People Protecting Landscapes and Seascapes Initiative

The WWF is run at a local level by the following offices...

Zimbabwe

People Protecting Landscapes & Seascapes (PPLS) Initiative

To help the world meet global climate and nature goals, Indigenous Peoples and local communities need to be able to conserve and sustainably manage their lands, waters, territories, ecosystems and resources.

Through a new global initiative we are supporting them to map more of these areas, acquire tenure rights, set up effective governance, develop inclusive economies, and maintain cultural and spiritual values.

This is a huge challenge - but also an opportunity that WWF’s PPLS Initiative is taking on.

Together with others, including members of the ICCA Consortium, we have identified common goals and designed activities being led by Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

Combining work on the ground with advocacy for equality and rights, we aim to galvanise a new global approach to conservation that empowers people and restores the vibrant cultural and natural diversity of our planet.

Indigenous Peoples and local communities around the world can only help create a more sustainable future for all of us if they receive the recognition and support they deserve.

People & Places - stories from the Initiative

Visit our People & Places page for stories and films about our work with Indigenous Peoples and local communities for a fairer, greener future.

Pathways of Change

The PPLS Initiative is working with local communities and Indigenous Peoples to help:

secure and exercise their rights and responsibilities
strengthen their traditional governance institutions and decision-making mechanisms
develop sustainable community enterprises that contribute to fair and inclusive economies
support their cultural and spiritual values, knowledge, practices, institutions and identities

Threat & Opportunity

Over 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity is found in the lands and territories of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

This biodiversity is under threat as its traditional custodians struggle against increasing external pressures including land conversion, unsustainable infrastructure development, intensive agriculture, mining, and acculturation.

Supporting Indigenous Peoples and local communities to maintain and strengthen their biocultural systems is one of the most important solutions to today’s challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss.

It's a solution that the mainstream conservation community has hugely undervalued - and now is the time to develop a meaningful global alliance to respond collectively and sustainably to the challenges we face.

We have a unique opportunity to bolster conservation by Indigenous Peoples and local communities and address biodiversity, and economic and social inequality.

Supporting a more inclusive approach to conservation will bring:

multiple benefits for people and nature
more holistic and equitable conservation
strengthened climate mitigation and adaptation
a more equitable and sustainable economic system.

To find our more about the Initiative, please contact us on governance.practice@wwfint.org.