Strengthening Indigenous Stewardship and Transformative Conservation: Community Conserved Areas in Nagaland, India

In Nagaland, northeast India, Community Conserved Areas (CCAs) represent one of South Asia’s most extensive Indigenous-led conservation systems, with over 400 documented CCAs governed by village institutions that protect forests and wildlife under customary law. These CCAs play a vital role in conserving forests and biodiversity, making them strong candidates for recognition as Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs). Such community governance systems are central to transformative approaches where Indigenous institutions lead both conservation and livelihood decisions.

The Forest and Biodiversity Management Project (FBMP), initiated in 2021, builds on these long-standing traditions by strengthening the institutional, ecological, and planning foundations of 64 CCAs covering over 40,000 hectares across seven landscapes. FBMP’s multi-layered planning and implementation framework includes: (i) village-level plans and People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBRs) that guide site-level conservation and livelihoods; (ii) cluster-level CCA management plans that harmonize priorities across interconnected ecosystems; and (iii) landscape-level strategies that address cross-cutting issues. This approach translates Indigenous conservation priorities into structured management systems while retaining local authority and traditional knowledge.

Preliminary evidence suggests tangible ecological and social gains, including reduced hunting, improved forest cover, and stronger local institutions rooted in traditional governance. However, challenges persist due to resource limitations, trade-offs between livelihoods and conservation, evolving institutional capacities, and the short duration of project-based support. These reflect broader global patterns: Indigenous conservation initiatives thrive not only through policy recognition but through sustained capacity building and financing. FBMP’s demonstrates clear entry points for action while underscoring the need for multi-year engagement to translate plans into lasting outcomes.

To advance transformative change, FBMP focuses on three interconnected strategies: (1) consolidating community governance through legal and financial mechanisms that secure local control and long-term funding; (2) scaling technical support that integrates Indigenous knowledge with adaptive management; and (3) promoting policy recognition of CCAs to strengthen state and donor backing while safeguarding customary decision-making. The approach integrates local governance into higher-level biodiversity planning and offers actionable lessons for scaling Indigenous-led conservation within the Global Biodiversity Framework.