A strong relationship exists between an indigenous people or local community, and a specific site (territory, ecosystem, species habitat). This relationship is often embedded in the people ’ s or community ’ s sense of identity and/or dependence for livelihood and well being. The indigenous people or local community is the major player in decision-making and implementation regarding the management of the site, implying that a local institution has the capacity to develop and enforce decisions (other stakeholders may collaborate as partners, especially when the land is owned by the state, but de facto decisions and management efforts are predominantly taken by the concerned people or community). The people ’ s or community ’ s management decisions and efforts lead to the conservation of habitats, species, genetic diversity, ecological functions/ benefits and associated cultural values, even when the conscious objective of management is not conservation (i.e., it may be livelihoods, security, safeguarding cultural and spiritual values, etc.).Corrigan, C., Granziera, A. A handbook for the Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas Registry January 2010 (Cambridge: UNEP-WCMC) accessed: 12 May 2011 In the struggle to cope with the scale and pace of socio-cultural change, some ICCA institutions have been replaced by state governance or are under threat of being so. Similarly in some cases, change has been powerful enough to affect the community ’ s capacity to manage the local resources in a sustainable way and genuine local ICCAs are just a memory or very much struggling to remain effective. Yet in others, even powerful change has been unable to destroy them: more complex ICCAs, capable of taking advantage of new conditions and establishing new alliances have emerged from the pre-existing ones.
A strong relationship exists between an indigenous people or local community, and a specific site (territory, ecosystem, species habitat). This relationship is often embedded in the people ' s or community ' s sense of identity and/or dependence for livelihood and well being. The indigenous people or local community is the major player in decision-making and implementation regarding the management of the site, implying that a local institution has the capacity to develop and enforce decisions (other stakeholders may collaborate as partners, especially when the land is owned by the state, but de facto decisions and management efforts are predominantly taken by the concerned people or community). The people ' s or community ' s management decisions and efforts lead to the conservation of habitats, species, genetic diversity, ecological functions/ benefits and associated cultural values, even when the conscious objective of management is not conservation (i.e., it may be livelihoods, security, safeguarding cultural and spiritual values, etc.).Corrigan, C., Granziera, A. A handbook for the Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas Registry January 2010 (Cambridge: UNEP-WCMC) accessed: 12 May 2011 In the struggle to cope with the scale and pace of socio-cultural change, some ICCA institutions have been replaced by state governance or are under threat of being so. Similarly in some cases, change has been powerful enough to affect the community ' s capacity to manage the local resources in a sustainable way and genuine local ICCAs are just a memory or very much struggling to remain effective. Yet in others, even powerful change has been unable to destroy them: more complex ICCAs, capable of taking advantage of new conditions and establishing new alliances have emerged from the pre-existing ones.
R
’
'
R
’
'
R
’
'
R
’
'
R
’
'