A/77/238 6. The Special Rapporteur also highlights examples of indigenous conservation efforts, the management or co-management of protected areas by indigenous peoples and other culture-based initiatives led by indigenous peoples, as well as go od practices of States and international organizations in recognizing and respecting indigenous peoples as not only stakeholders but also rights holders. A. Methodology 7. The Special Rapporteur identified this theme as the focus of the present report after participating in meetings of the World Conservation Congress of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 2021. Over the past two years, the Special Rapporteur participated in numerous other meetings and consultations related to protected areas, including the IUCN regional forum of indigenous peoples’ organizations and the Indigenous Council of Central America on indigenous peoples, protected areas and other effective conservation measures. 8. In the preparation of the present report, the Special Rapporteur reviewed the following materials: official United Nations documentation and other thematic studies; 30 written responses to a call for input from Member States, indigenous peoples and their organizations, academics and non -governmental organizations; information collected during academic visits to Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Peru and Sweden; and 29 oral and written submissions by indigenous participants for a consultation organized by the Special Rapporteur in April 2022. The Special Rapporteur drew from communications and observations on country visits by previous mandate holders relating to the impact of protected areas on the rights of indigenous peoples. 9. The Special Rapporteur builds on the conclusions drawn by his predecessor (see A/71/229 and A/HRC/36/46), who highlighted that conservation programmes have historically dispossessed indigenous peoples of their lands and drew attention to the critical importance of indigenous stewardship in maintaining biodiversity and mitigating climate change. He was also guided by the work of other special procedures, including the recent policy brief of the Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment on human rights-based approaches to conserving biodiversity. 2 B. Terminology “Protected areas” 10. According to the Convention on Biological Diversity, a protected area is “a geographically defined area which is designated or regulated and ma naged to achieve specific conservation objectives” (art. 2). IUCN defines a protected area as a “clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values”. 3 __________________ 2 3 22-11289 Available at www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Environment/SREnvironment/policy-briefing-1.pdf. Nigel Dudley, ed., Guidelines for Applying Protected Area Management Categories (Gland, Switzerland, IUCN, 2008). Available at https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/ documents/pag-021.pdf. 5/20