Indigenous Lands Protection

Overview

Indigenous teachings, generational values, and devotion to being one with nature are more important and valuable than ever in a world that is currently in its Sixth Mass Extinction and caused by humans alone.

Since 2020, Global Conservation has been working directly with indigenous peoples to protect their Communal Reserves and National Park lands to defend the natural places they inhabit. By some estimates, Indigenous peoples make up 5% of the world’s population but safeguard 80% of the world’s biodiversity.

In contrast to the old ways of ‘fortress conservation,' which forces out local communities from their homelands to establish protected areas, Global Conservation's indigenous community protection enables communities to protect their own lands and reinforce communal rights, in many cases, adjacent to large national parks.

Many biodiversity hotspots around the world exist as "untouched wilderness" today because of the indigenous people living in those areas, who have been exceptional stewards of the land. Indigenous peoples are a critical answer to the climate change problem, as their traditional practices often protect intact forests, promote biodiversity, enhance carbon sequestration, and maintain ecosystem resilience against climate impacts.

Global Conservation’s Indigenous Community Protection helps effectively prevent illegal logging, poaching, mining, and land clearing.

Our Values

Our work is based on three key values: Dignity, Trust, and Equity.

DIGNITY: Human dignity is inviolable. It must be respected and protected. The dignity of the human person is not only a fundamental right in itself, but it also constitutes the real basis of fundamental rights. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights enshrined human dignity in its preamble: ‘Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world.’

We promote the highest level of participation by the local community and encourage the formation of community-based organizations that empower local people to manage their own projects and lands adjacent to and within the endangered national parks where we work.

TRUST: We believe that reliability and long-term commitment are critical to building trust. By jointly planning and then delivering on our promises, Global Conservation is known as a trusted partner who sets the stage for long-term, productive relationships.

EQUITY: Equity is the quality of being fair and impartial. The term “equity” refers to fairness and justice and is distinguished from equality. Whereas equality means providing the same to all, equity means recognizing that we do not all start from the same place and must acknowledge and make adjustments to imbalances.

How Community Protection Helps Us Achieve Our Mission

Community Protection is built on the idea that socio-economic benefits and community engagement can alleviate poverty and improve human welfare while supporting conservation efforts and reducing threats to biodiversity. It brings together the people who actually live near or inside endangered national parks, indigenous territories, or marine protected areas and involves them in the planning and decision-making from day one. Such indigenous and local communities are key players (and have power) in the decision-making and implementation of choices regarding the management of the ecosystems at issue, meaning that some kind of community authority exists and is capable of enforcing regulations.

Through honest conversations to discover the community's needs and values, as well as informing them about what benefits could come from conservation (like better living conditions or ecotourism), Global Conservation engages with all key stakeholders. By balancing the needs of the people with the needs of national parks, along with their forests, rivers, coastal waters, and wildlife, true community protection is possible.

Global Conservation is deploying Global Park Defense in partnership with the indigenous peoples and national parks authority to protect highly biodiverse forests and wildlife habitats.

This Global Park Defense program is providing funding, equipment, and training for Community Protection Teams working closely with the National Park Authority to stop illegal land invasion, land clearing, illegal logging, and wildlife poaching over the 120,000-hectare focus forest area. We also provide legal and prosecution support for cases involving arrests or land invasions.

Priorities for deploying Global Park Defense and Community Protection include:

Expanding the number of Park Rangers and Community Patrolling Teams, enabling 50+ strong Community Ecoguard Teams with equipment, systems, and training
Design a camera trap network based on coverage and accessibility.
Procure equipment for extended patrols, including hammocks, packs, and flashlights.
Support regular joint patrols between Communities and Park Rangers.
Provide satellite internet for remote bases and a new command center.
Analyze flyover and satellite imagery to identify trails and new deforestation.

GC Director for South America Margoth Quispe (far left) works with indigenous people in Peru to help protect their lands.

Our relationships with local communities endure because they are built on a foundation of undivided respect, cooperation, and reciprocity. Every human community has different needs, and every species and location provides a different set of assets and challenges.

In order to protect endangered national parks, their gateways, and their buffer zones, we work closely with local communities and indigenous leaders with respect to each location to collaboratively plan for biodiversity conservation and sustainable land use. We believe that the knowledge and practices of indigenous and local communities are key to conservation. We also believe that traditional knowledge and western technology can work together to manage and protect ecosystems while strengthening communities.

Our investments transcend the boundaries of conservation and community development through programs that benefit rural communities, wildlife, and wildlands simultaneously. By balancing the traditional knowledge of local people with science and the latest advances in conservation technology, our work creates sustainable solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Our community-driven programs positively impact some of the planet’s greatest biodiversity hotspots and last remaining wildlife strongholds.

Asháninka Community members in Otishi National Park are able to use their new drone to now scan for habitat destruction and find poachers faster.

Community Protection in Practice

Global Conservation acts as a catalyst to create community-based organizations in places where biodiversity is threatened. We bring a positive vision and possible solutions to local residents, highlighting the uniqueness of their area’s forests and wildlife, and then ask for their help to protect them. Local communities are able to utilize their generational knowledge of the natural ecosystems where they grew up, which includes geography and local endemic wildlife, then combine that with cutting-edge resources and training to provide an extremely comprehensive protection strategy in addition to providing tourism opportunities.

In most places where we work, people have co-existed with wildlife for centuries, possibly millennia. In these regions, livelihoods are directly dependent on natural resources, but overexploitation in the last few decades has made people and wildlife more vulnerable, which now increases conflicts over already-depleted resources and drives illegal poaching of already-threatened wildlife species.

We hire people from local communities and indigenous tribes as Ecoguards, giving them dignified employment and elevating their community leadership role. The Global Park Defense program makes it possible for park managers, together with indigenous tribes, to protect their ancestral lands from colonizers and poachers.

Principles In Our Work

All cultures have nature stewardship traditions; we need to build on them.
Nature and culture are interconnected, as are biodiversity and cultural diversity.
Balancing conservation and the use of natural resources is possible and desirable.
Indigenous peoples have a special role in conservation.
The use of indigenous and local knowledge is essential.
Rights and incentives are key drivers for conservation.
Institutions and governance in conservation need to be multi-level and participatory.
Diverse, flexible, and pluralistic conservation governance regimes help build resilience.

Training Community Ecoguards to Leverage Local Knowledge for Conservation

Communities have a unique, comprehensive knowledge of their own landscapes and wildlife. That is why Global Conservation believes in working to support the people who already live in key landscapes so they can protect their own resources.

As in many other communal conservation areas across the continent, Global Conservation equips the Community Ecoguards that work with park authorities and law enforcement with advanced anti-poaching tools, ecological monitoring technology, and satellite communications. This allows them to deploy enforcement and wildlife conflict mitigation strategies. Global Conservation combines valuable knowledge of their homeland with conservation technologies to boost their careers and safeguard biodiversity.

Local communities play a vital role in the fight against wildlife crime. However, engaging communities to support wildlife conservation activities is often challenging and, in most cases, takes a significant time investment. With Global Conservation’s help, communities can lead project activities by building strong local organizations that represent their voices, follow democratic processes, and promote project management skills.

GC Projects in Community Protection

PERU

Otishi National Park: Asháninka Communal Reserves

Focused on protecting 400,000 hectares of communal reserve forests around Otishi National Park in Peru, Global Conservation helps the Asháninka People deploy Global Park Defense and Community Protection to protect against the violent conflict from invaders and illegal loggers clearing the forests for illicit crops and for the installation of illegal infrastructure (clandestine airstrips). 99% of the surface of Otishi National Park is still in a natural state due to its steep mountain geology and impenetrable forests, but surrounding areas are largely cut or fragmented with heavy clearing for agriculture.

Global Conservation is helping the Asháninka People of Peru protect their Communal Reserves adjacent to Otishi National Park, a large area of highly threatened indigenous lands facing violent conflict from invaders and illegal loggers clearing the forests for illicit crops and for the installation of illegal infrastructure (clandestine airstrips).

“It is much more than monitoring the territory; it is about a spiritual connection and care for nature because they are guardians of the forest. So this is how the figure of the Asháninka ecoguards arises.”

— Margoth Quispe, Director of South America for Global Conservation

Otishi National Park was created in the high jungle area of the Vilcabamba Range, traversing the Departments of Junin and Cusco. The stated aim of this National Park is to protect the outstanding natural beauty of the area and the cultural integrity of the two indigenous communities—the Asháninka and the Machiguenga.

The Asháninka are the largest indigenous group in Peru's Amazon and inhabit a large area adjacent to Otishi National Park. Global Conservation is working with the national park authorities and the indigenous authorities of both the Ashaninka and the Machiguenga Reserves.

The Asháninka are estimated to number between 25,000 and 45,000 people who live in remote valleys and are mostly dependent on subsistence agriculture. They use the slash-and-burn method to clear lands and plant yucca roots, sweet potatoes, corn, bananas, rice, coffee, cacao, and sugarcane using biodiversity-friendly techniques. Hunting, fishing, and foraging for fruits and vegetables in the jungle are core to their livelihoods. They use bows and arrows or spears as their traditional weapons of choice.

For over a century, there has been encroachment onto Asháninka land by loggers, Maoist guerrillas, drug traffickers, colonists from other regions, and oil companies.

Critical Importance of Global Conservation’s Work

Although the Asháninka People have large areas designated as legal Communal Reserves after decades of lobbying and protests, they receive minimal government support for protecting their lands.

In Otishi National Park, we have built the first-ever cooperation for park and Communal Reserve protection between the Asháninka People in the Asháninka Communal Reserve of Peru, SERNANP, and the Joint Command of the Peruvian military to assist local indigenous communities to better protect their indigenous territories against illegal logging, coca cultivation, and invasive settlements.

Deploying Global Park Defense (GPD) in partnership with the Asháninka Indigenous Communities, SERNAP, the Peruvian Air Force, Naval Marines, and law enforcement will deliver the critical expansion of protection across over 400 kilometers and 400,000 hectares focused on two primary areas with 10 indigenous communities.

This integrated model, which Global Conservation Peru created over the course of five years in Sierra del Divisor National Park, is currently being scaled to include the combined 5 million hectares of Otishi and Manu National Parks and their Indigenous Territories.

Never before have Peru's National Parks worked so closely with all key governmental organizations and their combined resources in partnership with local communities to stop the environmental damage of its National Parks. Due to Peru's long history of establishing National Parks and Indigenous Territories, we now need to work harder together in order to protect them.

PERU

Manu National Park, Peru: Machiguenga People are the Guardians of the Forest.

Global Conservation has deployed Global Park Defense to protect the borders of Manu National Park, spanning over 1,700,000 hectares from the Andes to the Amazon.

The protection of Manu National Park is one of the highest priorities of Peru. The new highway from Salvacion to Boca Manu has already been built, and the existing highway to Cuzco has been greatly improved. A planned highway connecting Boca Manu to the "wild west" mining city of Puerto Maldonado threatens to open Manu National Park to massive, rapid development and potential destruction of forests and wildlife in border areas.

Now is the time to protect Manu National Park by deploying Global Park Defense—systems, equipment, and training—to increase the effectiveness of patrolling and law enforcement and remove illegal activities in and around the National Park.

The Machiguenga are an indigenous people who live in Manu National Park and the adjoining areas. Their main crops grown are manioc, maize, and bananas, but today commercial crops such as coffee and cacao are increasingly important. Their main source of protein used to be peccaries and monkeys, but today fish have become more important as game animals have become increasingly scarce as a consequence of the encroachment of highland immigrants into the area.

We have built new cooperation between the Indigenous Communities surrounding the national parks and the National Parks Authority (SERNANP), law enforcement, and the military when needed to better protect their Indigenous Territories, especially against coca cultivation.

Satellite and aerial monitoring supports rapid responses to deforestation events before they spiral out of control. Invasions can occur swiftly, especially in nearby Indigenous Territories and community areas, where there is no National Park designation to provide protection, no budget for protection, and no formalized law enforcement collaboration.

Global Park Defense integrates local communities into park and wildlife protection, enhancing collaboration with law enforcement to swiftly eliminate illegal invaders and illicit crops from their lands before they escalate.

Residents of three communities are trained as eco-guards to monitor their forests using technology and, consequently, the protected natural area.

Mapping Deforestation for Rapid Response

Using satellites to identify deforestation in the National Park and surrounding Communal Reserves, which are supported by high-resolution aerial overflights to clearly identify specific areas for targeted combined interdictions, enables the Park Authority to prioritize scarce resources by deciding where and when to patrol, when to secure backup from law enforcement, and where to better locate ranger stations to stop logging and other illegal activities.

By responding rapidly to threats, illegal settlements and coca growers are discouraged from entering and destroying National Park forests and associated killing of wildlife to feed their crews. By increasing the fear of interdiction and arrest, we greatly discourage illegal activities within the National Park and via critical access routes.

Biodiversity recovery is just as important as forest protection, as most species' populations have declined to dangerous levels due to commercial poaching and hunting.

Global Conservation supports the development of a 30-person Manu Community Protection Force deploying Global Park Defense over the next 2 years with the primary goals:

Equip and train 30 Community Ecoguards from 10 Communities
Hire an Enforcement Manager living in the Region
Logistics for 10,000+ kilometers of Patrolling per year
Deployment of the SMART System and the EarthRanger System for Protection and Biodiversity
Coordination of detentions and relocations with the park authorities and competent authorities (Prosecutor's Offices)
Satellite and Aerial Forest Monitoring
Coordination with SERNANP and Law Enforcement

Global Conservation installed Internet service in the three indigenous communities bordering Manu National Park that have received training in using the EarthRanger system.

TANZANIA

Ngorongoro: Indigenous Lion Hunters Have Become Lion Protectors

In the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, lions and indigenous people have coexisted for the past 2,000 years. However, the traditional pastoralist lifestyles of the Maasai and Datooga, as well as a further drop in lion numbers, are under risk due to dwindling space, damaged landscapes, and rising poverty that have upset the balance between humans and lions.

Working together with long-standing culture and traditions in challenging landscapes, KopeLion bases its efforts on three areas of action: to cut costs, realize the value, and apply the knowledge. Global Conservation provides support across all strategic themes by funding the essential core costs of the project.

Tracking collared lions by using a set of radio telemetry devices, which include the antenna and receiver, is part of the Ilchokuti's work.

The Ilchokuti Program, central to KopeLion, helps people in Ngorongoro live with lions. Their 30 Ilchokuti on the ground play a critical role in reducing human-lion conflict by warning herders and the community about collared lions in pastures and near settlements. By tracking collared lions daily, Ilchokuti help keep people, livestock, and lions safe.

Furthermore, Ilchokuti has treated many injured livestock, most of which recovered. Their communities appreciate this support, which boosts their tolerance for lions that attack their livestock. Ilchokuti also help find and return lost livestock and reinforce weak bomas that are vulnerable to lion attacks at night.

Ilchokuti, who is part of the local pastoralist communities, speaks with other community members.

Top predators, like these African lions, are actually wary of humans and do not go looking for trouble regularly.

GC Ilchokuti Support for Community Protection

"Kopelion has given us more than a fence; they have given us a future. My cows [and goats] are now safe, and we can sleep peacefully at night," Nataana says, her gratitude evident in every word.

No. of bomas reinforced - 79
No. of animals treated for predator wounds—529
No. of livestock found when lost - 1165 (99% found)
Value of livestock found - $113,695
Number of lion observations by Ilchokuti - 692

Boma Construction Scheme

As part of KopeLion’s initiative to reduce attacks at the homestead level, KP’s team has managed to construct five fortified bomas in areas with high levels of conflict. They’ve established a monthly monitoring plan to visit and collect information about attacks as a way to measure the impact of constructing predator-proof bomas.

The Conservation Incentive Payment Program

In 2023, KopeLion finalized their Conservation Incentive Payment trial program by conducting a household survey, and in 2024, they took a final step by holding a large stakeholder workshop to present the survey's findings. The workshop involved a wide range of important stakeholders in conservation, including community members, members from the NCAA Tour operators, and representatives from government organizations.

The findings from the household survey indicate that people are generally more tolerant of lions when they receive tangible benefits from them. It was also a chance to insist on a call to action for the government and other stakeholders to take lessons from the trial and use this model in NCA and other areas with potential human and wildlife conflicts.

Education Project

KopeLion successfully launched their education project in 2024 by establishing clubs in eight primary schools throughout the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, training the teachers who will oversee these clubs, and creating a year's worth of lesson plans to instruct students in clubs about conservation and coexistence-related issues.

PANAMA

Protection of the Naso Indigenous Territory and La Amistad International Park

Summary

Global Conservation has received critical funding from the Alumbra Foundation to support National Park and Community Protection of the Naso Indigenous Territory, the largest legally established Indigenous Comarca in Panama (160,616 hectares). The Naso people have won their battle for communal lands after nearly 20 years of legal struggle. Now, they must protect it.

To make this historic endeavor possible, Global Conservation is deploying our Community Protection and Global Park Defense Programs in partnership with the Naso People and MiAmbiente, the Ministry of Environment of Panama.

The Naso have organized a 60-member Community Protection team responsible for demarcating, monitoring, and patrolling their territory. From 2024 to 2026, Global Conservation is investing over $400,000 to protect the Naso Kingdom and La Amistad International Park (PILA), which is managed by the Naso people.

Even more, Global Conservation is equipping and training 40+ La Amistad National Park Rangers recently hired by the government, including 5 Naso community members (up from just 3 rangers in 2024).

Global Conservation's primary objective is to train and equip Protection Teams from both La Amistad International Park (PILA) and the Naso Kingdom, ensuring the integrity and protection of the Naso Territory and La Amistad International Park.

Threats to Naso Indigenous Territories

Global Conservation’s Indigenous Community Protection is being implemented in an integrated manner across the Naso Territory, La Amistad International Park, and the Palo Seco Forest Reserve (PILA). Major threats to the Naso Territory include settler invasions from competing indigenous groups, illegal cattle ranching, illegal logging, and agricultural expansion.

Naso-ground patrols and satellite monitoring have documented these threats. In one bold incident, a recently constructed community ranger station was burned by invaders.

Given these increasing external pressures, it is essential to provide the Naso People with the resources and support necessary to defend their territory, protect their cultural and spiritual heritage, and conserve the region’s ecosystems for future generations.

After 20 years to secure their Comarca lands, Global Conservation is the only organization to financially and technically support the Naso People to protect their hard-won lands.

Invaders destroyed the Naso Indigenous lands.

Naso rangers patrol through the densest jungle areas.

Naso Community Protection

Objective 1: Specialized Training and Education for Community Rangers and Park Rangers

To strengthen the protection of the Naso Territory and improve coordination with protected area authorities, a technical training program was implemented for Naso community rangers and rangers from La Amistad International Park (PILA Caribbean sector).

As part of this objective, 14 PILA Caribbean rangers and 6 Naso community rangers received specialized training in the use of the EarthRanger platform, a technological tool used to monitor, record, and manage real-time information on patrols, incidents, and threats within the territory.

Specialized Indigenous Territory Protection training includes:

Basic and advanced use of the platform for recording patrols and field events
Georeferencing of threats such as invasions, illegal logging, and illegal cattle ranching
Managing and analyzing field data to help make better decisions about protecting territory
Integration of community monitoring with protected area monitoring systems

Naso Community Protection training strengthens the technical capacities of the Community Ecoguards and National Park Rangers, improves coordination between Naso community brigades and park rangers, and enhances territorial monitoring through the use of digital conservation tools.

Performance Indicators

14 PILA Caribbean rangers and 6 Naso community rangers trained in the use of the EarthRanger platform.
Operational use of EarthRanger for recording patrols and reporting incidents within the Naso Territory and adjacent PILA areas.

Objective 2: Provision of Equipment for Community Rangers

To strengthen field operations, essential equipment was provided to the Kljunker (Naso Community Ecoguards).

This included Hardened Smartphones with the EarthRanger application installed, two Garmin InReach satellite communication devices, and a first aid kit. With this equipment, three community patrol teams were organized, each composed of three trained members, strengthening field monitoring, communication, and response capabilities during patrol operations.

Performance Indicators

11 smartphones delivered to community ranger teams to strengthen monitoring and field communications.
4 smartphones with the EarthRanger application installed were delivered to the Kljunker community rangers, including training in their use for patrol monitoring and reporting.
4 additional smartphones delivered to PIL A Caribbean park ranger to improve communication and coordination during patrol operations.
2 Garmin InReach satellite devices delivered to Naso rangers to strengthen satellite communication and support park monitoring efforts.
Three training activities were conducted, including one theoretical training session and two field trips focused on strengthening monitoring, patrol, and conservation technology skills.

Naso women have also now joined the Naso Community Ecoguards.

Such a naturally beautiful yet demanding environment requires substantial equipment for patrolling.

Objective 3: Expansion of the Community Ranger Program

As part of efforts to strengthen conservation and protection within the Naso Territory, community rangers increased monitoring and surveillance activities through systematic patrols across different areas of the territory.

These patrols contributed directly to strengthening the Community Ecoguard Program, promoting the active participation of community members in territorial protection. These activities also helped consolidate the technical capacity of the local Ecoguard teams and increased community presence in conservation efforts within the Naso Comarca.

26 patrols were conducted between June 2025 and February 2026.
26 foot patrols were conducted in different areas of the territory.
103 patrol hours were completed during monitoring and surveillance activities.
366.57 kilometers covered during community patrols.

Naso Community Ecoguard Program

Naso Patrols are finding extensive illegal land clearing in their Comarca.

Summary of Monitoring Results

During patrol and monitoring activities, several environmental, cultural, and territorial control events were recorded, including:

1. Threats and illegal activities

Incidents related to pressure on natural resources were documented, including illegal crops, deforestation, illegal cattle ranching, and human settlements inside or near the park. These included corn and banana cultivation in watershed headwaters, cattle fencing, deforestation in areas such as Loma Orquídea, and an agricultural settlement within the protected area. Evidence of illegal timber extraction and a hunting camp was also discovered and dismantled.

2. Protection of Naso cultural heritage

Patrols identified cultural and archaeological sites, including ancestral graves and traditional grinding stones. Evidence of grave looting and illegal excavation attempts was also recorded, allowing community authorities to strengthen monitoring of these sites.

3. Biodiversity monitoring

Ecoguards documented wildlife presence, including fresh jaguar tracks, a possible jaguar den, signs of white-lipped peccary activity, and a direct observation of a tapir along the riverbank.

4. Territorial control and park boundary demarcation

Boundary verification activities were conducted, including marking trees to indicate park boundaries in the Namuwoki sector.

5. Institutional coordination and outreach

Joint visits with Ministry of Environment and SINAP personnel were conducted with landowners near the park to raise awareness about conservation and park boundaries, as well as to address cases of deforestation threatening Naso Territories and La Amistad International Park (PILA).

Performance Indicators

71 patrols were conducted during the reporting period.
Patrol distribution:
31 vehicle patrols
30 foot patrols
2 motorcycle patrols
8 ATV patrols
461 patrol hours completed
3,086.86 kilometers covered during patrol operations.

These indicators reflect significant operational efforts to strengthen surveillance, expand territorial coverage, and improve conservation monitoring in the area.

Identifying Threats and Illegal Activities

1. Illegal resource extraction control

Evidence of illegal timber harvesting was identified, including sawmill waste and logging residues. In the Kuenquin–Santa Marta sector, timber was confiscated, and official notifications were issued. Land use was also detected within the park, including a house under construction with banana crops nearby.

2. Patrols in critical areas

Patrols were conducted in strategic sectors such as Fila Colorado, Los Pozos, Los Mojicas, and Mochila–Agua Caliente. No new illegal activities were observed, although wildlife tracks, such as those of deer and paca, were recorded.

3. Special operations and institutional coordination

A special patrol operation for the Carnival holiday was conducted in sectors including Entre Ríos, Los Quetzales, and Garita Final, in coordination with the Environmental Emergency Group (EME-Ambiental).

4. Park boundary control

Trees were marked with red paint to reinforce the boundaries of La Amistad International Park and prevent encroachment.

5. Cross-border community coordination

Meetings were held with the ADITRIBI community organization in Costa Rica to strengthen cross-border coordination with local stakeholders near the park.

Key Joint Activities Conducted by Naso Community Ecoguards and PILA Park Rangers

1. Patrols in critical areas

Naso community rangers, in coordination with PILA park rangers, conducted patrols in priority areas including Fila Colorado, Los Pozos, Los Mojicas, and Alto Katsy, strengthening field presence and monitoring potential threats.

2. Control of illegal activities

Illegal logging evidence was identified, leading to timber confiscation in the Kuenquin–Santa Marta sector. Land use inside the park, including construction and agricultural activity, was also documented.

3. Boundary demarcation and institutional coordination

Tree marking activities were conducted to reinforce park boundaries. These actions were coordinated with park authorities and included joint patrols and special operations during high-risk periods such as Carnival.

A Special Interview with Panama’s Project Advisor Max Villalobos:

1) How has indigenous protection for National Parks and World Heritage Sites changed in the last five to ten years?

Over the last decade there has been a clear shift from conservation models that excluded Indigenous peoples to approaches that recognize them as central partners and rights-holders. Many protected areas now incorporate Indigenous governance systems, co-management agreements, and territorial recognition within conservation frameworks. Internationally, instruments such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and growing evidence from ecological research have reinforced the understanding that Indigenous territories often maintain equal or higher levels of biodiversity than strictly protected areas. As a result, conservation organizations, governments, and donors increasingly recognize that safeguarding ecosystems requires strengthening Indigenous land tenure, cultural continuity, and stewardship.

2) What do you see as the biggest contributing factors that GC has provided for indigenous protection?

One of the most important contributions has been supporting practical mechanisms that reinforce territorial security and management capacity. This includes financing land protection, strengthening monitoring and enforcement systems, supporting community-led conservation initiatives, and facilitating collaboration between Indigenous authorities and national protected area agencies.

Equally important is the ability to mobilize international attention and funding toward landscapes that are both biologically exceptional and culturally significant. When financial resources, technical support, and long-term partnerships align with Indigenous governance structures, conservation outcomes become more durable.

3) Follow-up question: What problems have GC solved since partnering with indigenous peoples in your respective areas?

Partnerships with Indigenous communities have helped address several long-standing conservation challenges. These include illegal logging, wildlife trafficking, land encroachment, and the expansion of roads or extractive activities into remote ecosystems.

By strengthening Indigenous territorial monitoring, supporting ranger programs, and reinforcing land tenure security, these partnerships have improved the capacity to detect and respond to threats early. They have also helped integrate traditional ecological knowledge with scientific monitoring, improving management decisions in forests, coastal areas, and marine ecosystems.

4) Are there any new conservation challenges in the future that can be solved using indigenous protection?

Yes. Several emerging challenges will increasingly require Indigenous leadership. Climate change adaptation, ecosystem restoration, and the protection of intact landscapes will depend heavily on Indigenous stewardship systems that have maintained ecological resilience for generations.

In addition, new pressures such as infrastructure expansion, mining, and agricultural frontiers are moving into previously remote regions. Indigenous territorial governance, supported by appropriate conservation partnerships, can play a decisive role in preventing irreversible biodiversity loss while maintaining cultural landscapes.

5) In your opinion, what makes indigenous protection so successful towards safeguarding areas of special concern?

Indigenous protection is effective because it is rooted in long-term relationships with territory rather than short project cycles. Stewardship is embedded in culture, knowledge systems, and community governance.

Many Indigenous territories maintain complex ecological knowledge that guides sustainable resource use, seasonal management, and landscape connectivity. When conservation strategies align with these systems and reinforce territorial rights, the result is a durable model of protection that integrates biodiversity conservation with cultural continuity and local well-being.

6) Anything else you’d like to add?

One of the most important lessons from recent conservation experience is that protecting biodiversity and supporting Indigenous rights are not competing objectives. In many of the world’s most intact ecosystems they are inseparable.

Strengthening Indigenous stewardship, supporting territorial governance, and building respectful partnerships between communities, conservation organizations, and governments will remain one of the most effective strategies for safeguarding critical ecosystems in the decades ahead.