Rome - Indigenous Peoples stand at the frontline of climate change and biodiversity loss. These two phenomena increase the pressure on their food and knowledge systems.

Over the course of their history, Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems successfully adapted to a broad range of environmental and climatic conditions: from mountains to oceans, to deserts and jungles. Their understanding of natural cycles and of the interactions within ecosystems, together with the high level of diversity they embed, makes them very resilient.

Nevertheless, the pace and the scale of today’s changes in posing some serious challenges even to these systems. Variations in climatic patterns and the extent of the current loss of biodiversity threaten to undermine the bases of Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems.

Indigenous Youth, the present and the future of Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems are very aware of these challenges, as well as of the actions needed to cope with them. Gathering at the UN Global Indigenous Youth Forum (UNGIYF), they participated in two sessions dedicated to Climate and Biodiversity action, proposing strategies towards COP 28 and for the implementation of the CBD Global Biodiversity Framework (towards COP 16).

Indigenous Youth and Biodiversity Conservation

This session, held on the 18th of October, focused on the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity and on the way forward towards COP 16. Indigenous Youth participating in the panel remarked on the important role played by Indigenous Peoples in biodiversity conservation efforts. Their traditional knowledge is the key for preserving biodiversity, and it did so for centuries: nowadays 80% of all remaining biodiversity on a global scale is found within Indigenous territories. This is why these Indigenous Youth advocate for a greater presence of traditional knowledge, together with scientific one, in the international mechanisms aimed at preserving biodiversity. Furthermore, Indigenous Youth raised the issue of the involvement and participation of Indigenous Peoples in conservation and restoration projects. The guardians of biodiversity should have more space and a stronger voice in the decision-making processes, and their Free, Prior and Informed Consent is needed when implementing any project that may affect them.

Indigenous Youth and Climate Action

On the 19th of October, Indigenous Youth convened with Member States, foundations and experts to talk about climate action and the strategies for the upcoming COP 28.

Gathered in the Nomad Indigenous FoodLab, the Youth highlighted the disproportionate effect of climate change on their community, from the Amazon, where climate patterns are becoming unpredictable, to the Arctic, where the snow melts and freezes making it difficult for reindeer to feed, to the Pacific, where the rising sea levels are threatening harvests and livelihoods. Indigenous Peoples are amongst the most affected by the changing climate, even if their contribution to this crisis is minimal.

Given the current situation, Indigenous Youth demand more inclusion and representation in the decision-making spaces related to the issue of climate, such as the upcoming COP 28. Some speakers underlined that too often Indigenous Peoples are included in the negotiations only as observers, and not as the effective partners they are. They call for greater collaboration and holistic approaches that consider traditional knowledge and governance systems in the design and implementation of mitigation and adaptation strategies.

Funding is another aspect of enhancing climate action, but Indigenous Youth, the ones who live on the frontline of the changes and who can take effective measures, receive only a small fraction of it. As a delegate reminded, only 0,76% of climate grants go to Youth-led climate justice initiatives, meaning that even less go to Indigenous Youth. There is an overall lack of support for Indigenous Peoples and changes in the opposite direction are needed.

Indigenous Youth are key actors and partners when it comes to climate action and biodiversity conservation. UN Agencies, Member States, academia and other institutions should align further with them, creating spaces of inclusion and collaboration to tackle these epochal challenges.