IPLP recently began a partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to examine patterns of human rights violations in protected areas.

This video testimony of the Babuluko Pygmy community member from the Goma region of North Kivu reminds us that when conservation initiatives fail to respect and protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples, they become instruments of displacement and injustice.

The report documents patterns of forced evictions, criminalization, and barriers to remedy affecting Indigenous Peoples  in and around protected areas, and tracks non-compliance with key court and IACHR measures—highlighting Laguna Larga.

IPLP joins CBD negotiations in Panama: SBSTTA-27 and the first meeting of SB8J

The Indigenous Rights & Protected Areas Initiative at the University of Arizona’s Indigenous Peoples Law & Policy Program (IPLP) is participating in two Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meetings in Panama City: SBSTTA-27 (20–24 October 2025) and the first meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions (SB8J-1) (27–30 October 2025).

India’s tiger reserves are often considered a global success story in conservation. Yet, beneath this public image lies a tragic and ongoing conflict: the forced eviction of Indigenous Peoples from their ancestral lands.

Following the one-year anniversary of the historic protest waged by Maasai communities in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), the Oakland Institute calls on the Tanzanian government to respect their rights to land and life and end mass eviction plans.

Edward, a Maasai leader and a recently appointed member of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, speaks out in a video testimony explaining the issue of “business rather than conservation.“

This side event, held on 16 July 2025 during the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), shed light on ongoing human rights violations linked to the creation and management of protected areas, particularly UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Renowned Indigenous rights defender and environmental advocate Patricia Gualinga Montalvo of the Sarayaku People in the Ecuadorian Amazon has been appointed to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) for the 2026–2028 term.

As the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) convenes its 91st session in Geneva this week, a critical issue is being raised: the alarming threat to the land rights and livelihoods of Indigenous women in Thailand.