The Permanent Forum welcomes the presence of the Minister of the Environment and International Development of Norway and the side event organized by the Government of Norway, at which the Minister held an interactive dialogue with indigenous peoples and others on the Oslo-Paris Initiative on REDD-plus. The Forum recommends that the Initiative ensure the inclusion and the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples and that it not remain as an initiative of Governments only. The Forum further recommends that the Initiative ensure the implementation of the safeguards contained in the report of the Ad Hoc Working Group on long-term cooperative action under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on its eighth session (FCCC/AWGLCA/2009/17) which stresses the need to respect the knowledge and rights of indigenous peoples, noting the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; the need for the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples, the non-conversion of natural forests for other uses, and the conservation of biological diversity; and the need to address the drivers of deforestation and land tenure issues.
The Forum encourages organizers of pre-sessional regional meetings of indigenous peoples to develop suggestions and recommendations for the Forum to consider and encourages its members to participate in such meetings
The Permanent Forum decides to conduct a half-day discussion during its eighth session on the subject of “Countries of the Arctic region”, with the broad participation of indigenous communities, regional administrations and institutions of local self-governance.