A new manual has been developed to support local communities and indigenous peoples in registering their ICCAs in these databases. It is aimed at indigenous peoples, local communities, and those who work with them. ICCAs have historically been under-represented in global databases and statistics, and their contributions to conservation are underestimated as a result.

In many cases, this is because they are not recognised or reported on at the national level. With the publication of the manual, supported by the broader ICCA Global Support Initiative, UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre hopes to encourage more communities and indigenous peoples to directly provide information on their ICCAs.

The manual is designed to give communities and indigenous peoples the information they need in order to collectively decide whether to participate. For those who wish to provide information, the second half of the manual describes how to do so and what to expect afterwards. This includes details of the peer-review process that is used to assess incoming data. With the assistance of the ICCA Consortium, networks of ICCA custodians are encouraged to develop their own national-level processes, and the manual provides case studies from three countries that have done so.