Indigenous Peoples and local communities as agents of transformative change for sustainability

Achieving just, equitable, and effective sustainability transformations requires diverse social engagement. This paper identifies five key roles played by Indigenous Peoples and local communities as agents of transformative change: embodying sustainable lifeways, resisting harm and defending rights, extending their practices to influence broader systems, and offering foundational models for care-oriented economies and governance. Through illustrative examples, we show how Indigenous Peoples and local communities actively contribute to global transformation. We emphasize the importance of engaging with a wide range of actors in supporting, expanding, and deepening these contributions to realize meaningful, systemic change toward a sustainable and just future.

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Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Communications Earth & Environment
Published
2026-01-27
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-03098-z
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
58.49

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article

Indigenous Peoples and local communities as agents of transformative change for sustainability

Nick Roskruge, Maiko Nishi, Andressa V. Mansur, Chinwe Ifejika Speranza et al.
1 citations
Communications Earth & Environment
Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights
58.49
article

Indigenous Peoples and local communities as agents of transformative change for sustainability

Nick Roskruge, Maiko Nishi, Andressa V. Mansur, Chinwe Ifejika Speranza, Sherry Pictou, Vera H. Hausner, Sebastian Villasante, Mariaelena Huambachano, Karen O’Brien, Victoria Reyes-García, Helen C. Wheeler, Valerie Nelson, Janita Gurung, Rafael A. Magris, Joji Carino, Ethan Gordon, Martha Bonilla-Moheno, Zuhre Aksoy, Yesenia Hernandez, Kristina Raab, Lelani Mannetti, Niki Frantzeskaki, Peter Bates, Camille Guibal, Julia Leventon, Juan Martin Dabezies, Máret J. Heatta, Hannah Gosnell, Rodion Sulyandziga
article en
1 citations

Abstract

Achieving just, equitable, and effective sustainability transformations requires diverse social engagement. This paper identifies five key roles played by Indigenous Peoples and local communities as agents of transformative change: embodying sustainable lifeways, resisting harm and defending rights, extending their practices to influence broader systems, and offering foundational models for care-oriented economies and governance. Through illustrative examples, we show how Indigenous Peoples and local communities actively contribute to global transformation. We emphasize the importance of engaging with a wide range of actors in supporting, expanding, and deepening these contributions to realize meaningful, systemic change toward a sustainable and just future.

Communications Earth & EnvironmentVol. 7(1)
Nihon University (JP), University of Bern (CH), Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ES), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ES), UNESCO (FR), Dalhousie University (CA), Oregon State University (US), Universidad de la República de Uruguay (UY), Georgia State University (US), University of Oslo (NO), Utrecht University (NL), Université de Montpellier (FR), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (ES), Sámi University of Applied Sciences (NO), Kautokeino Kommune (NO), World Water Watch (US), Fundación Biodiversidad (ES), Basque Centre for Climate Change (ES), Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate (NO), Ministry of the Environment (BR), Czech Academy of Sciences, Global Change Research Institute (CZ), New Zealand Association of Counsellors (NZ), Institute for Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North (RU), UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (TH), Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (BR), Instituto de Ecología (MX), Natural Resources Institute (GB), Boğaziçi University (TR), Anglia Ruskin University (GB), University of Greenwich (GB), University of Maryland, College Park (US), Syracuse University (US), UiT The Arctic University of Norway (NO)
Universiteit Utrecht, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
Responsible consumption and production, Life in Land
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights
58.49
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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