The Earth Shield

A Planetary Framework

Indigenous Peoples' Plan for Planetary Regeneration

Indigenous-led regeneration of Earth's vital territories — a planetary framework born from the Earth Elders Council and the Original Peoples of the 52 bio-cultural territories.

The Plan

A living plan, carried by those who have always carried the Earth.

The Indigenous Peoples' Plan for Planetary Regeneration (IPPPR) is a long-horizon framework convened by the Earth Elders Council to restore the ecological and cultural integrity of the planet's most vital territories. It is not a blueprint imposed from above — it is a weaving of mandates, protocols, and place-based commitments authored by Indigenous knowledge keepers themselves.

At its heart is a simple recognition: the lands, waters, and species most essential to planetary life are, almost without exception, the ancestral territories of Original Peoples. Their return to full stewardship is the most direct, scientifically grounded path to planetary regeneration.

What the Plan holds

Five threads, one shared horizon.

52 Bio-Cultural Territories

A planetary map of the regions whose ecological and cultural integrity is essential to the health of the whole — each engaged on its own terms.

Indigenous-led Stewardship

Decision-making, design, and governance held by the Original Peoples of each territory, in council with their elders and traditional authorities.

Bioculture & Bioeconomies

Restoration of the inseparable weave of land, language, knowledge, and species — and the regenerative livelihoods that sustain them.

Place-based Regeneration

Each of the 52 initiatives is engaged after listening deeply to the needs of community and land — a response to place, never a template.

Indigenous Knowledge Systems

Honoring traditional ecological knowledge as the foundational science of regeneration — the time-tested wisdom that has sustained Earth's most biodiverse territories across generations.

The Map

52 Bio-Cultural Territories

The Earth's living surface can be read as 52 bio-cultural territories — each a unique weave of ecosystem, climate, language, ceremony, and ancestral knowledge. The Earth Shield's work is to ensure each one of these territories holds a sovereign, Indigenous-led regeneration and protection strategy within this generation.

This is not a cookie-cutter approach.

Each of the 52 initiatives is shaped by listening deeply to the elders and communities of place. Every project emerges as a response to specific bio-cultural needs — to the land, the traditional guardians, their language, their unique ancient cultures, and the more-than-human life they steward. No two territories are alike, and no two strategies will be either.

The Earth's Bio-Cultural Territories

Map of the Earth's 52 Bio-Cultural Territories with numbered markers
The Earth's 52 Bio-Cultural Territories · adapted from One Earth's bioregional framework

The 52 Territories

  1. 01Greenland
  2. 02Canadian Tundra
  3. 03Alaska
  4. 04Canadian Boreal Forests
  5. 05North Pacific Coast
  6. 06American West
  7. 07Mexican Drylands
  8. 08Great Plains
  9. 09Northeast American Forests
  10. 10Southeast American Savannas & Forests
  11. 11Caribbean
  12. 12Central America
  13. 13Upper South America
  14. 14Amazonia
  15. 15Brazil Cerrado & Atlantic Forest
  16. 16South America Grasslands
  17. 17Andes & South Pacific Coast
  18. 18Oceania Islands
  19. 19Madagascar & East African Coast
  20. 20Southern Afrotropics
  21. 21Sub-Equatorial Afrotropics
  22. 22Equatorial Afrotropics
  23. 23Sub-Saharan Afrotropics
  24. 24Horn of Africa
  25. 25Greater Arabian Peninsula
  26. 26North Africa
  27. 27Mediterranean
  28. 28Black Sea Forests & Steppe
  29. 29European Mountain Forests
  30. 30Greater European Forests
  31. 31Anglo-Celtic Isles
  32. 32Palearctic Tundra
  33. 33Scandinavia & Western Boreal Forests
  34. 34Siberia & Eastern Boreal Forests
  35. 35Sea of Okhotsk & Bering Tundra/Taiga
  36. 36Japanese Islands
  37. 37Northeast Asian Forests
  38. 38Mongolian Grasslands
  39. 39Central East Asian Forests
  40. 40Tibetan Plateau
  41. 41East Asian Deserts
  42. 42Altai-Sayan Mountains
  43. 43Kazakh Steppes & Hemiboreal Forest
  44. 44Caspian Sea & Central Asian Deserts
  45. 45Tien Shan Mountains
  46. 46Persian Deserts & Forests
  47. 47Indian Subcontinent
  48. 48Southeast Asian Forests & Seas
  49. 49Western Indonesia & Malaysia
  50. 50Eastern Indonesia & Australasian Islands
  51. 51Australia
  52. 52New Zealand

The Earth Shield's Role

The Earth Shield is the financial vessel of the Plan.

The Earth Shield Fund channels capital, partnerships, and long-term commitment into the territories named within the IPPPR — beginning with the launch projects in the Amazon, Mexico, and a forthcoming African bio-cultural territory. Every flow of resource is guided by the protocols of the Council and the consent of the peoples whose lands are stewarded.

See the Launch Projects The Five Earth Mandates