The Forum notes with appreciation decisions VII/16 A-1 of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity and its ongoing work with respect to traditional knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities covering many areas for future works to be jointly undertaken by the Convention and the Forum.
Consistent with articles 18 and 19 of the United Nations Declaration and in line with the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with the call to “leave no one behind”, the Permanent Forum strongly recommend that States and funds, programmes and specialized agencies of the United Nations system ensure the disaggregation of data on the basis of indigenous identifiers/ethnicity and the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples in developing and monitoring national action plans and in all processes relating to the follow-up to and review of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, including at the high-level political forum on sustainable development.
The Permanent Forum reiterates its recommendation to adopt a programme of work on article 8 (j) and other provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity and strengthened institutional arrangements through a permanent subsidiary body to take forward the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and to ensure a human rights-based approach, and full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples, by the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention. The Permanent Forum recommends ensuring direct access to financial resources for Indigenous Peoples, inclusive of all landscapes and seascapes, more efficient financial mechanisms managed by Indigenous Peoples and the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples’ representatives in the governance of the Framework to better design and implement grants. In that respect, the modus operandi and methods of work for enhanced Indigenous participation under article 8 (j) and related provisions The Permanent Forum reiterates its recommendation to adopt a programme of work on article 8 (j) and other provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity and strengthened institutional arrangements through a permanent subsidiary body to take forward the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and to ensure a human rights-based approach, and full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples, by the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention. The Permanent Forum recommends ensuring direct access to financial resources for Indigenous Peoples, inclusive of all landscapes and seascapes, more efficient financial mechanisms managed by Indigenous Peoples and the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples’ representatives in the governance of the Framework to better design and implement grants. In that respect, the modus operandi and methods of work for enhanced Indigenous participation under article 8 (j) and related provisions must be the minimum standard and be prioritized as an essential prerequisite for the full implementation of target 31 of the Framework.
The Permanent Forum encourages Member States, in cooperation with United Nations agencies, to develop social policies that will enhance the production of indigenous peoples’ traditional foods and promote the restoration or recovery of lost drought-resistant indigenous food varieties to ensure food security. In this context, the Forum recommends that Burkina Faso, Mali and the Niger, as well as United Nations agencies such as FAO, IFAD and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, establish a committee, in full consultation with and with the participation of indigenous peoples, aimed at preventing food crises in the sub Saharan region where indigenous peoples reside. The committee’s objective should be to prevent humanitarian disasters and, in particular, to prevent starvation at the same level as the disaster that struck the region in 1973.
The Permanent Forum welcomes the adoption of resolution 63/278, by which the General Assembly established International Mother Earth Day and embraces indigenous peoples’ and Member States’ recommendations regarding the need to promote humankind living in harmony with nature. Therefore, the Forum decides to appoint Mr Carlos Mamani Candori and Mr Bartolome Clavero, members of the Forum as Special Rapporteurs, to conduct a study, without financial implications, on its implementation, taking into account, inter alia, the consideration and recognition of Mother Earth rights and submit a report to the ninth session of the Forum in 2010.
The Forum encourages the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to recognize the importance of and emphasize support for indigenous agricultural systems, including forestry, shifting cultivation, fisheries, livestock, pastoralism and hunting-gathering systems, and their associated biodiversity, foods, knowledge systems and cultures. It encourages FAO to promote the responsible use of culturally appropriate agricultural inputs and technology so as to protect the traditional livelihoods of indigenous peoples
The Permanent Forum invites the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and relevant States of the Congo Basin to provide at the eighth session of the Forum, in 2009, specific information on the biosphere reserves project and how they will incorporate the indigenous peoples of the Congo Basin and their respective associations into the implementation of the project.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and other relevant United Nations agencies further develop and enhance natural disaster preparedness and mitigation strategies involving indigenous peoples in the development and implementation of those strategies.