About

National and regional ICCA Registries (including databases or portals) are databases for collating, storing, viewing, and analysing information on ICCAs – territories of life in a given country or region. They can be key instruments for collating local, national and regional-level documentation efforts, particularly when they are set up and managed by ICCA custodians and/or supporting organisations. National or regional ICCA Registries can support territories of life by providing an opportunity for sharing experiences, peer learning and building alliances. They can serve as powerful advocacy tools while also enhancing the monitoring of support and recognition for territories of life. These registries can also give Indigenous peoples and local communities greater autonomy in managing their data. This includes using the data for their own purposes and, if they choose, submitting it to the global ICCA Registry for greater visibility internationally. A national or regional ICCA Registry is more likely to work well when it is backed up by a well-organised and coordinated network of ICCA-related organisations, for example, a working group, federation, coalition or platform.

If you’re interested in setting up a national or regional ICCA registry, we’d be happy to work with you and your national and/or regional partners to provide training and advice. Please do get in touch with us at iccaregistry@unep-wcmc.org. More information about the process can be found in this article, which provides a brief overview of the reasons for creating a national or regional ICCA registry, as well as the steps involved in the process. Examples of existing national and regional ICCA registries are provided below:

Working Group on ICCAs in Indonesia – WGII: https://www.iccas.or.id/

Since 2016, WGII (Working Group ICCAs Indonesia) have developed a national registration system for ICCAs in Indonesia using a tool named ‘ICCA Registration Guidelines’ (https://iccas.or.id/publikasi/read/579). Using this tool, a community and its supporters, including civil society organizations, can document spatial, social and biodiversity related data on their ICCAs in a participatory way. The tool includes various forms for registration, including forms related to social data, FPIC and ‘ICCA recognition co-forms’ written by neighbouring communities. As of June 2024, WGII, together with the CSOs Network and ICCA Custodians in Indonesia, have registered ICCAs in the national registration system totalling an area of ~524,501 hectares. In addition to these areas, WGII have identified a further ~4.2 million hectares of potential ICCAs in Indonesia.

WGII developed a website-based platform (iccas.or.id) to facilitate the registration and documentation process for ICCAs at the national level. This platform can be used by ICCA Custodians and other stakeholders to register ICCAs online. It is a critical tool for monitoring and reporting ICCA data and linking this data with advocacy needs to encourage the recognition and protection of the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. The platform also demonstrates the significance of Indigenous Peoples and local communities to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in Indonesia.

The iccas.or.id platform is closely linked to another platform called Tanahkita.id. This platform monitors tenure conditions and conflicts that occur in ICCAs, including legal status and land functions, information on government administration data and so on. This provides a data baseline that can support advocacy planning. The platform also contains up-to-date information on relevant government policies, news, articles and publications published by WGII.

Bukluran ng mga Pamayanang Nangangalaga sa Kalikasan – Bukluran Inc., Philippines: https://icca.ph/database/iccas/

The Philippine Indigenous Peoples’ Community Conserved Territories and Areas (Philippine ICCA Consortium), also known as Bukluran ng mga Katutubong Samahan Para sa Pangangalaga ng Kalikasan ng Pilipinas (Bukluran), was born out of the Indigenous Peoples’ desire to contribute through conservation projects using their historical role in protecting natural ecosystems focusing on ICCAs within ancestral domains. For almost a decade, Bukluran has been empowering Indigenous communities in the Philippines to map their ICCAs and document data in a national ICCA database, immensely contributing to global best practices in biodiversity conservation. A total of 16 ICCAs covering 349,422.54 hectares have been mapped, inventoried, and registered since 2011. Explore the Bukluran website and database and learn about the custodians of ICCAs in the Philippines through photo stories that give you a glimpse into their rich culture, traditions, and way of life.

Iniciativa Comunales, Spain: https://www.icomunales.org/

Iniciativa Comunales is a Spanish association formed in 2015, by communities governing commons, as well as other organizations and persons supporting them. It is inspired by the principles of defense, promotion, support and recognition of the commons in Spain, as well as the communities that govern them. These principles were expressed in the Valdeavellano de Tera Declaration in 2013 (available here in several languages).

One of the main tasks performed by Iniciativa Comunales has been the development and implementation of a peer review and support system (i.e. between communities) called ICCA Registry Protocol, to facilitate and support the Spanish candidates to the International ICCA Registry managed by UNEP-WCMC. This initiative continues to be operational but in a constant process of revision and improvement since 2015. The first Spanish ICCAs were recognized in 2017, and as of 2024, six ICCAs have been registered from Spain.

Iniciativa Comunales have also developed a platform for the registration and networking of ICCAs and other commons in Europe, Middle East and Africa: the Common Lands Network.

For further information, please contact hola@icomunales.org or visit the ICCA section on the website.

Community Conserved Areas, South Asia region: https://communityconservedareas.org/

The CCA Web Portal is an innovative online platform designed to bring visibility and recognition to Community Conserved Areas (CCAs) across India. Developed with a participatory approach, this open-access portal hopes to empower communities and community-based organisations to map and document CCAs, providing structured and detailed information for a broader audience, such as the general public, policymakers, researchers and organisations working with CCAs. To enhance usability, the portal includes robust search and filter capabilities, allowing users to easily sort through the multi-dimensional CCA data and find specific information with ease.

Anyone can register on the portal and share their information, making it a truly inclusive space where grassroots organisations and self-organised clusters of CCAs can showcase their efforts. To further highlight these initiatives, the portal features a unique 'microsite' function. This allows selected subsets of CCAs to be displayed on a separate map. Static pages with information about specific organisations or clusters can also be created.

The portal is equipped with a powerful analytics dashboard, featuring dynamic charts that provide insights into the distribution of CCAs across states, ecosystem types, land ownership patterns, social impacts, and the challenges they face.

The portal also has a dedicated space for the relevant laws, policies and useful knowledge products on CCAs under the resources page. The idea is to simplify and democratise such knowledge that may aid the communities, researchers and civil society organisations in defending and strengthening CCAs.

The portal features a comprehensive map module that integrates various data layers, including census information, forest cover, ecoregions, biogeographic zones, tiger landscapes, key biodiversity areas, protected areas, and OECMs (Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures). This allows users to view CCAs within their broader geographical and socio-political contexts.

In essence, the CCA Web Portal is a vital resource for documenting, understanding, and promoting community conservation efforts in India. The team behind the portal aims to expand it to include other South Asian countries in the future.