Vivian Delgado is Joma and Tiwa. Her mother’s people are from Taos territory, which spans Northern New Mexico into Colorado, where Vivian currently lives. She has an academic background in Indigenous studies and is doing extensive work with treaties and treaty-making. Vivian also serves as a consultant for the Texas Tribal Buffalo Project, where she works on regenerating American bison populations.
In today’s episode, Vivian joins us to talk about Motion 107 – “Scaling Up Indigenous Leadership in the Protection of Biodiversity and the Sacred” and Motion 96 – “Setting Area-Based Targets on Scientific Evidence and Reversing Historic Injustices.” These motions, submitted by WILD.org and co-sponsors, continue the work that was initiated at the 12th World Wilderness Congress. All were passed by over 700 delegates from around the world, and now, the proposed motions are heading to a vote in October at the 2025 International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) World Conservation Congress Members’ Assembly.
Indigenous knowledge and traditions have been diminished by laws and protections that primarily benefited non-Indigenous peoples. Indigenous leadership often comes late to the table, and navigating federal land bureaucracy can be complex. Efforts intended to protect land and species have frequently been reversed, leaving corruption and mismanagement in their wake. This has contributed to the biodiversity and climate crises we face today.
We need to slow down, halt the destruction of global natural environments, and recognize that Indigenous knowledge—passed down through generations—is central to addressing these challenges.
In this episode, Vivian shares why sacred sites and spiritual relationships with nature are essential to conservation, why centering Indigenous leadership is critical for protecting sacred species and spaces, why IUCN Members must align area-based conservation targets with the scientific call to protect at least 50% of the planet, and much more.
Motion Guides:
Motion 096: https://wild.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Motion-096-Marketing-Brief-3.pdf
Motion 107: https://wild.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Motion-107-Marketing-Brief.pdf
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