Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich biodiversity of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating give us pleasure. …
Forest and land degradation undermines the foundation of human prosperity and well-being. It threatens our food and water supplies, our climate, and the biodiversity that underpins the ecosystems that sustain us. Land degradation is one of the critical elements in the gathering environmental crisis that humanity must address. Only human …
This brief summarizes findings from the first international comparative assessment on the extent to which various national-level legal frameworks recognize the freshwater rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, as well as the specific rights of women to use and govern community waters.
Agrobiodiversity is a resource that supports human and environmental wellbeing. IFAD’s support for the better use of agrobiodiversity with specific reference to neglected and underutilized species (NUS) and a greater recognition of the traditional knowledge of Indigenous Peoples associated with the use of NUS and wild edibles are important for …
Historically, the injustices confronting women with regard to community land rights have been widespread. They are commonly perpetuated by patriarchal community-level practices, customary laws, and formal laws passed by governments, all of which either overlook or directly discriminate against indigenous and rural women’s tenure rights. While women and men are …
This report examines three overlapping crises: climate change, biodiversity loss and the growing land and other rights abuses against Indigenous Peoples and local communities. It challenges the assumption that need to look to geoengineering solutions such as Bioenergy Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) to deal with the climate crisis and …
Forests and other lands are essential for achieving climate and development ambitions. If appropriately leveraged, natural climate solutions can contribute upwards of 37 percent of cost-effective CO2 mitigation by 2030, and evidence shows Indigenous Peoples and local communities are key to achieving such outcomes. This report presents the most comprehensive …
Despite the substantial forest area held, claimed, and managed by Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and rural women, the vast majority of the world’s forests formally remain under government administration as national or provincial forests, protected areas, or forests allocated to third parties under concessions. Given evidence that deforestation rates are …
Today, there are an estimated 370 million indigenous peoples across the world. Although they represent a relatively small portion of the global population, they account for the largest portion of linguistic and cultural diversity on Earth. The lands and waters traditionally occupied or used by indigenous peoples are also estimated …
The Orang Asli communities in Malaysia have been practicing indigenous agroforestry for generations, but little is known about the specifics of their practices. This study examined the indigenous management and sustainability of agroforestry practices, constraints experienced and contribution to household income. Data were collected from two Orang Asli villages practicing …
Increasing global demand for natural resources is intensifying competition for land across the developing world, pushing companies onto territories that many Indigenous Peoples and rural communities have sustainably managed for generations. These communities, who collectively hold at least half the world’s land but legally own just 10 percent of land …
This is a technical policy brief for the HLPF on Sustainable Development Goal 15 prepared by the Forest Peoples Programme and produced by the Indigenous Peoples Major Group for Sustainable Development. SDG 15, with its environmental dimensions, is a critical measure of overall progress against the 2030 Agenda, as well …
The best way to save forests and curb biodiversity loss is to recognize the claims of indigenous peoples to their territories, a new report urges. Published by the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI), an international NGO , and Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, the UN special rapporteur on indigenous rights, the 28-nation study …
UN Climate Change yesterday launched its first-ever Annual Report, laying out the key 2017 achievements and pointing to the future of the climate change process. The report covers many areas of the 2017 work of UN Climate Change, which includes the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Kyoto Protocol and …
This brief highlights key attributes of national constitutions, laws, and regulations that play a fundamental role in protecting indigenous and rural women’s rights to community forests and other community lands. These legislative best practices were derived from a 2017 analysis of over 400 national laws and regulations, Power and Potential, …
Several intergovernmental policy instruments, including the World Heritage Convention of UNESCO and the Convention on Biological Diversity, have proposed to develop integrated strategies to build bridges between biological and cultural diversity agendas. We contend that to succeed in this endeavor, it is crucial to link biocultural revitalization to conservation practice. …
Global Witness, an international organization whose aim is to expose links between the demand for natural resources, corruption, armed conflict and environmental destruction, released a report that showed that environment and land rights activists faced heightened risk - there were, across the world, at least 200 activists killed in 2016 …
Up to 2.5 billion people hold and use the world’s community lands, yet the tenure rights of women—who comprise more than half the population of the world’s Indigenous Peoples and local communities—are seldom acknowledged or protected by national laws. Although gender norms and women’s forest tenure security vary widely across …
ILO report says indigenous peoples are key to the success of policies combating climate change. A new ILO report, Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change: From Victims to Change Agents through Decent Work, explores why indigenous peoples are particularly vulnerable to climate change and what can be done to support them …
Achieving global commitments on climate change, sustainable development as well as full and productive employment and decent work for all will require a stronger focus on indigenous and tribal peoples, according to this new study published by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Two thirds of the world’s indigenous peoples are …
This Handbook is designed to provide jurists with an overview of environmental constitutionalism: we address what it is, the peculiar practical and procedural issues it presents, and how courts from around the globe have engaged it. Environmental constitutionalism is a relatively recent phenomenon at the confluence of constitutional law, international …
