The IPBES Sustainable Use of Wild Species summary for policymakers of July 2022 revealed that more than 10,000 wild species are harvested directly for human food, with rural people in developing countries most at risk from unsustainable use. A fifth of the world’s population relies on wild plants for food and income, while one-third depend on wood for cooking. 70% of the world’s poor are directly dependent on wild species. Unsustainable use and management of these vital resources can exacerbate poverty, deplete these resources, and degrade the ecosystems people depend on for survival. Indigenous Peoples depend on wild species in about 40% of the world's terrestrial conserved areas and manage 15% of global forests. Their role in species and ecosystem management is therefore of utmost importance.

The issues of sustainable use of wild species and livelihoods, food security, cultural significance, and other benefits that Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities  derive from those species are inextricably linked. At CBD CoP15, Parties will discuss the targets they are setting for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, including meeting people’s needs through sustainable use and benefit-sharing, and ensuring benefits, including nutrition, food security, livelihoods, health, and well-being for people, especially for the most vulnerable through sustainable management of wild species of fauna and flora.

The Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management (CPW) is a voluntary partnership of 14 international organizations with substantive mandates and programmes to promote the sustainable use and conservation of wildlife resources. The mission of the CPW is to increase cooperation and coordination on sustainable wildlife management issues among its members, where such adds value, in order to promote the sustainable management of terrestrial vertebrate wildlife in all biomes and geographic areas, contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and to human food security, livelihoods and well-being. 

This side event will showcase work by the members of the CPW and its partners that illustrates the dependence of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities on wild species; the various forms of benefit they derive from these resources; how sustainable use of wild species contributes to enhancing the benefits to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities and conserving the ecosystems and species involved; and how the traditional knowledge and practices of these communities support and enhance these efforts.

Examples and case studies will be drawn from work conducted in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, covering sustainable use of wild resources ranging from wild meat to medicinal plants and other forest products. Lessons learned and best practices will be identified, and discussions will focus on actions by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities  s, governments, CPW members and other stakeholders that can help support effective implementation of the relevant targets in the post-2020 global biodiversity framework and how progress can be measured.

Event website Collaborative Partnership on SWM