Indigenous Peoples Are Not Peripheral Stakeholders — They Are the Rightful Stewards of Life on Earth

For generations, Indigenous peoples have been described as “stakeholders” in global debates on environment and development — as though they were just one among many interested parties. This is a tragic misunderstanding. Indigenous peoples are not peripheral actors in the planetary story; they are the rightful stewards of life on Earth.

Guardians of the Planet’s Last Wild Places

Across continents, wherever Indigenous peoples continue to live on their ancestral lands, the forests stand taller, the rivers run cleaner, and biodiversity thrives. According to a global study published in Nature Sustainability, Indigenous-managed lands harbor as much or more biodiversity than government-protected areas. Together, Indigenous territories overlap with over 80% of the planet’s remaining biodiversity.

In the Amazon Basin, for instance, deforestation rates inside Indigenous territories are far lower than in adjacent non-Indigenous areas. Similar trends appear in Canada, Australia, and the Congo Basin. This is not coincidence — it is proof that Indigenous governance systems, born from centuries of ecological knowledge, sustain the balance that modern conservation often fails to achieve.

Examples from Around the World

Australia’s Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) cover nearly half of the national reserve system. Managed by Aboriginal ranger teams, these lands combine traditional fire management, ecological monitoring, and community livelihood programs. Studies show that IPAs have reduced destructive wildfires, revived native species, and provided meaningful employment to remote Indigenous communities.

In Canada, the Indigenous Guardians program — an initiative empowering First Nations communities to monitor and protect their territories — has inspired a new model of co-management. These “Guardians” blend traditional ecological knowledge with modern science to track species, prevent illegal logging, and restore cultural landscapes.

Meanwhile, in New Zealand, the Māori worldview has transformed national law. The Te Urewera Forest and Whanganui River are now recognized as legal persons — living entities with rights — under co-governance with local Māori tribes. These landmark reforms embed Indigenous philosophy into environmental law, shifting from a mindset of ownership to one of kinship and care.

Indigenous Wisdom Is Science Too

Indigenous knowledge is not folklore; it is empirical, tested across generations. It reads the wind, the moon, the migration of birds, and the flowering of trees to predict weather and ecological cycles. Many modern climate scientists now recognize that Indigenous observations complement satellite data, offering insights into long-term environmental trends that instruments alone cannot capture.

In Northeast India, for example, Naga, Mizo, and Khasi communities have long maintained intricate forest laws, rotational farming systems, and sacred groves that preserve microclimates and water sources. These systems, dismissed as “primitive” during the colonial era, are now being re-evaluated as models of community-based conservation and sustainable land use.

Why Modern Conservation Needs Indigenous Leadership

Despite this record, Indigenous peoples remain marginalized in decision-making processes that affect their lands. Policies are drafted in distant capitals; corporations extract resources without consent; and governments impose “protected areas” that sometimes evict the very people who have protected those ecosystems for centuries.

If the world is serious about meeting its biodiversity and climate goals, it must go beyond token consultation. Indigenous rights — particularly land tenure, self-governance, and free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) — must be recognized as central to environmental policy. Studies by the World Resources Institute and the UN show that securing Indigenous land rights is one of the most cost-effective strategies for mitigating climate change.

From Stakeholders to Stewards

The time has come to correct our language — and our worldview. Indigenous peoples are not simply “stakeholders” in conservation projects; they are the original architects of sustainability. Their philosophies remind humanity that we are not masters of nature but participants in its living web.

Recognizing Indigenous stewardship is not charity; it is survival. As ecological collapse accelerates, it is Indigenous governance — rooted in responsibility, reciprocity, and respect — that offers the moral and practical blueprint for a livable future.