The Forum notes with deep appreciation the reports and responses of United Nations bodies on environment, and reaffirms its recommendations on environment made at its second session, in particular those contained in chapter I, section B, paragraphs 46-49, 54-57, and 59-61 of the report.
The Permanent Forum recommends the proposal by the International Fund for Agricultural Development and other organizations to hold an expert workshop on the contribution to development of pastoralist cultures and hunting and gathering societies.
The Permanent Forum requests that the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples identify the actions of transnational corporations that may breach the inherent rights detailed in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and further invites them to present a report to the Forum at its eighth session, in 2009.
Scientists, policymakers and the international community as a whole should undertake regular consultations with indigenous peoples so that their studies and decisions will be informed by indigenous peoples’ traditional knowledge and experiences. The Permanent Forum can play a role in ensuring that the traditional knowledge and best practices of indigenous peoples relevant to fighting climate change and its impacts will be considered in the negotiation processes leading to the Copenhagen Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and beyond, including through discussions with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The Permanent Forum recognizes that as the global economy promises to “build back better” from the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative that international financial institutions, including the World Bank, work in close consultation with indigenous peoples and invest in their communities. Indigenous peoples are partners in restarting the global economy while also maintaining their position given to them by birth as stewards of Mother Earth.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the measures undertaken by several countries that aim, inter alia, to explore and develop alternative sources of income, significantly reduce the exploitation of natural resources, enhance conservation of biological diversity and establish measures in favour of indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation, such as the national initiative undertaken by Ecuador entitled “Yasuni-ITT initiative”. The Permanent Forum recommends that such measures respect the right to free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples concerned.