October 16, 2024
Cali, Colombia - In time for United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16), the Indigenous grassroots organization Associação Sociocultural Yawanawá (ASCY) and their technical partner Wildlife Works along with Forest Trends, introduces a pioneering methodology to deliver Indigenous-centered conservation finance called Biodiversity Stewardship Units (BDSUs) aimed at meeting our global climate and conservation goals.
This methodology was co-designed to respect Indigenous knowledge, spiritual and cultural values, along with practices like language and traditional events as vital to maintaining the observed levels of biodiversity intactness. BDSUs will drive funding directly to Indigenous Peoples and Forest Communities who have successfully maintained highly intact ecosystems and biodiversity richness in the face of constant threat.
The ultimate goal of this methodology is valuing intact biodiversity and associated ecosystem services that exist within Indigenous and community owned lands from defending their territorial rights. Therefore, this methodology will not require additional actions or net gains in biodiversity outcomes over time, nor can these units be used as offsets.
With a global biodiversity crisis and one million species at risk of extinction (UN 2019), BDSUs’ value on intact ecosystems will create a benchmark of ecological integrity needed to guide and inspire restoration efforts. With Biodiversity Stewardship Units, corporations have a measurable tool to invest in a nature-positive future, inline with the targets set by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Chief Tashka Yawanawa of ASCY emphasized the significance of this initiative: “As trusted partners, we co-created with Wildlife Works and Forest Trends over two years to build the BDSU Methodology. We firmly believe that BDSUs offer the most effective financing mechanism to bring the recognition, respect and sustainable finance Indigenous Peoples need to continue conserving their forests under growing threats.”
As the intellectual property rights owner of the BDSU methodology, ASCY was integral to designing this methodology from conceptualization to testing the proposed approach, designing equitable benefit-sharing mechanisms, providing the necessary governance and ensuring that the methodology respects cultural values and traditional knowledge. The metrics are clear and are designed to balance scientific rigor with pragmatism, enabling Indigenous Peoples and Forest Communities full participation. With a performance-based foundation, the methodology enables communities to generate sustainable income through maintaining preset minimum biodiversity intactness thresholds, verified by rigorous and continuous scientific monitoring of species richness.
BDSUs present a significant opportunity for governments, businesses and civil society organizations, with the support of Indigenous Peoples and Forest Communities, to meet biodiversity targets under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM GBF). BDSUs will help to achieve several of the KM GBF targets, including to protect 30 percent of terrestrial land by 2030 while recognizing indigenous territories (T3), to protect and encourage customary sustainable use of biodiversity by indigenous peoples and local communities (T9), to encourage the private sector to invest in biodiversity (T19), and to strengthen capacity-building for biodiversity monitoring (T20).
The BDSU methodology is currently undergoing peer review before the formal launch of its first pilot project by the Yawanawá people in Rio Gregório Brazil, positively impacting over 1,700 community members across 188,000 hectares of forest—an area larger than the city of Rio de Janeiro. After the launch of the pilot project, the BDSU methodology will be applied in different ecosystems and geographies of biodiversity importance in the Amazon and beyond.
About the Yawanawá Sociocultural Association (ASCY): ASCY’s mission is to protect and preserve the Yawanawá territory, strengthen our cultural and spiritual manifestations of the Yawanawá people, create innovative and gentle sustainable economic alternatives, as well as defending the collective interest of the communities that are part of ASCY. ASCY represents 15 communities in the Yawanawá Indigenous people of Acre state, Brazil. ASCY provided indigenous knowledge and perspective, plus permission to pilot the idea in their territory.
About Wildlife Works: Founded in 1997, Wildlife Works’ mission is to develop market-based solutions for wildlife conservation by driving direct finance to local communities for their own development goals. Wildlife Works originated the concept and provided methodological, scientific and financial input.
About Forest Trends: Established in 1998, Forest Trends promotes sustainable forest management through financial incentives and solutions, collaborating with governments, Indigenous peoples, and local communities for environmental sustainability. Forest Trends provided critical linkages including government, historical contextualization, enabling support and other steering counsel.
