Volume 7 Issue 1 November 2020​

How granting Indigenous peoples’ land titles contributes to forest conservation in Latin America

NUSA URBANCIC
This article investigates how the growing recognition of Indigenous land rights through international law, jurisprudence and government actions contributed to forest conservation in Latin America. Its theoretical framing is a critical comparison of Western and Indigenous perceptions of land, property and nature. The Indigenous concept of collective property has been recognised in international human rights law and increasingly also on the ground, as more communities obtain legal land titles. Scientific studies show low deforestation and forest degradation rates in Indigenous community-managed forests. However, global pressures on land continue to undermine the ability of Indigenous communities to protect their forests. Despite the acquisition of legal land rights, the ultimate success in conservation will depend on governments’ protection. The article concludes that to reverse the trends of deforestation and climate change, perception of nature and property has to shift away from a Western anthropocentric view closer to the Indigenous worldview.