NELs consultation with Indigenous Peoples and local communities during the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP) Pacific Regional Gathering

Background and Rationale

The informal session with participants of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP) Regional Gathering for the Pacific is part of a series of events that UNDRR has been hosting and supporting on NELs. A joint symposium by UNDRR, partnering with UNDP, UNEP and UNEP-CCC, was hosted in Bonn from 4-5 May 2026. The Symposium itself was a follow-up to UNDRR’s Bonn Technical Forum held in October 2024. UNDRR plans to follow up on the informal session at the LCIPP with a second regional symposium that is planned to be held in conjunction with the Pacific Climate Week, from 28 September to 2 October 2026.

Framing Non-economic losses (NELs)

NELs are diverse and dependent on the values that society places on those impacts that cannot be quantified in monetary terms. The UNFCCC process, based on work under the Warsaw International Mechanism for loss and damage, categorizes NELs as:

• Individual, including life, health, etc.
• Societal, including human mobility, territory, cultural heritage, Indigenous knowledge, and cultural
• Environmental, such as ecosystem and biodiversity

These not exhaustive but provide a useful framing for exploring NELs during the consultations.

Objectives of LCIPP Session

The objectives of the informal session on NELs at the LCIPP Regional Gathering are to:

1. Foster knowledge exchange on evidence, tools, and approaches for understanding NELs, particularly for Indigenous Peoples and local communities, contributing to the growing body of evidence and outputs on loss and damage.
2. Explore how Indigenous Peoples and local communities are addressing NELs and the needs that exists.
3. Identify ways to strengthen and sustain enabling conditions for integrating NELs from Indigenous Peoples and local communities into national strategies and international processes, with a view to laying the groundwork for improved access to finance and capacity-building over time.

Format

The session will be convened on 20 August 2026 (day 3 of the regional gathering), from 18:30-21:00. Dinner will be provided. It will be a moderated event with interactive sessions to ensure those present are able to engage meaningfully. The guiding questions below will be instrumental in these discussions and assist participants in preparing to engage.

Guiding Questions

The following are proposed guiding questions for participants to prepare:

Understanding and Communicating non-economic losses (NELs)

• What are the NELs that matter most to Indigenous Peoples and local communities?
• What extreme and/or slow-onset events are the main drivers of these NELs?
• How do you communicate these NELs to local or national authorities to ensure they are given due consideration in national and local plans, programmes, strategies and projects?
• What are some of the challenges you face in understanding, capturing or communicating NELs as Indigenous Peoples and local communities?

Responding to NELs

• What are some of the ways that Indigenous Peoples and local communities are responding to NELs? E.g., relating to cultural practices, biodiversity conservation, early warning systems, finance, etc.
• Where do you see the greatest needs in responding to NELs?
• How are the NELs that you experience captured in plans to respond or address these issues? E.g., national adaptation plans, nationally determined contributions, disaster risk reduction strategies, etc.
• Where have or can Indigenous Peoples and local communities access support to address these needs?

Tentative agenda

Event Update - Webstory