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in their countries is added reason to take specialsteps to ensure that their interests are not ignored.Indigenous peoples are generally described asnumbering around 300-370 million people withinup to 5,000 distinctive groups. In June 2006, theUN Human Rights Council adopted The Declarationon the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, draftingof which had begun in the 1980s. The definitionof indigenous peoples has seen repeated amendment55 and remains contested, particularly on theAfrican continent. This was a factor in the failureof the Declaration to meet UN General Assemblyapproval in November 2006.Focus on Indigenous Tenure SystemsMany indigenous lands have been and still aredeclared public or unoccupied because they areheld collectively according to conceptions ofownership and access that do not fit well withimported property systems. This lack of statushas consequences for indigenous asset holdersand society at large and is a critical issue, globally,for property rights reform. In addressingproblems of land issues of indigenous peoplesaround the world, it is advantageous to focusupon indigenous land tenure systems rather thanon the identification of indigenous people per se.This sidesteps the troubled definition as to whois and who is not ‘indigenous’ and has the addedadvantage of zeroing in on the systemic issues ofindigenous or customary tenure regimes.Where ethnic and indigenous minorities areidentified and territorially placed, it maybe unnecessary to belabour distinctions betweenthe indigenous and their tenure systems. In suchcases, it is advisable to simply promote theirterritorial autonomy and sovereignty. It shouldinclude their stewardship over natural resources,and extend to matters of property — and all withoutside intervention kept to a minimum. Focus onindigenous or customary tenure systems is criticalin the two regions where the poor are most numerous— Sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia— and where delimitation and identification ofindigenous peoples is difficult and contested.Important Numbers of Customary Land HoldersCustomary land holders comprise roughly two billionpeople in Africa, South East and South CentralAsia and Latin America and the Caribbean.Given that around 80 percent of these rural dwellersare defined as ‘poor’ — i.e., living onTable 3 Main Regions Where Customary Land Tenure Operates(Population figures are in millions)RegionsPopulation2005percentRuralNumberRuralpercentdefinedas poor*Numberof poor2005Number ofrural poorSub Saharan Africa 752 66 496 75 564 372North Africa 194 53 103 29 56 30South Central Asia 1615 70 1130 75 1211 848South East Asia 557 62 345 56 312 345Latin America and Caribbean 559 24 134 26 145 353,677 60 2,208 71 2,288 1,630Source of base fi gures: Population Census Bureau, 2005. 5679