Around the world, indigenous peoples are increasingly turning to conservation planning practitioners and tools to support the establishment of formal conservation management regimes over traditional lands. While today most practitioners are not a member of the indigenous community they are working with, this is gradually changing.

In many cases, indigenous peoples have taken a conservative approach to land and sea management, with decisions about management made through traditional lines of authority and responsibility. Contemporary indigenous conservation management continues the traditional practices of managing resources for sustainability – cultural, economic, social and ecological. For many, however, their aspirations have changed over time, together with the context of their decision making, and there is a need for new tools to support and communicate decision making.

Many of the conservation planning tools we use as practitioners are not necessarily consistent with an indigenous world view or way of working and decision making, but they are tools that are effective for supporting decision making about conservation management in general. 

This page provides access to tools for adapting non-indigenous approaches to conservation planning so that they are more useful and effective within indigenous communities. Most tools start from a non-indigenous perspective. They were designed by non-indigenous practitioners and scientists to help groups work through and prioritize necessary conservation actions. While these resources are aimed at adapting tools and approaches for working with indigenous groups, many of the adaptations are beneficial for all groups who need to make decisions about the allocation of time and resources.

Here are a number of tools, papers, presentations and plans that have been useful in supporting practitioners working with indigenous peoples. The documents are primarily in English, but some can be found in Spanish. In particular, these tools and resources fall into three categories:

Guidance documents that suggest adaptations to the conservation planning process, in particular to Conservation Action Planning or Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation. These materials range from guidance on integrating non-ecological values and the cultural importance of natural values into planning to innovative ways to facilitate the planning process with members of indigenous communities.

• Adapting CAP to include cultural targets: Experiences and Lessons from Mesoamerica and the Caribbean (PPT)
• Approaches to include socioeconomic aspects in the CAP processes developed in Guatemala (PPT)
• Summary: Conservation Area Planning For Tangible Cultural Resources
• Planificación para Conservación de Áreas con Recursos Culturales Tangibles
• Using Conservation Action Planning (or Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation) to develop Management Plans for Cultural Values
• Participatory Conservation Planning: A methodology for community consultation
• Approach II in Kimbe Bay: Step by Step description of the Participatory Conservation Planning Process used in Kimbe Bay
• Overview of Planning Process for Adelbert Mountains Project Area
• Participatory Techniques For Community Conservation
• Site Conservation Planning: A methodology for community participation
• CAP in Plain English

Examples of plans that try to acknowledge and integrate an indigenous world view that does not separate natural and cultural values.

• Sociocultural targets in the San Juan Islands CAP (PPT)
• Plan Maestro del Parque Nacional Tikal 2003-2008 (Master plan for Tikal National Park 2003-2008)
• Example plan for non-ecological targets
• Nushagak River Watershed Traditional Use Area Conservation Plan

Communication materials used to share results of plans with local community members.

• East Molokai conservation action plan
• Mauna Lua Bay conservation action plan
• Garube (Koalokoaol) Land Use and Management Plan
• Garube (Koalokoaol) Land Use and Management Plan (In Pisin)
• Wunambal Gaambera Healthy Country Plan Second Planning Workshop
• Wunambal Gaambera Healthy Country Plan Third Planning Workshop

This space is for practitioners to share tools and projects where they have worked with indigenous peoples to develop conservation plans. Please let us know if you have materials that you would like to share with the practitioner community.