A handbook for the indigenous and community conserved areas registry

Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs) are a globally significant type of managed areas governed by local or indigenous communities for conservation and cultural purposes. Their contributions to biodiversity conservation, sustainable livelihoods, and climate change adaptation are significantly under-studied and documented. The ICCA Registry project, a partnership between UNEP-WCMC, UNDP, GEF Small Grants Programme, IUCN Commissions and the ICCA Consortium, aims to build a standardized knowledgebase and multi-media website for the development of a long-term awareness, recognition and valuation process for ICCAs. This handbook is intended as a guide for those involved with ICCAs who wish to participate in the ICCA Registry project. It also provides a general overview for others to learn about ICCAs. It contains information on the importance of ICCAs, benefits of the ICCA Registry, and detailed steps on contributing to and using the Registry. Case studies for several sites give a sense of the range of different ICCAs and their roles.