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There are 476 million indigenous peoples around the world, constituting 6.2 percent of the global population and, according to different sources, representing more than 19 percent of the extreme poor. Indigenous peoples are not a homogenous group. They live in over 90 countries, in rural and urban areas, in forests, savannahs, mountains, and along the coasts, in low, middle- and high-income countries. However, they all share a history of discrimination and marginalization that in the context of COVID-19 – once again – challenges their existence. This document provides a series of recommendations to governments on how to face COVID-19 impacts [...]

This course focuses on how to practically operationalize the indigenous peoples’ right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) throughout all stages of the project cycle. The course describes each of the recommended six steps of the process and the related actions to be undertaken.System RequirementsThe online version of this course runs on the latest versions of the major browsers, such as Chrome, Safari, Edge and Firefox.The downloadable version only runs on Windows PC’s and no additional software is needed.AudienceThe course is primarily intended for professionals directly engaged in the development and implementation of projects involving indigenous peoples. In particular, [...]

We, Indigenous  peoples of the Arctic,from  three  of  the  seven  socio-cultural  regions -the  Arctic,  North America  and  Russia -representing the  Inuit, Saami, Sakha, Itelmen, Yukaghir,  Ulchi,  Evenki,Golganand Chickaloonpeoples, have travelled from Finland, Greenland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and USA to meet in Rome on the 23rdand 24thSeptember 2019 at the headquarters of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Prompted by the urgent need to address current threats and challenges facing the Arctic, its peoples and natural resources, we have gathered to share our perspectives and knowledge with researchers, FAO and Government officials from the region.

For centuries, fishing has been an activity of great importance for indigenous peoples. They inhabit and relate to water ecosystems, which conserve their cultural heritage, food sovereignty (the right to access healthy and culturally appropriate food) and in many cases are a main source of income. In Central America the situation is not different: today indigenous peoples live in more than 75% of the marine-coastal zones of the Caribbean Sea and extensive areas adjacent to continental waters and the Pacific Ocean, and have in fishing their main incomes. Precisely these areas present the highest indicators of poverty and malnutrition in [...]

Marine and inland fisheries provide millions of people around the globe with food security and livelihood opportunities. Advancing knowledge on how the world’s marine and inland capture fisheries are accessed, used, and managed using various types of rights-based approaches (RBAs) is a crucial step towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and attaining food and nutrition security and livelihood benefits. The Global Conference on Tenure and User Rights in Fisheries 2018 created a neutral platform for a wide variety of participants, including government officials; fishers from industrial, small-scale and indigenous/traditional communities; fisheries-related stakeholders; nongovernment organizations (NGOs); civil society organizations (CSOs); intergovernmental organizations [...]

The FAO Blue Growth Initiative seeks to balance the sustainable management of aquatic resources with economic and social benefits for local communities and Indigenous Peoples. The Blue Growth Initiative values the crucial role Indigenous Peoples play as custodians of traditional knowledge and practices and stewards of the ecosystems in which they live. Blue Growth approaches support the needs of Indigenous Peoples, ensuring their voices are heard in decision-making processes that affect them, supporting access rights to their traditional lands and territories, and encouraging the preservation of their cultural heritage through sustainable fisheries and aquaculture management that benefits future generations.

In December 2017, FAO and Bioversity International entered into an agreement to contribute to the overall food systems and climate change adaptation debate through analytical and field activities on indigenous food systems. Thanks to this agreement, and through a task force thatincluded, FAO and Bioversity, the Centre  for  International  Forestry  Research  (CIFOR),  the  Indigenous  Partnership  for  Agrobiodiversity  and Food  Sovereignty,  the  French  National  Research  Institute  for  Sustainable  Development  (IRD)  and  local indigenous organizations, different food systems across the world were profiled. To  present  the first  results  of  these  studies  and  to  identify strategies  to  safeguard  the  preservation  and transmission  of  ancestral  [...]

The FAO Blue Growth Initiative (BGI) can contribute to resilient communities to maintain and preserve cultural heritage through sustainable fisheries and aquaculture management for Indigenous Peoples. The Blue Growth Initiative seeks to balance the sustainable management of aquatic resources with economic and social benefits for local communities through traditional knowledge and practices, capacity development and knowledge sharing, food security and nutritional benefits, and an increased voice in resource management and policymaking. Blue Growth will support Indigenous Peoples in achieving the 2030 Agenda across multiple SDGs and targets. This infographic will highlight targetted regional facts on Indigenous management and benefits derived [...]

This Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) Manual is designed as a tool for project practitioners of a broad range of projects and programmes of any development organization, by providing information about the right to FPIC and how it can be implemented in six steps.In an FPIC process, the “how”, “when” and “with and by whom”, are as important as “what” is being proposed. For an FPIC process to be effective and result in consent or lack of it, the way in which the process is conducted is paramount. The time allocated for the discussions among the indigenous peoples, the [...]

Consistent with its mandate to pursue a world free from hunger and malnutrition, the following “FAO Policy on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples” has been formulated so as to ensure that FAO will make all due efforts to respect, include and promote indigenous issues in relevant work. In so doing, it joins the international community’s increasing mobilization in favour of the rights and concerns of indigenous peoples, most of whom suffer disproportionately from multiple adversities such as discrimination, poverty, ill health, political under-representation, and environmental and cultural degradation. Although much attention is focused on the challenges that indigenous peoples face, it [...]