By William Nikolakis, Victoria Gay, Garry Merkel, Terry Sunderland and Joe Morrison

This Plain Language Summary is published in advance of the paper discussed. Please check back soon for a link to the full paper.

Since 2017, research on the role of Indigenous Peoples’ lands in conservation has grown rapidly. This study reviews 111 peer-reviewed articles to assess how conservation outcomes on Indigenous lands compare with other land types and to identify priorities for future research and policy.

Most of the studies compared Indigenous lands with government-protected areas (67%) or with other land tenures such as public and private lands (47%). Some studies also compared Indigenous lands with neighbouring areas (14%) or examined changes in conservation outcomes across different Indigenous land tenure arrangements over time (9%). Conservation outcomes were most commonly measured using forest or vegetation cover, biodiversity and species distributions, carbon storage, and fire occurrence or intensity. Many studies used more than one measure. Research was geographically concentrated in the Amazon, which accounted for 60% of all studies.

Overall, 75% of the reviewed studies found that Indigenous lands were associated with positive conservation outcomes. Studies using land-cover data often showed higher forest cover, better forest integrity, and lower rates of deforestation on Indigenous lands. Most studies examining biodiversity reported positive relationships between Indigenous lands and species diversity or distribution. Similarly, most studies assessing carbon storage found higher carbon densities on Indigenous lands compared with other land types.

Despite these findings, many Indigenous lands remain poorly recognized or inadequately protected by states, making them vulnerable to encroachment and environmental degradation. This threatens Indigenous Peoples’ rights, livelihoods, and governance systems, as well as the conservation outcomes their lands support.

Nearly two-thirds of the reviewed studies proposed policy recommendations to strengthen conservation on Indigenous lands. The most common recommendations were securing Indigenous land tenure, supporting Indigenous governance of lands and resources, and providing sustained funding and resources for Indigenous stewardship. These approaches were frequently described as interdependent and most effective when implemented together.

Finally, only 7% of the studies included Indigenous authors or co-authors. Increasing Indigenous leadership and authorship in research is essential for recognising Indigenous knowledge systems, improving the quality and relevance of research, and supporting Indigenous self-determination.