Creating opportunities for indigenous leaders and scholars to explore
solutions to the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss.
Strong leadership and technical skills are essential elements of land
stewardship and community development, and critical to policy
engagement. Therefore, Conservation International (CI) and the
Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD) have joined
together to sponsor the Indigenous & Traditional Peoples
Conservation Fellowship. This fellowship will provide opportunities for
leaders and scholars from indigenous and traditional peoples communities
and organizations to explore solutions to the impacts of climate change
and the threats to ecosystems and biodiversity that are affecting their
lands, communities and livelihoods.
It is essential to support indigenous peoples, local communities and
their representative organizations in their efforts to build their
capacity in these areas; increased capacity fosters the knowledge and
skills required to engage in all aspects of ecosystem health and
development, from local to global action.
Indigenous peoples' knowledge together with biodiversity and
climate-related science can help communities face increasing threats on
their lands and territories and confront the impacts of climate change
and biodiversity loss. This year long fellowship aims to provide space
for dialogue to respect, recognize and incorporate traditional knowledge
in local efforts and take advantage of the scientific information
available at many institutions and universities.
