Indigenous peoples are the best guardians of the earth's biodiversity. At Cultural Sanctuaries, we work at the crossroads of culture and conservation and support indigenous communities in protecting and celebrating their culture, language, land and ocean.

The need to save the planet’s biodiversity is urgent and the fate of our remaining wilderness will be decided in the next decade. At the same time, indigenous cultures are eroding and languages are dying.

Culture and conservation are inextricably linked.

• 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity is on the land lived on by indigenous communities
• Science proves that indigenous people are the best guardians of their land
• It has protected them and they have protected it for thousands of years BUT….
• Indigenous communities can not be its guardians if they are forced by economic duress, land degradation and climate change to move from their land to find work in cities or to sell their land and timber.

If we protect indigenous cultures, we protect the planet. We must protect the protectors.