photo: H. ShrummThe Community Conservation in Practice workshop (CCiP), held 6-8 May 2010 in Tofino, provided an opportunity for people from local and indigenous communities, non-governmental organizations, academia, and funding institutions from around the world to come together to discuss the current strengths of and threats to Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs), Sacred Natural Sites (SNS) and Bio-cultural Landscapes (BCL). A lasting output of the workshop is the Opitsaht Declaration, a document conceived and drafted by the CCiP participants to promote the possibility of a more positive and just collaboration between indigenous communities and outside institutions in the management of these bioculturally important areas – for the benefit of all living beings and the health of the planet. 

To read the Opitsaht Declaration or download a pdf of the document, please click here.