The term “indigenous and local communities” has been the subject of considerable discussion and study and there is no universal, standard definition thereof.  The term is used in the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992).  Article 8(j) states that “[e]ach Contracting Party shall, as far as possible and as appropriate: … (j) Subject to its national legislation, respect, preserve and maintain knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and promote their wider application with the approval and involvement of the holders of such knowledge, innovations and practices and encourage the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of such knowledge, innovations and practices;  …”.  The same term is used in the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity (2010).

The term “local communities” is used in the documents “Like-Minded Countries Contribution to the Draft Articles on the Protection of Traditional Cultural Expressions” and in “Like-Minded Countries Contribution to the Draft Articles on the Protection of Traditional Knowledge Article 2(2) of both documents stipulates that:  “For the purposes of this article, the term “local communities” shall include any classification of social and cultural identity of a member state as defined by domestic law.”

Other legal instruments use different terms: “Local or traditional community” is used in the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) Swakopmund Protocol on the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Expressions of Folklore (2010).  Article 2.1 states that “‘community’, where the context so permits, includes a local or traditional community.”

Article 7.III of the Brazilian Provisional Act No. 2,186-16, dated August 23, 2001, defines “local community” as a “human group, including descendants of Quilombo communities, differentiated by its cultural conditions, which is, traditionally, organized along successive generations and with its own customs, and preserves its social and economic institutions.”