Ten Indigenous communities from the Torna Lickana Network have succeeded in registering their territory as a “Territory of Life” on a global platform, recognizing their essential role in nature conservation through the stewardship and protection of high-Andean wetlands.
On June 27, Argentina’s first territory was officially added to the TICCA Registry: the Territory of Life inhabited by the Torna Lickana Network communities, located in the Salinas Grandes and Laguna de Guayatayoc basin in Salta province.
TICCAs are Territories and Areas Conserved by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, also known as Territories of Life. These are places where Indigenous peoples or local communities maintain a deep and longstanding relationship with their environment, rooted in history, cultural identity, spirituality, and ways of life that sustain both material and non-material well-being. Through their own governance and environmental management systems, these communities make significant contributions to nature conservation.
Such territories are characterized by autonomous community management, with local custodians establishing rules for land use and care based on traditional knowledge and governance practices. TICCAs stand out for their meaningful contribution to conservation through the protection and sustainable use of ecosystems, habitats, species, and landscapes.
Within the Torna Lickana Network’s Territory of Life, made up of ten Indigenous communities, lie high-Andean wetlands, including salt flats, lagoons, wet meadows, and peatlands. These ecosystems provide multiple benefits to Indigenous communities: they are sacred spaces, sources of livelihood, and foundations of cultural continuity. Communities maintain deep, respectful, and identity-defining relationships with these landscapes dating back generations. The wetlands host unique biodiversity, play a critical role in water regulation, and are key to climate change adaptation. Their conservation is essential not only to safeguard the rights of the communities that inhabit and protect them, but also to maintain ecological balance and support all forms of life that depend on these environments.
According to a global assessment published by the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and the ICCA Consortium in the Territories of Life report, territories conserved by Indigenous peoples and local communities are estimated to cover more than 20% of the Earth’s land surface and make major contributions to global conservation networks. However, significant data gaps remain. The TICCA Registry seeks to document these territories and currently includes 313 reported cases worldwide, until now, none from Argentina. The inclusion of the Torna Lickana Network territory marks a milestone in recognizing Indigenous territorial rights in Argentina and in highlighting Indigenous communities’ vital contributions to biodiversity conservation and environmental stewardship. It also serves as a model for strengthening community-based governance systems grounded in respect, reciprocity, and deep territorial connection sustained across generations.
Location and member communities
The Torna Lickana Network, meaning “Our Land,” is a collective of Indigenous communities belonging to the Atacama People. The TICCA includes ten communities: Casa Colorada, Cerro Negro, Cobres, Corralito, Esquina de Guardia, Incahuasi, Matancillas, Raíces Andinas, Rangel, and Tipan.
This Territory of Life is located in northern Argentina in Salta province, within the Altiplano region known as the Puna. It spans the departments of La Poma and Los Andes and forms part of the Salinas Grandes–Laguna de Guayatayoc basin, which extends across Salta and Jujuy provinces at elevations above 3,500 meters above sea level.
Source: https://www.iccaregistry.org/?locale=es
How does the registration process work?
The TICCA Registry is managed by UNEP-WCMC and governed by a steering committee that includes representatives from the UN Development Programme, the ICCA Consortium, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Forest Peoples Programme, the Kenono Foundation (Nagaland, India), the Snowchange Cooperative (Finland), and Amazon Frontlines.
The Torna Lickana Network’s inclusion in the Registry was the result of sustained community work and collective coordination. Beyond international visibility, the process held strong internal value. Since 2022, member communities have held meetings and workshops to advance the initiative, collectively reflecting on the meaning of their territory, biodiversity, memory, history, and identity, as well as past and present threats to the continuity of life in the TICCA area.
The Registry documentation was prepared by the Torna Lickana Network with technical support from the Environment and Natural Resources Foundation (FARN), backing from the High-Andean Wetlands Conservation Program of Fundación Humedales / Wetlands International, and support from Bread for the World (Brot für die Welt). Through this process, communities reaffirm their role as territorial custodians and share their knowledge, practices, and governance systems from their own perspective and worldview.
Potential benefits for these and other communities
Registration in the TICCA database is a valuable tool for making visible the Torna Lickana Network’s relationship with its territory, identity, and governance systems. It formally records – at the international level – their ancestral presence and stewardship while linking them to a global network of Indigenous peoples and local communities who conserve nature through deeply rooted cultural, spiritual, and social practices.
This recognition helps build alliances, exchange experiences, and strengthen the visibility of their role in maintaining the balance of Pachamama (Mother Earth), including wetlands, territories, and biodiversity. In a context of growing pressure on these lands, including expanding lithium extraction in the region, symbolic and political recognition reinforces community legitimacy in relation to outside actors and increases recognition of their knowledge systems and territorial relationships.
Registering their land as a TICCA, a Territory of Life, is therefore not merely symbolic, but a concrete strategy to project territorial presence, strengthen self-determination, and continue defending community ways of life grounded in their own worldview.
Community and Specialist Reactions Accompanying the Registration Process
Indigenous communities of the Torna Lickana Network, Salta.
“We, the communities of the Torna Lickana Network, decided to move forward with the registration process of this TICCA with the objective of maintaining our cultural and spiritual values, preserving our history, encouraging young people to remain in the area, and strengthening the defense of our rights over the territory and community life.”
Laura Castillo, coordinator of the High-Andean Program at the Environment and Natural Resources Foundation (FARN)
“The registration of the Territory of Life of the Torna Lickana Network makes visible the central role of communities in the protection of Andean wetlands, which are threatened by the demand for minerals for the global energy transition. The recognition reflects their deep connection with the territory and the essential role of their knowledge in the protection of nature, in line with what is established in multiple international biodiversity frameworks. The recent Advisory Opinion 32/25 of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights also highlighted the importance of Indigenous knowledge, understandings, and worldviews for addressing the climate and ecosystem crisis in a fair and effective way, with full respect for human rights and planetary limits.”
Román Baigún, coordinator of the Conserving High-Andean Wetlands for People and Nature Program, Wetlands International
“We believe that recognition of the Torna Lickana Network as a ‘Territory of Life’ contributes to the conservation of high-Andean wetlands. Protected areas alone are not enough to protect these fragile ecosystems — it is the communities, with their deep connection to nature, who make conservation more effective.”
Christof Wünsch, head of the South America Department, Brot für die Welt
“We are very pleased that the Indigenous communities of the Torna Lickana Network are now registered as a TICCA. We hope that in this way their rights and their contribution to protecting the region’s fragile environment and cultural diversity will be recognized and respected.”