Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge is key to preserve biodiversity and foster sustainable food systems
For the first time in three years, Indigenous Peoples’ representatives gathered in-person in the UN General Assembly Hall for the 21st Session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII).
Highlights from the 21st Session of UNPFII
The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is the world’s largest gathering of Indigenous Peoples, with this 21st Session taking place from April 25 to May 6.
With latest estimates pointing to the fact that Indigenous Peoples encompass 22 percent of the world’s land surface, but 80 percent of the planet’s remaining biodiversity, UNPFII brought together a large number of voices around issues currently affecting Indigenous Peoples: the climate crisis and the lack of inclusion of Indigenous Peoples in climate action financing; the rise of assassinations of Indigenous leaders and land defenders; and the urgency to preserve Indigenous Peoples’ food, knowledge, and language systems.
“We share a holistic relationship with nature, where rights are not anthropocentric, rights are determined by Mother Earth and it is Mother Earth, not humans, who determines whether we have access to a river or a mountain,” declared Dario Mejía Montalvo, newly elected Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
While Indigenous Peoples and organizations worldwide are joining forces to preserve and promote their heritage and centuries-old knowledge of generating food in harmony with nature, more international policy momentum and additional development and climate finance for Indigenous Peoples is needed. Both need to be anchored in the resounding theme of UNPFII: “Indigenous peoples, business, autonomy and the human rights principles of due diligence including free, prior and informed consent”.
UNFPII deliberations also touched on the alarming and explosive growth of extractive operations around the world, which often plays out on Indigenous People’s lands without their consent, causing irreparable harm to their livelihoods, cultures, languages, and lives. UNPFII called, with special urgency, on governments, UN agencies, private sector actors and others to respect the human rights and principles of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) before pursuing projects, policies, or investments that may end up uprooting Indigenous communities or decimating centuries of culture and languages.
Furthermore the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues declared as inappropriate to undermine the Indigenous Peoples status and standing by combining or equating them with non-Indigenous entities such as minorities, vulnerable groups or local communities. Indigenous Peoples has been a distinct constituency at the United Nations since 1977.
The right to be nomadic Indigenous Peoples, and the fact that rights to land, water, culture, and FPIC move along with them, was also highlighted by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Francisco Cali Tzay.
Voices from across UNPFII discussions agree that the time is now to work together to ensure that Indigenous Peoples knowledge on food, spirituality, and territorial management are heard in the upcoming COP 27 in Egypt, where food systems – rightfully so – will be once again on the agenda.
Each year, the UNPFII presents in its final report a series of recommendations to governments, UN agencies and other actors. The recommendations to FAO will be made public in the final report of the session to be released in the coming weeks. See the previous recommendations made by the Forum to the FAO here.
FAO at the 21st Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
The FAO Delegation to the UNPFII, composed by members of the FAO Indigenous Peoples Unit and of the FAO Liaisons Offices for North America and with the UN in New York, shared the latest FAO initiatives on the session’s priority theme, including on the promotion and preservation of Indigenous Peoples’ food systems.
Delivering a statement at the plenary session on behalf of FAO, Yon Fernández de Larrinoa, Head of the FAO Indigenous Peoples Unit, highlighted the need to tap into collective efforts to respond to the competing sustainability challenges.
"The Global Hub proved the world that Indigenous Peoples' evidence can change the way scientists and practitioners perceive Indigenous Peoples knowledge," he said, adding: "The recognition for the first time by scientists of Indigenous Peoples food systems as game changers for sustainability and resilience confirmed the power of the White/Wiphala paper in changing perceptions through collective efforts."
At this 21st Session, FAO organized three side-events, focused on (i) FPIC for climate action to acknowledging Indigenous Peoples as guardians of biodiversity, (ii) Indigenous Peoples' biocentric restoration and how Indigenous Peoples' food and knowledge systems inform cosmogonic restoration processes, and (iii) the collective and tenure rights for sustainable Indigenous Peoples’ food and knowledge systems in the context of the 10th anniversary of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests (VGGT) and the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture 2022 (IYAFA 2022).
The FAO Delegation at UNPFII also met with Indigenous Peoples’ organizations, UN agencies, and Member States around the establishment of new collaborative efforts to advancing the recognition of Indigenous Peoples' food and knowledge systems. Conversations centered on how these systems can contribute to global challenges such as climate change, the transformation of our agrifood systems, and the eradication of hunger and malnutrition.
The Coalition on Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems
As a result of the collective efforts of Indigenous Peoples, governments, and FAO – and following a year of global, regional, and national discussions and consultations – last September the UN Food Systems Summit announced the creation of 33 coalitions focused on different relevant issues to drive the transformation of food systems towards a more sustainable path.
FAO and Forum Members presented the Coalition on Indigenous Peoples’ food systems and discussed on the next steps to establish the Coalition's governance mechanism and work plan.
The Coalition on Indigenous Peoples’ food systems has been established by Canada, Dominican Republic, Finland, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, and Spain, UNPFII, Indigenous organizations, and FAO. In addition, the Global Hub on Indigenous Peoples’ food systems is currently providing technical support for the establishment of the Coalition’s governance mechanism and a work plan. UNEP, UNESCO, IFAD and WFP have also joined the Coalition.
The Coalition will shed light on untapped knowledge and resources so Indigenous Peoples’ food systems are able to provide nourishment and healthy diets, while at the same time preserving our already delicate and at-risk ecosystems. It is already working hard to position Indigenous Peoples’ food systems as truly game-changing opportunities to contribute to global food security efforts while deescalating current trends of worrying environmental degradation.
The UNPFII applauded the creation of the Coalition on Indigenous Peoples' Food Systems and reaffirmed its commitment to contribute to its efforts and to organize regional consultations to discuss the coalition's governance mechanisms and work plan.
Global-Hub on Indigenous People’s food systems
FAO and Member States launched the Global-Hub on Indigenous Peoples’ food systems in 2020 during the 27th session of FAO’s Technical Committee on Agriculture (COAG). Today it gathers more than 20 indigenous and non-indigenous organizations.
Yon Fernández de Larrinoa, the Head of the FAO Indigenous Peoples Unit who led the in-person FAO delegation at UNPFII, spoke of the Global Hub as a unique platform that brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous experts, scientists, and researchers to establish a knowledge-dialogue to generate evidence-based recommendations on Indigenous Peoples' food systems. These contributions stand to inform policy discussions and global debates on sustainable agri-food systems, climate change mitigation, and conservation and restoration, he said, adding that its overarching goal is respecting, preserving, and promoting Indigenous Peoples’ food systems across the world.
One of the Global-Hub’s most noteworthy practices is the blending of conventional science with Indigenous Peoples’ traditional knowledge at an equal level of respect, consideration, and validity as other approaches.
What’s more, the Global-Hub is currently working on providing recommendations and technical support to the International Year of Artisanal and Small-Scale Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022); the implementation of the Vision and Strategy for FAO's Work in Nutrition; and the annual report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, focused on Indigenous women and the development, application, preservation and transmission of scientific knowledge.
“The size of the challenges ahead of us, and the speed at which changes are taking place, particularly the climate crisis, call for the need to create spaces of collective efforts where everyone works together,” Fernández de Larrinoa said.
Related links
- Revisit the full summary of key takeaways and engagements from FAO at UNPFII.
- Learn more about FAO’s work with Indigenous Peoples.
- Find out more about the Coalition on Indigenous Peoples’ food systems.
- Read the report ‘Future work of the Permanent Forum, including issues considered by the Economic and Social Council and emerging issues’
- Follow @FAOIndigenous on Twitter for the latest updates!