Case study
Indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants and climate change in Latin America – Ten scalable experiences of intercultural collaboration
This publication presents ten scalable intercultural collaboration experiences that demonstrate the importance, efficiency and effectiveness of working hand in hand with men, women and youth of indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean in the search for practical solutions developed from the synergy between ancestral knowledge and scientific and technological innovation.
Indigenous peoples and Afro-descendants are two of the rural groups with the greatest potential to contribute to climate change mitigation in Latin America. Both groups are highly vulnerable to natural disasters and the effects of climate on agriculture and food, yet their ancestral knowledge and collective territorial practices make them key allies in climate change mitigation.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has proposed to promote collaborative work with indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples, with national and local governments, in favor of social inclusion and the reduction of inequalities that disproportionately affect indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean, with a particular focus on eradicating hunger and promoting rural development, also following the United Nations mandate to "leave no one behind", as indicated by the central and transformative promise of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs.