Conservation, environmental and other non-governmental organizations ensure that their forest-related programmes and policies use the human rights-based and ecosystem approach to forest conservation. This includes the integration of the implementation of the Declaration in their forest programmes.
The accessibility of general recommendation No. 39 to Indigenous Peoples is crucial to ensure its effective implementation and impact on the ground. The Permanent Forum recommends its translation into Indigenous languages spoken by Indigenous Peoples in their States before the end of 2032.
Importantly, and in parallel with action plans, the Permanent Forum calls upon Member States to urgently provide adequate and appropriate support and resources for Indigenous Peoples’ languages, with a focus on Indigenous-led initiatives. That is especially crucial in circumstances in which the languages are critically endangered. When an Indigenous Peoples’ language becomes extinct, the richness of the ways of life and world views of Indigenous Peoples is lost, which is detrimental both to Indigenous Peoples and to the world.
The Permanent Forum requests that UNESCO present a report to the Forum by 2020 on the implementation of the International Year of Indigenous Languages, on the basis of the action plan for organizing it (see E/C.19/2018/8).
The Permanent Forum recommends that UNESCO, with the participation of indigenous peoples, urgently declare as the organization’s priority the preservation, revitalization and promotion of indigenous languages. UNESCO is also urged to initiate international processes for the establishment of international standards on the preservation of indigenous languages. In particular, the Forum recommends that UNESCO collaborate with efforts led by indigenous peoples and others to map indigenous languages, such as the Endangered Languages Project.
The Permanent Forum appreciates the efforts made by the United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries, which comprises the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Development Programme, to inform, consult and involve indigenous peoples in United Nations activities relating to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and encourages them to further consolidate the partnership
The global engagement of indigenous peoples at the international level has led to some positive institutional developments, including the establishment of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples can play an important role in the fight against climate change. Member States and United Nations entities should ensure that any activities related to the use of the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples respect indigenous peoples’ own protocols and consent agreements for managing access to their traditional knowledge. Strengthening and ensuring the full participation of indigenous peoples at all levels is also critical for the design and implementation of climate policies, plans, programmes and projects at the local, national and global levels.
The Forum recommends that States, United Nations agencies, bodies and funds, other multilateral bodies and financial institutions and other donors provide technical and financial support to protect and nurture indigenous peoples’ natural resource management, environment-friendly technologies, biodiversity and cultural diversity and low-carbon, traditional livelihoods (pastoralism; rotational or swidden agriculture; hunting and gathering and trapping; marine and coastal livelihoods; high mountain agriculture; etc.). The Forum further recommends that discussions and negotiations on strengthening the links between climate change, biodiversity and cultural diversity under the Convention on Biological Diversity or the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ensure the effective participation of indigenous peoples.