Indigenous Economic Futures - Transformative Change Praxis

Indigenous Nations hold generations of knowledge, governance systems, and relational values that illuminate pathways toward a more just and biodiverse future. As we are called to Lead Transformation Together, and as the IPBES Transformative Change Assessment (TCA) urges system-wide reconfigurations of human–nature relationships, Indigenous Peoples offer insights and lived practices capable of addressing the underlying drivers of biodiversity loss. This presentation shares an Indigenous perspective on advancing global biodiversity goals through economic transformation, drawing on outcomes from the Economic Futures Summit 2025 and its four pathways to action: Bringing Ideas to Market: Who’s Ready for a Deal?; Backbone of Indigenous Economies; Indigenous Leadership and Capacity; and Indigenous Economic Visions.

At their core, these pathways operationalize TCA principles by transforming societal values, reshaping governance systems, and addressing entrenched economic structures that drive nature’s decline. Rooted in relational worldviews—responsibility to land, kinship with all beings, and collective well-being—they provide grounded, practical examples of what transformative change looks like in practice. They also show how co-production, ethical space, and diverse knowledge systems, including Indigenous and local knowledge, can generate more sustainable futures.

The pathway Backbone of Indigenous Economies demonstrates how Nations are creating sustainable economic scenarios across multiple sectors including land based initiatives grounded in cultural and worldview aligned with regenerative relationships to “all our relations”. Indigenous Leadership and Capacity showcases emerging governance innovations and human-capital investments essential for navigating and reshaping the power structures identified in the TCA. Through Bringing Ideas to Market, the Summit uplifts entrepreneurs developing nature-positive solutions grounded in reciprocity and ecological stewardship. Finally, Indigenous Economic Visions offers a forward-looking blueprint for economies that elevate cultural identity, relational wealth, and intergenerational responsibility.

Together, these pathways reveal how Indigenous Peoples are not only protecting ecosystems but redesigning economic and governance systems to strengthen human–nature connections and dismantle root causes of biodiversity loss. This presentation showcases advances that are achieving the ambitions of the IPBES TCA while centering Indigenous values, leadership, and economic self-determination. The Economic Futures Summit Pathway elucidate practical, scalable models for enacting transformative change—demonstrating that when we uplift Indigenous-led innovation and institutions, systemic transformation becomes both achievable and collectively led.