A/HRC/45/34/Add.3 22. Participants in the regional consultation discussed the discrepancies between legal provisions and their practical implementation and the challenges faced in registering, demarcating and titling indigenous lands. While it is important to register lands in order to affirm collective land rights, there are also dangers involved, as titling processes may prioritize individual titles that benefit private entities over collective titles. Moreover, it is challenging for indigenous peoples to seek legal recourse through the courts. Although in several countries indigenous peoples have achieved landmark judgments, enforcement is often lacking. In some instances, indigenous peoples prefer to not apply for titles, as doing so is contrary to their concept of land ownership. In such situations, it is essential to ensure that measures are in place to prevent the transfer of titles to individuals and private entities. 23. Participants stressed the importance of indigenous peoples empowering themselves by participating in demarcation processes and debates on the development of legislation, in order to voice their concerns in decision-making processes. International donors that support land registration processes should be mindful of the implications of such processes for indigenous peoples and ensure that such initiatives respect the rights and seek the participation of indigenous peoples. C. Conservation 24. The archaic “fortress” approach to nature conservation, which fails to apply a rightsbased approach, continues to pose another threat to indigenous peoples. This approach persists despite evidence of the important role that traditional indigenous practices play in preserving of biodiversity and despite the fact that indigenous lands contain the most intact ecosystems, thus proving that indigenous practices ensure the most effective and sustainable forms of conservation. 25. There is significant spatial overlap between the traditional lands of indigenous peoples and areas with the highest levels of biodiversity. Traditional indigenous territories, which encompass around 22 per cent of the world’s land surface, coincide with areas that hold 80 per cent of the planet’s biodiversity. Studies have demonstrated that the territories of indigenous peoples who have been given land rights have been significantly better conserved than the adjacent lands.26 Nevertheless, only a small percentage of protected areas worldwide are governed by indigenous peoples and local communities. 26. Participants in the regional consultation expressed concern that indigenous lands continue to be declared protected areas without prior consultation with the affected indigenous communities and without the adoption of measures to ensure their involvement in managing conservation. Across Asia, there is still a lack of understanding of indigenous traditional practices such as rotational crop cultivation and forest management and of the contribution that indigenous peoples make to sustainable conservation and biodiversity. 27 Indigenous peoples are furthermore concerned that tourism is increasingly being prioritized over their rights and may have a negative impact on conservation. It was noted that indigenous lands are at times declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to be World Heritage sites without consultation with the indigenous peoples affected. 27. In India, the Forest Rights Act of 2006 only allows forest rights holders to be resettled if critical wildlife habitats are being damaged irreversibly and coexistence is not possible. Even then, resettlement can only be carried out after obtaining the free, prior and informed consent of those affected. In July 2019, the Special Rapporteur raised concern about a Supreme Court order to evict up to 9 million Adivasis across India and about amendments to the Indian Forest Act of 1927 that would increase the discretionary policing powers of forest officers.28 The litigation in the Supreme Court, which was initiated by national conservation organizations, could result in mass evictions in 21 states following the rejection of 1.2 million 26 27 28 Claudia Sobrevila, The Role of Indigenous Peoples in Biodiversity Conservation: the Natural but Often Forgotten Partners (Washington, D.C., World Bank, 2008). Madhav Karki and others, eds., Knowing our Lands and Resources: Indigenous and Local Knowledge and Practices Related to Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Asia (Paris, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2017). IND 13/2019; www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?News ID=24786&LangID=E. 7