IPCAs
Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas
What are Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas?
Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) are lands and waters where Indigenous Peoples have the primary role in protecting and conserving ecosystems through Indigenous laws, governance and knowledge systems. Check out two examples of IPCAs at Edéhzhíe and Thaidene Nëné National Park Reserve and Territorial Protected Area.
IPCAs support a vision where ecosystems are thriving in balance with resilient communities and Indigenous Peoples. Efforts to enable and recognize IPCAs through the Pathway to Canada Target 1 reflect a growing global trend where governments are recognizing areas conserved by Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
IPCA is not a specific designation. IPCAs include a spectrum of conservation mechanisms and models that support Indigenous leadership in conservation. Areas conserved by Indigenous Peoples, such as IPCAs, are only one part of Indigenous-led conservation efforts taking place across Canada.
IPCAs and the Pathway to Canada Target 1
As a part of Canada’s Pathway to Target 1, IPCAs play a vital role in achieving biodiversity and conservation goals.
The Indigenous Circle of Experts was formed through the Pathway process to make recommendations and offer guidance on how IPCAs could be realized in Canada and contribute towards Canada’s conservation goals. Members included a core group of Indigenous experts from across Canada and officials from federal, provincial and territorial jurisdictions (learn more about the Indigenous Circle of Experts and regional gatherings).
The Indigenous Circle of Experts held 4 regional gatherings in each of the cardinal directions to hear from communities and governments on IPCAs (see regional gathering videos). Informed by these gatherings, the Indigenous Circle of Experts developed the We Rise Together report. The report provides recommendations and outlines the elements and characteristics of IPCAs.
As described by the Indigenous Circle of Experts: “…while IPCAs can vary in terms of their governance and management objectives, they generally share three essential elements:
They are Indigenous-led.
They represent a long-term commitment to conservation.
They elevate Indigenous rights and responsibilities.”
- [We Rise Together. p. 5]
IPCA Partnership Models
Based on the recommendations of the Indigenous Circle of Experts, the One With Nature report provides pan-Canadian guidance on IPCAs (2018, p. 44-46). Both We Rise Together and One With Nature describe how IPCAs can include a wide spectrum of management models.
“There are a range of management models that can apply to IPCAs and other protected and conserved areas that support a meaningful role for Indigenous Peoples. Some IPCAs may employ a co-management or cooperative management model where Indigenous Peoples, federal, provincial, territorial or municipal governments and others adopt shared decision-making, joint management or advisory mechanisms. In some cases, areas governed by Indigenous Peoples will be the desired option.” - [One With Nature]
Collaborative work in support of IPCA’s
A NSC IPCAs Working Group has been created through the Pathway to Canada Target 1. Through Indigenous leadership and engagement in conservation, the working group is exploring opportunities, tools, and challenges for implementing IPCAs in Canada.
More on the IPCA working group and Ethical Space
The IPCA Working Group conducts its work through a distinctions based, nation to nation approach which respects the diversity of First Nations, Inuit, Métis Nation and other Métis Peoples.
The IPCA Working Group works within the framework of Ethical Space. The Indigenous Circle of Experts provided the following principles to consider when working in an Ethical Space:
"The focus of ethical space is on creating a place for knowledge systems to interact with mutual respect, kindness, generosity and other basic values and principles. All knowledge systems are equal; no single system has more weight or legitimacy than another.
One system does not need the other to “corroborate” it to achieve internal validity. For example, the written system does not always need archaeological evidence to provide sound “proof” of an Indigenous practice or story.
While agreeing to formally enter ethical space may be straightforward for most parties, actually being within that space together requires flexibility. Parties may frequently need to adjust to change, surprise, and other factors that cannot be envisioned at the initial stage.
While engaged in ethical space, no party can claim to have achieved (or even entered into) processes of consultation or accommodation as defined under existing or previous provincial or federal legislation or policies. That is not the purpose of ethical space." [We Rise Together. p. 7]
Past and present working group members include:
- Assembly of First Nations
- Métis National Council
- Canadian Parks Council
- Local government representative
- Parks Canada Agency
- Government of British Columbia
- Government of Alberta
- Government of Manitoba
- Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
- Government of Northwest Territories
- Government of Nova Scotia
- Government of Saskatchewan
- Government of Yukon
- Environment and Climate Change Canada
The Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership is an Indigenous-led, seven-year initiative that aims to critically investigate the state of conservation practice in Canada and support efforts to advance Indigenous-led conservation in the spirit of reconciliation and decolonization. Learn more by visiting the CRP website or by watching this introductory video.
The Federal IPCA Community of Practice serves as a working level forum for discussion and collaboration on advancing IPCAs and the partnerships that are needed to support them.
Pathway IPCA Resources
Ethical Space 2 – Pager
This two-pager introduces the concept of Ethical Space and how it is used in the Pathway to Target 1 Initiative. It is informed by the Enacting and Operationalizing Ethical Space Report (see Partner Resources). Aspects of Ethical Space Includes the following:
It is a process and is built over time;
It makes room for multiple ways of knowing; and
It allows for new innovative forms of collaboration and co-creation.
To learn more on Ethical Space, watch this video.
Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas – Supporting Conditions for Success: Lessons and Experiences from Jurisdictions Across Canada
The purpose of this report is to help create and support the conditions for success and resilience of IPCAs and other forms of Indigenous leadership in Conservation. It was created through a knowledge gathering process conducted by the members of the IPCA Working Group and fulfills the IPCA Working Group deliverables agreed to by the Pathway to Canada Target 1 National Steering Committee. These include:
Guidance on important conversation needed to initiate and foster conservation partnerships
A compilation of IPCAs and similar initiatives across Canada
Guidance on capacity building
This work is continually evolving and the IPCA Working Group (ec.apcaipca.ec@canada.ca) is open to receiving input and contributions.
Frequently Asked Questions: Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas
This document is intended to contribute to answering some frequently asked questions about IPCAs, particularly in the context of Pathway to Canada Target 1. The questions and responses have been compiled from a variety of discussions that have arisen within the IPCA Working Group or from conversations members have had with partners. While these FAQs are available to anyone who may be interested, the main intended audience is Pathway members, including federal, provincial and territorial officials.
This work is continually evolving and the IPCA Working Group (ec.apcaipca.ec@canada.ca) is open to receiving input and contributions.
IPCA Annotated Bibliography
This annotated bibliography is a spreadsheet of resources compiled by the IPCA Working Group. It includes documentation on lessons-learned, best practices, and impediments related to operationalizing Indigenous leadership in conservation and IIPCAs. The spreadsheet is sortable according to different themes and key words, and includes summaries of and links to each resource.
The Annotated Bibliography is a key contribution to the development of the Solutions Bundle (see Partner Resources)
This document is intended to be evergreen and all users are encouraged to provide feedback or additional resources to the IPCA Working Group (ec.apcaipca.ec@canada.ca).
Partner Resources
The IPCA Knowledge Basket
The IPCA Knowledge Basket is a digital space that holds and shares resources to inform, guide, and advance Indigenous-led conservation initiatives, including Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs). A legacy initiative of the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership, it was created to honour, celebrate, and catalyze a larger, national movement of Indigenous leadership in conservation.
The IPCA Knowledge Basket is an online platform for reciprocal knowledge-sharing and collaborative learning in the spirit of ‘We Rise Together’. Inspired by the practice of basket weaving, the IPCA Knowledge Basket represents the strength, beauty, and abundance we can create by weaving together Indigenous and western science, innovation, and knowledge.
Begin your learning journey and visit the IPCA Knowledge Basket: www.ipcaknowledgebasket.ca
Enacting and Operationalizing Ethical Space and Two-Eyed Seeing in Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas and Crown Protected and Conserved Areas
This work was completed by Danika Littlechild and Colin Sutherland and gifted to the Pathway to inform future work and partnerships. The report is available here: Enacting and Operationalizing Ethical Space and Two-Eyed Seeing in Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas and Crown Protected and Conserved Areas
Indigenous Laws in the Context of Conservation
This work was completed by Larry Innes (Olthius Kleer Townshend), Georgia Lloyd-Smith (West Coast Environmental Law), and Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership (University of Guelph) and gifted to the Pathway to inform future work and partnerships. The full report is available on the CRP website: Indigenous Laws in the Context of Conservation — CRP Website (conservation-reconciliation.ca)