“Understanding the extent of lands over which Indigenous Peoples retain traditional connection is critical for several conservation and climate agreements,” said Professor Stephen Garnett, from Charles Darwin University in Australia, who led the international consortium that developed the maps.

“Not until we pulled together the best available published information on Indigenous lands did we really appreciate the extraordinary scale of Indigenous Peoples’ ongoing influence,” Professor Garnett said.

The 38 million square kilometres owned or managed by Indigenous Peoples are spread across 87 countries or politically distinct areas and overlap with about 40% of all terrestrial protected areas.

One of the striking findings of the study was the extent of lands with strong Indigenous connections that are little changed by development.

“We found that about two thirds of Indigenous lands are essentially natural,” said Professor James Watson of the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society, “That is more than double the proportion for other lands.”

Professor Neil Burgess of the UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge said that in many countries Indigenous Peoples are taking an active role in conservation.

“What this new research shows is the huge potential for further collaborative partnerships between Indigenous Peoples conservation practitioners and governments. This should yield major benefits for conservation of ecologically valuable landscapes, ecosystems and genes for future generations.”

Some countries stand out as having significant levels of Indigenous engagement with conservation.

“In Australia, nearly half of all protected areas are owned and managed by Indigenous Peoples,” says Professor Cathy Robinson of Charles Darwin University and Australia’s government research agency, CSIRO, “The coincidence between the interests between Indigenous Peoples and conservation is a cornerstone of Australia’s conservation policy.”

The study should have particular value for the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) which is co-ordinating efforts to assess status and trends of nature, and the contributions of nature to people.

Professor Zsolt Molnár from the IPBES Indigenous and Local Knowledge Task Force said that they have been looking for an overview of Indigenous influence for some time.

”What these new maps show us is that understanding Indigenous perspectives and Indigenous contributions to conservation are essential when negotiating local or global conservation agreements,” Professor Molnár said.