STATE OF THE WORLD's INDIGENOUs PEOpLEs - CINU

EMBARGOED UNTIL 14 January 2010STATE OF THE WORLD’S INDIGENOUS PEOPLESNot for distributionThe efforts being made to improve commercial forest management througha certification process that ensures that the social, economic and ecologicalneeds of present and future generations that are being met are more positive. Oneexample is the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), whose principles and criteriafor certification include “respect of human rights with particular attention toindigenous peoples” and “identification and appropriate management of areasthat need special protection, (e.g., cultural or sacred sites, habitat of endangeredanimals or plants)”. Currently, more than 100 million ha of forest worldwide havebeen certified to FSC standards. These forests are distributed over 79 countriesand represent the equivalent of 7 per cent of the world’s productive forests. Inmost cases, these forests are inhabited by indigenous peoples who are activelyinvolved in mapping, management and other related activities. 101Environmental impact assessmentAs keepers of life-sustaining resources, indigenous peoples have proven to besuccessful in developing mechanisms and techniques in harmony with theirenvironment. Although indigenous knowledge is different from the Westernparadigm of development, the knowledge of indigenous peoples is of particularinterest for environmental assessment because it is systemic and comprehensiveand offers an all-encompassing understanding of a territory that is utilized andknown in its entirety. In contrast, Western scientific expertise has a tendencyto move toward increasing levels of specialization, rendering a holistic visiondifficult, if not impossible. Indigenous peoples’ traditional ecological knowledgeand management systems are therefore the subject of increasing attentionbecause they can be used to improve development planning in regions inhabitedby indigenous peoples. There are an increasing number of texts advocatingthe articulation of environmental assessment and indigenous knowledge(e.g., Agenda 21, Convention on Biological Diversity, the Akwe: Kon VoluntaryGuidelines and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples).the knowledge ofindigenous peoples isof particular interestfor environmentalassessment becauseit is systemic andcomprehensive and offersan all-encompassingunderstanding of aterritory that is utilizedand known in its entiretyBut beyond statements of good intent, there are still questions as to whetherreal progress has been made toward bringing indigenous knowledge intoenvironmental assessment, and the extent to which environmental impactassessment and land use planning and decision-making reflect the abovementioned texts is highly variable throughout and within regions. So far, mostnational reports submitted by the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversityindicate that the Akwe: Kon Guidelines have not been implemented.In several cases, indigenous peoples have tried to have traditional knowledgeintegrated into environmental impact assessments conducted for climatechange response measures. It was, for instance, recommended by the ArcticInternational Expert Meeting on Responses to Climate Change for IndigenousCommunities and the Impact on their Traditional Knowledge Related to Biological101See, e.g., Lewis and Nelson (2006).THE ENVIRONMENT | 113