Indigenous lands or territories refer to the collectively-held and governed lands (and natural resources) of Indigenous Peoples. As with other community lands, some indigenous lands may be allocated with group consent for use by individuals and families. Other indigenous land is managed as common property. In some cases, indigenous land is held by individuals or families (e.g., New Zealand). Traditional indigenous territories are estimated to encompass up to 22 percent of the world’s land surface (Nakashima, et al. 2012).

"Acknowledged by government" refers to indigenous or community land that is recognized in law as owned or formally set aside for Indigenous Peoples or community occupation and use.

"Documented" means that the Indigenous Peoples or community have formal documentation of this land from the government (e.g., a title, registration, or other form of official documentation), including situations where:
1) formal documentation recognizing indigenous or community land rights has been extended and registered;
2) the government retains ownership of the land itself but has demarcated and formally set aside areas within which Indigenous Peoples or communities enjoy lawful occupation and use.

See Community Level Data and Methods page on the LandMark website for more information.

View this data on the Land Portal's Geoportal!

LandMark source: Various. See the attribute box associated with each spatial entity to identify its data source and contributor. For an overview of data sources and providers per country, see the Data Providers page.

Frequency: Data are updated periodically as acquired, reviewed, and standardized.

Caution: LandMark aims to display the best-quality data available from reputable organizations and recognized experts, but does not endorse or verify the accuracy of any dataset. The platform includes maps and data on indigenous and community lands that are publicly available as well as information voluntarily contributed by individuals and organizations with their permission as detailed in a data-sharing agreement. The contributing individuals and organizations, which are documented in the Data Providers page, are responsible for their data. Users are encouraged to report any errors, omissions, or inconsistencies to the LandMark Operations Team (info@landmarkmap.org) and the appropriate data provider. Amendments will be made on a periodic basis. For more information, see Data Quality standards.