Washingon, DC - On 29 April 2022, the FAO Liaison Office for North America hosted an in-person book launch for the 2021 award-winning flagship publication, Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems: Insights on Sustainability and Resilience from the Frontline of Climate Change released by FAO and the Alliance for Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).  Director Jocelyn Brown Hall welcomed Yon Fernandez-de-Larrinoa, Head of the FAO Indigenous Peoples Unit, with Mikaila Way, FAO Indigenous Peoples’ Liaison for North America, to present this most recent publication on Indigenous Peoples’ food systems that involved fieldwork with eleven Indigenous Peoples’ communities in eight different food systems across the Pacific, the Arctic, Asia, Latin America and Africa.

This publication is the third book following the previously released Indigenous peoples’ food systems: the many dimensions of culture, diversity and environment for nutrition and health (2009) and Indigenous Peoples’ food systems and well-being: Interventions and policies for healthy communities (2013).  These first two volumes highlighted the nutritional aspects of Indigenous Peoples’ food systems. The third volume explores territorial management issues, sustainability, climate change and adaptability. FAO along with all the authors and contributors to this flagship publication were honored to receive the award from the Hallbars Sustainability Research Institute from the Alfred Nobel House in Sweden, as Best Book on Sustainability for 2021.

The new publication adds urgency to the findings of a growing body of research illustrating the vital role of Indigenous Peoples worldwide in addressing global crises linked to the destruction of nature, including climate change, biodiversity loss and risk of future pandemics. It analyses the driving factors that make Indigenous Peoples’ food systems amongst the most sustainable, self-sufficient and resilient on the planet, and the external pressures that are eroding them. The policy recommendations included in the study for Governments, UN organizations and NGOs address the threats- affecting the future of Indigenous Peoples’ food systems, food security, and the resilience of their communities.

FAO first presented the new publication in June 2021 at a high-level online event by FAO Director-General, Dr. QU Dongyu, with co-publishers, the Alliance of Bioversity International and International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) alongside collaborating Indigenous Peoples’ organizations, scholars, and members of the technical editing committee of the Global-Hub on Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems. Former president of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Anne Nuorgam, Country ambassadors and FAO leadership spoke to the importance of the evidence presented and recommendations issued in this timely study. The full webcast of the event is available online.

At the FAO North America Office in Washington DC this month, FAO partners attended the in-person launch from the DC Metro Area including colleagues and storytelling fellows from the George Washington University Planet Forward Initiative, the USDA Office of Tribal Relations, as well as colleagues from the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD). For many guests, this was the first time they were meeting in-person since the start of the pandemic. This was true for Planet Forward – FAO storytelling fellow, Terrius Harris, and Professor Lisa Palmer, National Geographic Research Professor of Science Communication, who had worked closely on Harris’s 2021 fellowship articles on the revitalization of Indigenous Peoples’ food systems of Hawai’i.  Alexander Cotnoir, George Washington University graduate student and co-creator of the new Indigenous Correspondents Program, also attended and shared about this new initiative to empower young Indigenous scholars in partnership with the University of Arizona. The book launch provided a long-missed space for in-person connection and information sharing.

As seen in the FAO North America office this month, the publication provides clear, strong evidence and recommendations to inform the global agendas for sustainable food system transformation, and enhance the protection of Indigenous Peoples’ food systems for more than 478 million Indigenous Peoples in the world.

Resources 

FAO Indigenous Peoples Unit: 2021 Publication Release

Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems: Insights on Sustainability and Resilience from the Frontline of Climate Change (2021)

Indigenous peoples’ food systems: the many dimensions of culture, diversity and environment for nutrition and health (2009)

Indigenous Peoples’ food systems and well-being: Interventions and policies for healthy communities (2013)

Planet Forward FAO Fellow - Terrius Harris

Planet Forward – University of Arizona: Indigenous Correspondents Program