In Nicaragua, IPLC territories represent about 25% of the country area and can be categorized in two main groups.

First, the indigenous peoples that live in areas of Territorios Indígenas. In the Pacific Coast and central area of Nicaragua, live the Chortega, the Cacaopera or Matagalpa, the Ocanxiu or Sutiaba and the Nahora or Nahuatl peoples. In the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua, live the Miskitu, the Sumu Mayangna and the Rama peoples. According to the Law n. 445 (2003), indigenous peoples are “the group of families of Amerindian descent established in a territorial space, who share feelings of identification, linked to the aboriginal past of their indigenous people and who maintain an identity and values ​​of their own traditional culture, as well as forms of communal ownership and use of land and their own social organization”. The indigenous peoples in the Atlantic Coast count on a special type of land tenure regime through the North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN) and the South Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS) (see IWGIA, 2025), which allows them higher levels of territorial protection than the indigenous peoples in the Pacific Coast. Indigenous areas in Nicaragua are mainly regulated by Nicaragua’s Constitution (1987), Law n. 28 on the Autonomy Of The Regions Of The Atlantic Coast Of Nicaragua (1987) and Law n. 445 on the Communal Property Regime Of The Indigenous Peoples And Ethnic Communities Of The Autonomous Regions Of The Atlantic Coast Of Nicaragua And The Bocay, Coco, Indio And Maiz Rivers (2003), and as detailed below.

Second, the afro-descedants communities that live in areas of Comunidades Étnicas. These include the Creole or Kriol people and the Garifunas people. According to the Law n. 445 (2003) these communities are “the group of families of Afro-Caribbean descent who share the same ethnic consciousness, due to their culture, values ​​and traditions linked to their cultural roots and forms of ownership of land and natural resources”. These areas are mainly regulated by Nicaragua’s Constitution (1987), Law n. 28 on the Autonomy Of The Regions Of The Atlantic Coast Of Nicaragua (1987) and Law n. 445 on the Communal Property Regime Of The Indigenous Peoples And Ethnic Communities Of The Autonomous Regions Of The Atlantic Coast Of Nicaragua And The Bocay, Coco, Indio And Maiz Rivers (2003) and as detailed below.

The georeferenced data available about these areas is sourced from the Landmark platform and can be found at https://landmarkmap.org/map. The information is based on the “Municipio de la Región Autónoma de la Costa Caribe Norte en Nicaragua” and “WRI/WAIPT (digitzed from CONADETI Titulo de Propiedad Comunal)”. In this dataset, there are 26 features (polygons), all of them documented and formally acknowledged by the government.

When sourcing from the IPLC areas of Nicaragua, companies should conduct their due diligence to ensure they are commercializing with the communities that are lawfully entitled to live in these territories; otherwise, companies incur the risk of dealing with unauthorized actors that might be violating land rights in these IPLC areas.

Nicaragua’s Constitution (1987)

Article 05. (...) The State recognizes the existence of the indigenous peoples and those of African descent who enjoy the rights, duties and guarantees designated in the Constitution, and especially those which allow them to maintain and develop their identity and culture, to have their own forms of social organization and administer their local affairs, as well as to preserve the communal forms of land property and their exploitation, use, and enjoyment, all in accordance with the law. For the communities of the Caribbean [Atlantic] Coast, an autonomous regime is established in the present Constitution.

Article 89. The communities of the Atlantic Coast are indivisible parts of the Nicaraguan people, and as such they enjoy the same rights and have the same obligations. The communities of the Atlantic Coast have the right to preserve and develop their cultural identities within the national unity, to provide themselves with their own forms of social organization, and to administer their local affairs according to their traditions. The State recognizes communal forms of land ownership of the communities of the Atlantic Coast. Equally it recognizes their enjoyment, use and benefit of the waters and forests of their communal lands.

Article 90. The communities of the Atlantic Coast have the right to the free expression and preservation of their languages, art and culture. The development of their culture and their values enrich the national culture. The State shall create special programs to enhance the exercise of these rights.

Article 107. The land reform shall eliminate large uncultivated farmlands and shall be implemented primarily with lands of the State. Should the expropriation of large uncultivated farmlands affect private owners, it shall be implemented in conformity with the provision of Article 44 of this Constitution. The land reform shall eliminate any form of exploitation of the peasants and the country’s indigenous communities and shall promote forms of ownership compatible with the economic and social objectives of the country established in this Constitution. The land ownership system of indigenous communities shall be regulated according to the law on this matter.

Article 180. The communities of the Caribbean [Atlantic] Coast have the inalienable right to live and develop themselves under the forms of political-administrative, social and cultural organization that correspond to their historic and cultural traditions. The members of Autonomous Regional Councils shall be elected by the people by universal, equal, direct, free and secret vote for a term of five years, in conformity with the law. The State guarantees these communities the benefits of their natural resources, the effectiveness of their forms of communal property and the free election of their authorities and representatives. Furthermore, it guarantees the preservation of their cultures and languages, religions and customs.

Article 181. The State shall organize by means of a law the regime of autonomy for the indigenous peoples and ethnic communities of the Atlantic Coast, which shall have to contain, among other rules: the functions of their government organs, their relation with the Executive and Legislative Power and with the municipalities, and the exercise of their rights. This law shall require for its approval and reform the majority established for the amendment of constitutional laws. The concessions and contracts of rational exploitation of the natural resources granted by the State in the Autonomous Regions of the Atlantic Coast must have the approval of the corresponding Regional Autonomous Council. The members of the Regional Autonomous Councils of the Atlantic Coast can lose their condition for the reasons and procedures established by law.

Law n. 28 on the Autonomy Of The Regions Of The Atlantic Coast Of Nicaragua (1987)

Article 8. The Autonomous Regions established by this Statute are Legal Entities of Public Law that follow, as appropriate, national policies, plans and orientations. Through their administrative bodies, they have the following general powers:

1. To participate effectively in the elaboration and execution of the national development plans and programs in their region, in order to harmonize them with the interests of the Communities of the Atlantic Coast.

2. To administer the health, education, culture, supply, transportation, communal services, etc. programs in coordination with the corresponding Ministries of State.

3. To promote their own economic, social and cultural projects.

4. To promote the rational use, enjoyment and use of the waters, forests, communal lands and the defense of their ecological system.

5. Promote the study, promotion, development, preservation and dissemination of the traditional cultures of the Atlantic Coast Communities, as well as their historical, artistic, linguistic and cultural heritage.

6. Promote national culture in the Atlantic Coast Communities.

7. Promote traditional exchange with the nations and peoples of the Caribbean, in accordance with the national laws and procedures that govern the matter.

8. Promote the articulation of the intraregional and interregional market, thus contributing to the consolidation of the national market.

9. Establish regional taxes in accordance with the laws that govern the matter.

Article 9. In the rational exploitation of the mining, forestry, fishing and other natural resources of the Autonomous Regions, property rights over communal lands shall be recognized, and shall benefit their inhabitants in fair proportion through agreements between the Regional Government and the Central Government.

Article 15. In each of the Autonomous Regions of the Atlantic Coast, subject to the Political Constitution of Nicaragua and this Statute, the following administrative bodies will operate:

1. Regional Council.

2. Regional Coordination.

3. Municipal and communal authorities.

4. Others corresponding to the administrative subdivision of the municipalities.

Article 16. The Council and the Regional Coordinator will be, in their respective spheres, the highest authorities of the corresponding Autonomous Region.

Article 18. The Administration of Justice in the Autonomous Regions will be governed by special regulations that will reflect the cultural particularities of the Communities of the Atlantic Coast, in accordance with the Political Constitution of Nicaragua.

Law n. 445 on the Communal Property Regime Of The Indigenous Peoples And Ethnic Communities Of The Autonomous Regions Of The Atlantic Coast Of Nicaragua And The Bocay, Coco, Indio And Maiz Rivers (2003)

Article 2. The specific objectives of this Law are the following:

1. To guarantee indigenous peoples and ethnic communities full recognition of their rights to communal ownership, use, administration and management of traditional lands and their natural resources, through the demarcation and titling of the same.

2. To regulate the rights to communal ownership, use and management of natural resources in the traditional communal lands of indigenous peoples and ethnic communities.

3. To determine the legal procedures necessary for such recognition, taking into account the full participation of indigenous peoples and ethnic communities, through their traditional authorities.

4. To establish the fundamental principles of the administrative regime of indigenous peoples and ethnic communities, in the management of their communal territories.

5. Establish the rules and procedures for the demarcation and titling process on the right to communal property that is the subject of this Law.

6. Define the institutional order that will govern the titling process of the communal lands of each of the different indigenous peoples and ethnic communities that are the subject of this Law.

Article 3. (...) Communal lands cannot be taxed and are unseizable, inalienable and imprescriptible.

Article 4. The Communal Assembly constitutes the highest authority of the indigenous and ethnic communities. The communal authorities are responsible for the legal representation of the communities. Each community will define which communal authority legally represents it.

The Territorial Assembly is the highest authority of the territory and is convened according to the procedures established by the set of communities that make up the territorial unit.

Article 5. The communal authorities are organs of administration and traditional government that represent the communities that elect them according to their customs and traditions. The territorial authorities are organs of administration of the territorial unit that they legally represent.

Article 10. Traditional communal authorities may grant authorizations for the use of natural resources on communal lands in favor of third parties, provided that they are expressly mandated to do so by the Communal Assembly. Such authorization shall not be required to carry out subsistence activities.

In the case of the exploitation of natural resources for common use by the member communities of the territory, the authorizations will be granted for this purpose, under the mandate of the Territorial Assembly. The corresponding Autonomous Regional Council will technically support the communities in the process of approval and rational exploitation of their regional resources.

If the farm plot is located within a territory of Indigenous Peoples and Afro-descendant Communities (Pueblos Indígenas y Comunidades Étnicas, in the original language), this means that you are sourcing from an IPLC territory in Nicaragua. These territories are protected by an autonomous jurisdiction and are mainly regulated by Nicaragua’s Constitution (1987), Law n. 28 on the Autonomy Of The Regions Of The Atlantic Coast Of Nicaragua (1987) and Law n. 445 on the Communal Property Regime Of The Indigenous Peoples And Ethnic Communities Of The Autonomous Regions Of The Atlantic Coast Of Nicaragua And The Bocay, Coco, Indio And Maiz Rivers (2003). To adequately carry out your due diligence, make sure your company has commercial relations with the Indigenous Peoples or Afro-descendant Communities that lawfully occupy this area. Ensure that your company is carrying out trading relations approved by the autonomous organizations of that particular territory, namely the Communal Assembly and/or Territorial Assembly. Avoid commercializing with unauthorized intermediaries or third parties that might be violating the land rights of local peoples.