UBC researchers reviewed 111 studies and found Indigenous-managed lands match or outperform government protected areas on forests, biodiversity and carbon storage — yet remain under-resourced and under-recognized.

Evolutionary biologists and anthropologists found that natural selection favored Indigenous Andeans who had an unusually high number of salivary amylase genes (AMY1) starting around 6,000 to 10,000 years ago — the same period when potatoes were first grown in the Andean highlands, 

A new study by researchers at UCLA and the University at Buffalo shows that Indigenous Andean populations carry unusually high numbers of a gene involved in starch digestion, an adaptation shaped by natural selection during the transition to high-altitude living and major dietary shifts 6,000–10,000 years ago. Those with roughly 10 copies or more of salivary amylase genes, or AMY1, had a 1.24% survival or reproductive advantage per generation, the researchers found. The findings highlight how culture, diet and environment interact to shape human genomes, with implications for understanding metabolism, the microbiome and gene–diet interactions relevant to human health.