Cultural Values on Indigenous Lands Help Forests Thrive at Nearly Twice the Rate of Protected Areas: Study

In Panama, forest cover on Indigenous lands has remained stable at almost double the rate of protected areas — including government parks — due in great part to deeply-ingrained cultural values, a new study led by researchers from McGill University has found.

The findings challenge a longstanding assumption about conservation: that in order to protect biodiversity, people must be kept out.

“Local land use emerges from peoples’ worldviews and values regarding nature,” the authors of the findings wrote. “[D]eforestation and disturbance in Indigenous lands exhibit a low density, spatial concentration on forest edges, and temporal stability, explaining forest cover stability. According to participatory mapping, obtaining food from agriculture mainly occurs where deforestation and disturbance are more concentrated. In contrast, other instrumental (i.e., gathering food and household materials) and relational values (e.g., sacred sites) are more dispersed in forests.”

In their exploration of cultural drivers and ecological patterns, the research team combined an analysis of 20 years of satellite data with collaborative mapping sessions with eight members of Emberá communities from eastern Panama.

“We’d print satellite images and ask men and women to point out the areas they use and value,” said lead author of the study Camilo Alejo, who earned a Ph.D. in Biology from McGill, in a press release from the university. “That included places where they farm, hunt or gather, and also where they hold ceremonies or avoid for spiritual reasons.”

The participatory mapping showed that when forest areas were considered culturally and spiritually significant, they tended to remain intact.

“Many Indigenous communities integrate farming, spirituality and conservation in how they use the land,” Alejo explained. “Our findings show that this diverse set of values aligns with areas where forests have remained stable, suggesting a strong connection between cultural practices and long-term forest stewardship.”

Sacred sites, areas with medicinal plants and traditional gathering and hunting grounds were spread throughout the forest, supporting sustainable use.

“Our maps suggest that forests remain intact not just because they’re remote, but because of how people value them,” Alejo emphasized. “These aren’t just undisturbed forests; they’re consistently cared for.”

The study called attention to a crucial policy issue: Some Indigenous communities — particularly those in remote areas such as the Darién Gap — do not have formal titles to their land, though their stewardship has clearly preserved forests.

“Paradoxically, in many legal frameworks, you have to exploit land to claim title,” Alejo said. “That incentivizes deforestation, which undermines exactly the kinds of practices that are keeping these ecosystems intact.”

The authors are calling for land title policy reforms across Latin America so that Indigenous stewardship will be recognized as a legitimate, proven form of land use.

They hope the findings will lead to new frameworks that combine conservation, cultural heritage and food security.

“This study shows how much we can learn from Indigenous cosmovisions: holistic worldviews that connect nature, culture and wellbeing,” Alejo said. “There’s real potential to rethink how we manage land, not just in Panama, but globally.”

The study, “Diverse values regarding nature are related to stable forests: the case of Indigenous lands in Panama,” was published in the journal Ecology and Society.

“By weaving scales and perspectives, our results illustrate that diverse values regarding nature framed by Indigenous worldviews can beget stability to forest cover, contributing to Indigenous peoples’ quality of life, climate change mitigation, and biodiversity conservation,” the authors of the findings wrote. “To align these contributions with global climate and biodiversity targets, it is crucial to disarticulate land ownership from deforestation, grant formal titles to Indigenous lands, and foster equitable incentives to Indigenous peoples.”