Dear Tribal Leader Letter
More information about the Indigenous Peoples Conservation Advisory Network

March 21 at 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm Eastern
Zoom link

March 22 at 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm Eastern
Zoom link

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, working with the U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will hold virtual listening sessions for the creation of an Indigenous Peoples Conservation Advisory Network {IP-CAN) on Tuesday, March 21 from 3:00-5:00 pm EDT and Wednesday, March 22 from 3:00-5:00pm EDT. The objective of IP-CAN is to support the leadership of Indigenous Peoples in their conservation, restoration, and sustainable management efforts in terrestrial (including inland waters), coastal, and ocean ecosystems. They intend this to be a global consultation that is Indigenous-led and responsive to input.

The triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution are having a profound impact on Indigenous Peoples world-wide. As stewards of much of the world’s natural resources, the participation, empowerment, and protection of the rights of Indigenous Peoples worldwide are critical to global efforts to address these crises. Indigenous knowledge, customary practices, and traditions have a key role to play in designing solutions, and must be respected, valued, and protected. The United States seeks to play a leadership role in promoting the rights and empowerment of Indigenous Peoples’ world-wide. The U.S. Department of State along with their interagency partners are proposing a global Indigenous Peoples Conservation Advisory Network that will support Indigenous Peoples as critical partners in addressing these global challenges. They are seeking input and perspectives from U.S. Tribal leaders to inform development of IP-CAN prior to our international consultations.

You are invited to participate in a virtual listening session on March 21, 2023 or March 22, 2023. Please send any questions to tribalconsultation@state.gov. March 22 will be open to Tribal Organizations, Alaska Native Corporations, and Native Hawaiian communities. Listening sessions will be recorded.

Proposed questions:

1) What are the global challenges and opportunities for conservation facing Indigenous Peoples, from your perspective?
2) What are the programs, policies, or activities that should accompany setting 30×30 targets so that achieving these targets will help advance Indigenous-led conservation?
3) How best can the Biden Administration develop co-stewardship agreements with your tribes/tribal communities to advance Indigenous-led conservation and restoration efforts, as aligned with the America the Beautiful goals and principles and other Administration directives?
4) How should a global advisory network on Indigenous-led conservation and the 30×30 target be structured and implemented to make it useful and effective?
5) Do you engage on these topics with Indigenous communities in other countries through any existing networks? Would a global advisory network be redundant with those existing networks, or could it be leveraged to improve coordination across them?
6) Where do you see opportunities to integrate Indigenous Knowledge into Federal conservation efforts and what are challenges to achieving this integration?