The Scheduled Tribes in India will bear the brunt of this expansion, as 89 of the 106 notified national parks in the country were established in areas that they lived. This means that 84% of protected areas in India overlap with tribal areas, New Delhi-based rights activist Suhas Chakma said at the symposium on ‘Conservation, Racism, and Indigenous Peoples’ Human Rights’.

As about 89 out of the 106 national parks in India are established in the areas inhabited by the Scheduled Tribes, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework will destroy the indigenous population, warned activists Suhas Chakma.

The choice of ‘human dignity’ as a reference framework underscores its foundational and all-encompassing usage under international human rights law, including equality and non-discrimination.

University of Arizona Law Professor, Robert A. Williams, Jr., critiques conservation strategies that displace Indigenous Peoples in a New York Times essay. He emphasizes Indigenous-led conservation as more effective, highlighting global examples.