Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous Peoples are not vulnerable populations per se. For thousands of years, they have managed their territories and natural resources, generating food and livelihoods in harmony with nature. However, the lack of recognition and protection of their rights, particularly their rights to self-identification and collective tenure rights, places them in situations of increased vulnerability, poverty, food insecurity, displacement, and conflict. FAO provides technical assistance to Governments for building appropriate public policies to support Indigenous Peoples’ development and food security, respecting their rights.

Without appropriate policy interventions, Indigenous Peoples’ food systems risk disappearing. Commercial market pressures, climate change, and external actors encroaching on Indigenous Peoples’ territories and ancestral lands are transforming their food systems at significant rates. To increase the recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ food systems FAO, in partnership with The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, and in collaboration with other organizations, has developed a research and participatory methodology to profile Indigenous Peoples’ food systems worldwide, identifying their main sustainable and resilience elements.

Climate change has posed significant challenges for Indigenous Peoples and is increasingly difficult to counteract. In addition, the growing competition for natural resources has intensified pressure from other actors and interests in Indigenous Peoples’ territories. FAO has issued a statement and a policy brief with recommendations and actions to ensure the cultural and physical survival of Indigenous Peoples. FAO works with Indigenous Peoples from the seven socio-cultural regions to ensure they are included in the global debate and in the formulation of policies on climate change and biodiversity conservation, among other topics.

Indigenous Peoples have traditional governance systems and complex institutional structures that rule their societies, issue norms and resolve conflicts. FAO calls for governments to respect and protect Indigenous Peoples’ governance systems and approaches through multiple avenues, including respecting of the right to Free Prior and Informed Consent in all activities and projects that could affect Indigenous Peoples.

It is fundamental to recognize and make Indigenous Women's social and economic roles visible to achieve food security. Indigenous Women are food producers, guardians of native seeds and custodians of traditional knowledge. Furthermore, Indigenous Youth provides an important contribution to preserving and promoting Indigenous Peoples' identities, traditional knowledge and languages as well as to poverty reduction, rights to land, territories and resources, access and protection of Indigenous food systems, and their rights to self-determination towards sustainable development.