High-level Launching event of the Publication: “Indigenous Peoples’ food systems: Insights on sustainability and resilience from the front line of climate change”

High-level Launching event of the Publication:

“Indigenous Peoples’ food systems: Insights on sustainability and resilience from the front line of climate change”

Opening remarks by

Dr. QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General

As prepared 

25 June 2021

 

Distinguished Speakers,

Ladies and Gentlemen 

1.          The book we are launching today presents key evidence from years of collaboration and field research.

2.          Its publication comes at a critical time, ahead of the UN Food Systems Summit and as we work towards achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.  

3.          It is the product of intense cooperation with research centers, indigenous organizations and experts.

4.          In that respect, I acknowledge our work with the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture to co-publish this book.

5.          I thank them, along with the French National Institute for Sustainable Development; The Indigenous Partnership for Food Sovereignty; and Massey University.

6.          And, above all, I convey my gratitude to the Indigenous Peoples across the world who stopped their daily routines and work to share their knowledge.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen

7.          Over 476 million Indigenous Peoples are living in over 90 countries and speaking more than 4000 languages.

8.          Their territories cover over a quarter of the globe’s surface, and their knowledge and agri-food systems preserve 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity.

9.          So much knowledge, so much to learn from!

10.          This publication provides direct evidence on the sustainability and resilience of eight Indigenous Peoples Food systems in the face of climate change.

11.          Let me put forward three key messages:

12.          First, Indigenous Peoples are and have always been dynamic innovators, learning from each other and developing a systemic approach, based on observation.

13.          They have adapted, over generations, to the ecosystems in which they live.

14.          We must work with them, to learn and co-create knowledge for all of humanity.

15.          My second message is that Indigenous Peoples and their food systems are under pressure.

16.          The COVID-19 pandemic has added further pressures to the effects of climate change, putting Indigenous Peoples at even greater risk.

17.          My third message is that we need to take urgent and collective action to support Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge and agri-food systems.

18.          Humankind needs to act now to support this precious wealth.

19.          Indigenous Peoples’ voices need to be heard in high-level discussions and decision-making processes, to jointly design policies that support their knowledge and agri-food systems.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

20.          In 2021, we entered a critical moment for the sustainability agenda, and Indigenous Peoples are crucial in it.

21.          FAO provides secretariat support to important related coordination efforts:

• The Global-Hub on Indigenous Peoples' Food Systems, launched last year to facilitate collaborations between indigenous and non-indigenous actors, and
• The Rome Group of Friends of Indigenous Peoples, chaired by Canada.

22.          And we are proud to include Indigenous Peoples and their knowledge and agri-food systems in our new Strategic Framework that has just been endorsed by the FAO Conference last week.

23.          We do this within the Four Betters: Better Production, Better Nutrition, a Better Environment and a Better Life – leaving NO ONE behind.

24.          As the world starts to recover from the pandemic, transformed agri-food systems and healthy ecosystems are central.

25.          We need agri-food systems that are MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable.

26.          The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, the Decade of Action for the Agenda 2030, along with the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, are opportunities for us to make real change.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

27.          A Chinese proverb says that in order to gain new insights we need to study the past.

28.          Let us learn from our ancestors, while bringing forth new technologies and innovations.

29.          I hope that the findings and recommendations in this new publication will help in building a future that is truly inclusive for Indigenous Peoples.

30.          Thank you.