From the Global Programme on Indigenous Peoples’ Biocentric Restoration to global biodiversity commitments, FAO’s Indigenous Peoples Unit advances the recognition of collective rights, traditional knowledge and Indigenous Peoples’ leadership across Food Day, Mountain Ecosystems Day and Restoration Day.

Dialogue with Indigenous Peoples, governments and the Global Environment Facility highlights the need for more access to financing, respect for collective rights and recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ contributions to biodiversity conservation, sustainable use and ecosystem restoration.

The fourth expert meeting at FAO headquarters presents new evidence on Indigenous Peoples and rural poverty, and identifies priorities for the coming year

The White/Te Oranga Paper on Indigenous Peoples— Overcoming non-inclusive rural transformation, was launched at FAO headquarters on 15 October 2026 during the World Food Forum and fourth in-person meeting of the Global-Hub on Indigenous Peoples Food and Knowledge Systems.

As the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) continues its policy discussions, the FAO Indigenous Peoples Unit (PSUI) and the Global-Hub on Indigenous Peoples’ Food and Knowledge Systems brought together Member States, Indigenous experts and researchers for a side event titled “Preserving, Strengthening and Promoting Indigenous Peoples’ Food and Knowledge Systems: A Policy Discussion.” One message stood out throughout the discussion: Indigenous Peoples must be recognized as rights holders, knowledge holders and partners in decisions that affect their food systems.

Indigenous Peoples are among the world’s foremost custodians of biodiversity. For centuries, they have stewarded vast and diverse territories, caring for the many forms of life that inhabit them. In recent years, this fundamental role of Indigenous Peoples in biodiversity conservation has gained widespread recognition at all levels. 

At a joint FAO side event at UNCCD COP17 in Ulaanbaatar, Indigenous Peoples, including Indigenous Peoples nomadic and transhumant pastoralists, showed how mobility, water, customary governance and collective territorial rights turn Land Degradation Neutrality and drought resilience into lived territorial practices. Organized by FAO’s Indigenous Peoples Unit and Pastoralist Knowledge Hub, with the collaboration of their co-organizers and partners, the event connected territorial experience with the policy discussions of COP17.

On 26 August, the FAO Indigenous Peoples Unit contributed to the UNCCD COP17 High-Level Special Event, From Sacred Lands to Shepherding the Future, held during Land and People Day in Ulaanbaatar. Bringing together Indigenous Peoples’ leaders, governments and UN organizations, the event focused on moving from recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge to their effective participation and leadership in implementing the Convention, including through Decision 5/COP16 and the Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus.

The Xukuru and Tapeba experiences shared during the UNCCD side-event show that restoring land is also about restoring knowledge, memory, relationships and the capacity to care for a living territory. As these initiatives expand, Indigenous Peoples’ rights, governance and decision-making must remain at the centre.

This International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, discover how Indigenous midwives are safeguarding ancestral knowledge that strengthens communities, restores ecosystems and ensures that the bond between mother, child and nature endures for generations to come.

The 19th Session of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) was held at the Palais des Nations from 13 to 17 July 2026, bringing together representatives of Member States, Indigenous Peoples’ organizations, civil society, United Nations (UN) agencies and academia from all seven socio-cultural regions of the world.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is pleased to invite Indigenous Peoples’ organizations and relevant partners to contribute to the Global Survey on Indigenous Peoples’ Restoration and Monitoring.

The FAO Indigenous Peoples Unit is pleased to launch a global call inviting Indigenous Peoples to share their experiences with carbon finance schemes in their territories. We encourage all Indigenous Peoples’ representative institutions and individuals to participate in this important initiative. 

Date palm sap collection is a seasonal tradition for Indigenous Peoples across eastern and central India and in Bangladesh. Fruit bats that roost near tapping sites can contaminate raw sap during nocturnal feeding, creating a pathway for Nipah virus transmission. This case study examines how Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems can provide low-cost protective measures, and the importance of Indigenous Peoples engagement as rights and knowledge holders in decision making processes affecting their health and well-being

The statement was delivered by Yon Fernández de Larrinoa, Head of the FAO Indigenous Peoples Unit, at the Plenary of the 25th Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), on the 24 April 2026.

On the eve of UNDRIP’s 20th anniversary, it is more important than ever to recognize FPIC as the starting point for just and meaningful engagement with Indigenous Peoples. Respecting FPIC is the only way to work together with consent, putting Indigenous Peoples at the centre of the discussion and decision-making. FAO is well aware of this: since 2010, FPIC has been incorporated in its Policy on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples and, since 2015, the Organisation has made FPIC compulsory in any projects that have an impact on Indigenous Peoples.

Indigenous nomadic pastoralists are key actors for food security, biodiversity conservation and for combatting desertification. Their food and knowledge systems are based on millennia of experience and deep connection to the territories they wisely roam. They produce abundant, nutritious, and healthy foods in every region of the world. Nevertheless, their rights are often not respected, endangering their ways of life, knowledge and at times their very survival.