Lands, Territories and Resources

Land, territories and resource rights refer to the legal or customary rights that communities have over land, territories and natural resources such as water, forests, minerals, and biodiversity. These rights include substantive rights to own, use, effectively control, and benefit from areas and resources over which people have long-standing connections, possession, and use, as well as procedural rights, such as the right to meaningful consultation, participation, and free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) in decisions affecting those areas and resources, as well as a right to an effective remedy when those rights are violated, including the right to restitution and compensation. 

Why is it relevant to indigenous peoples and forest peoples?

Land, territories and resource rights are fundamental to the well-being of indigenous peoples and forest peoples and for the protection of their lands, cultural heritage, and the conservation of biodiversity. Securing rights to lands, territories and resources means they can address issues such as the creation of exclusionary protected conservation areas that expel them from their lands by recognising the rights of indigenous and forest peoples to own, manage, and use their traditional lands and resources. 

Indigenous peoples and forest peoples often face discrimination and exclusion from decision-making processes related to the management of their territories and resources. This has led to the depletion of ecosystems and the loss of cultural knowledge. The lack of respect for rights to lands, territories and resources is a key cause of the many significant challenges facing indigenous and forest peoples across the globe.   

Securing rights to lands and resources addresses these issues by recognising the rights of indigenous peoples and forest peoples to own, manage, use and control their traditional lands and resources. Having their rights respected would also ensure that indigenous peoples and forest peoples would be granted access to free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) processes over any decisions and activities that may affect their lands.