Nia Tero Report on Rio Conventions Fragmentation

On August 13, 2026, Nia Tero, an international non-profit focused on Indigenous Peoples' guardianship of ancestral lands and waters, released a report titled 'Beyond Fragmentation: Advancing Coherence, Equity, and Indigenous Leadership Across the Rio Conventions.' The report examines how fragmentation across the three Rio Conventions - the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) - limits Indigenous Peoples' meaningful influence in global environmental decision-making. It will formally launch at the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from August 17 to 28, 2026. The report, authored by Minnie Degawan, draws on two years of dialogue with Indigenous leaders and offers recommendations for States, Convention secretariats, funders, and Indigenous caucuses to strengthen coordination. Key findings highlight that while Indigenous Peoples have gained recognition, significant barriers remain to influencing negotiations and outcomes. The report emphasizes the interconnectedness of biodiversity loss, climate change, and land degradation, and calls for greater alignment across the conventions to improve effectiveness and enable Indigenous leadership.