Family Farming Knowledge Platform

No basis for claim that 80% of biodiversity is found in Indigenous territories

A much-cited statistic about how much of the world’s biodiversity is under Indigenous stewardship is unsupported — and could harm the cause it is meant to support

For the past 20 years or so, a claim has been made in all sorts of outlets, from reports and scientific publications to news articles, that 80% of the world’s biodiversity is found in the territories of Indigenous Peoples. Those using this figure invariably aim to highlight the essential roles that Indigenous Peoples have in conserving biodiversity, and seem to have quoted it in the belief that it is based on solid science.

Numerous studies demonstrate that Indigenous Peoples and their territories are indeed key to safeguarding biodiversity for future generations. But the claim that 80% of the world’s biodiversity is found in Indigenous Peoples’ territories is wrong.

Title of publication: Nature
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Organization: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
Other organizations: CIFOR-ICRAF, Indiana University, USA, Forest Peoples Programme, Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies, Spain, Ogiek Peoples’ Development Program, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Medicine Wheel, Mexico, HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Hungary, Charles Darwin University, Australia
Year: 2024
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Type: Article
Content language: English
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