Indigenous-Led Green Corridors for Biodiversity Nexus Solutions

Although the arid and semi-arid world faces pressing interrelated challenges (i.e., biodiversity loss, water scarcity, food insecurity, climate stress), responses continue to occur in isolation across sectoral boundaries and scales. However, this presentation will illustrate how biodiversity nexus thinking can be made practical through a place-based, Indigenous-led approach to integrating ecological restoration, agricultural resilience, and community governance.
This project is based on the co-design of green corridors connecting isolated farms in the hyper-arid landscape of South Sinai, Egypt. The project has utilised a combination of the Indigenous Bedouin ecological knowledge, biodiversity science, geospatial analysis, and participatory governance to create a flexible corridor design that links together ecological processes while supporting local livelihoods. In addition, the approach has integrated biodiversity conservation, water-smart agricultural production, food production, and climate adaptation into one cohesive socio-ecological system.
A multi-criteria GIS-based suitability analysis was conducted to determine optimal locations for corridor placement across the complex desert landscape, considering water availability, soil conditions, topography, land use, infrastructure, and vegetation connectivity. In addition, a comprehensive framework was developed to select species for inclusion in the corridors, focusing on native, drought-, and salt-tolerant plant species that would provide multiple ecosystem services, such as pollination support, biological pest control, soil stabilisation, microclimate regulation, and carbon sequestration. The corridors have been designed as layered systems to enhance their ability to adapt to extreme environmental conditions and to maximise functional diversity and resilience.
In addition to their ecological functions, the corridors serve as shared social infrastructure. Governance arrangements focus on community ownership, Indigenous stewardship, and inclusive approaches for all genders, and on adaptive management to address the institutional and power aspects of implementing a nexus approach. Furthermore, by linking biodiversity restoration to Indigenous food systems and daily land-use activities, the strategy identifies synergies among the objectives of water, food, climate, and ecosystems while also addressing trade-offs.