Rome – On the 14th and 15th of March 2024, FAO participated in the workshop on Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge and the Sciences, organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

The two-day workshops focused on the importance of combining traditional knowledge and sciences to strengthen the resilience needed in the face of some of the most urgent global challenges: climate change, biodiversity loss, food insecurity, and health issues. 

The need to recognize and support Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge systems had also been highlighted by Pope Francis, whom in 2023 stated that “we should listen to Indigenous Peoples more and learn from their way of life, so as to understand properly that we cannot continue to greedily devour natural resources”. He also recognised “their wisdom in finding global solutions to immense challenges”.

The workshop started with significant news from its very beginning. Speaking from the stage, Her Excellency Sonia Guajajara, Brazil’s Minister of Indigenous Peoples, announced that her country is joining the Coalition on Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems, whose secretariat is held at FAO. 

Brazil became the 14th Member of the Coalition: a group of countries that aim to engage with Indigenous Peoples as effective partners for a just transformation of food systems. Founded in 2021, in recent months the Coalition gained momentum, welcoming 5 new Members (Ecuador, Panama, Lesotho, Ireland and Brazil).

Discover more about the Coalition 

During the two-day workshop held at the Vatican, FAO intervened reiterating the importance of Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems when addressing global challenges.

On the first day, Yon Fernandez-de-Larrinoa, Head of FAO Indigenous Peoples Unit, explained the role of Indigenous Peoples in contrasting food, climate, and biodiversity crises. Indigenous Peoples are the greatest guardians of biodiversity as they preserve the major part of the world’s remaining biological diversity. Furthermore, they play an invaluable role in terms of CO2 capture and ecosystemic services, as well as in preserving forests, seas, deserts, mountains, and wildlife. While doing this, they also generate abundant and nutritious food in a sustainable way, contributing to contrast the world’s increasing food insecurity. 

On the second day of the workshop, Maximo Torero, FAO Chief Economist, made an intervention about Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems, and science. He recognised once again that Indigenous Peoples are key allies for achieving the SDGs, preserving biodiversity and ensuring the urgent transformation to sustainable food systems . Indigenous Peoples’ food systems are game-changers and FAO committed to strengthen the co-creation of knowledge with them as part of its Science and Innovation strategy. The Global-Hub on Indigenous Peoples’ food systems plays a pivotal role in this respect.

Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems are essential for the transformations the world needs. The greatest challenges of our times can be overcome only by building on the Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems built by Indigenous Peoples over hundreds and thousands of years: humanity’s lifebelt for the future.