About

Protected Planet Initiative


The ICCA Registry webpage is not the only platform managed by UNEP-WCMC that showcases ICCAs.

It is closely linked to the Protected Planet Initiative, which provides further opportunities for Indigenous Peoples and local communities to document their ICCAs—territories of life. Together, the Protected Planet Initiative and ICCA Registry showcase the crucial role that Indigenous Peoples and communities play in conservation.

The Protected Planet Initiative is used to track progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and other international targets. It is also used by scientists, decision-makers, and companies that want to minimise their impact on the environment. It stores information on both protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs). Some of these protected areas and OECMs are also ICCAs.

Can ICCA data be submitted to the Protected Planet Initiative?

Yes, if the ICCA also meets the definition of a protected area or other effective area-based conservation measure (OECM). (It is not possible to meet both).

The Protected Planet Initiative database(s) that ICCA data can be submitted to depends on the definition(s) it meets. ICCA data can be submitted to either of the following:

  1. The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA)
  1. The World Database on Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM)

When you submit your ICCA data to the WDPA or the WD-OECM you are submitting it to the Protected Planet Initiative, which is an online platform.

Two questions should be considered before deciding to submit ICCA data as either a protected area or OECM:

  1. Does the ICCA meet the definition of a protected area or OECM?
  1. Is it desirable for the ICCA to be categorised as either a protected area or OECM?

If the answer to either of the above questions is no, you are under no obligation to categorise your ICCA as either a protected area or OECM. ICCAs that meet neither definition (protected area or OECM) can still be included in the ICCA Registry database.

The submission process is very similar regardless of whether you want to submit your data to the ICCA Registry or the Protected Planet Initiative. However, you will need digital location data if you submit your ICCA to the Protected Planet Initiative.

For more information see the ICCA manual: http://wcmc.io/iccadatamanual