting drivers of biodiversity loss – including climate change, expansion of agricultural lands, extractive practices of logging and mining, and environmental crime – and while maintaining, recovering, or renewing their local knowledges, practices, and worldviews.

More specifically, the project explores how ITTs can:

Resist drivers of biodiversity loss such as climate change, mining, and land-use change
Maintain or revitalise Indigenous knowledge systems
Strengthen social and ecological resilience
Collaborate with other conservation actors

Over the long term, our work aims to support a future in which ITTs become fully integrated into global and national conservation strategies.

Our research approach

The ABC Futures programme uses the Social-Ecological Systems (SES) framework (Ostrom, 2009). This framework helps researchers understand how ecosystems and human communities interact.

The SES framework brings together four key components (see Figure 4):

Resource systems – ecosystems such as forests, rangelands, or coastal zones
Resource units – species, plants, wildlife, or other ecological elements
Governance systems – institutions, rules, and policies that guide management
Users – communities, stakeholders, and other actors interacting with the system

Conservation outcomes emerge from interactions between these components.

Figure 4 – Social-ecological interactions and external influences of area-based conservation. The vertical bars show external influences, whereas the horizontal bars show social context and practices. The internal circle is the whole SES, with subsystems in different colours. The interactions between the categories of the subsystems (with only key categories mentioned, but many more relevant) are subject of study with project, including how they are affected by external influences.

To deepen this analysis, the project combines the SES framework with:

Ethnoecological approaches (Toledo, 2002; Matuk et al., 2019)
Critical studies of governance and practices (Behagel et al., 2019; Arts et al., 2023)
Ecological monitoring and environmental analysis

Together, these methods help us understand both social and ecological dimensions of conservation.