Territories of life

As scholars and activists have long demonstrated, the commons represent spaces through which human relationships with the living world can flourish. Whilst for centuries the commons have been attacked, enclosed, and misrepresented, there is also now an increasing awareness of their critical role in preserving and defending the biocultural diversity of life on Earth. ICCAs, or ‘territories of life’, represent an institutional framework through which the commons – with their diverse ways of knowing and preserving in the natural world – can gain national and international recognition and legitimacy.

This round table event aims to bring together a range of actors to discuss the current status of ICCAs around the world. What are the threats they currently face? What might be gained through their strategic international coordination? And how might this coordination be strengthened in a world driven by capitalist accumulation and the perpetual threat of enclosure?