The Forum recommends that WIPO undertake a study, in collaboration with Forum members, on the use of indigenous knowledge relating to medicinal plants and resources, the commercialization of such knowledge and how indigenous communities are benefiting from such commercialization.
The Permanent Forum urges the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity to undertake, in collaboration with indigenous peoples, a study on the contributions of indigenous peoples to the management of ecosystems and the protection of biodiversity, and submit a report to the Forum by its nineteenth session.
6. The Permanent Forum congratulates the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on the adoption of its policy on indigenous and tribal peoples and requests that FAO take measures towards the implementation of the policy at all levels, especially at the country level. Such measures include improving the capacity of FAO staff to work effectively with indigenous peoples and their organizations and establishing a mechanism for partnership. Further, the Permanent Forum requests that FAO involve it in the development of voluntary guidelines on the responsible governance of tenure of land, fisheries and forests. In addition, the Forum requests participation in the Committee on World Food Security and membership in the Committee’s advisory group.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and relevant parties develop mechanisms for indigenous peoples’ participation, as appropriate, in all aspects of the international dialogue on climate change, particularly the forthcoming negotiations for the next Kyoto Protocol commitment period, including by establishing a working group on local adaptation measures and traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples. The Forum encourages dialogue and cooperation among indigenous peoples, particularly indigenous women and youth, States, conservation and development organizations and donors in order to strengthen the participation of indigenous peoples in dialogue on climate change.
The Permanent Forum decides to appoint a member to participate in any future meetings of the Working Group on access and benefit-sharing and the tenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention.
The Permanent Forum urges States and bodies and organizations of the United Nations system, including the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Environment Assembly, to include indigenous peoples in a fully meaningful and effective manner in decision-making processes in all areas aimed at tackling marine litter and plastic pollution, and landscape/ecosystem degradation, including in programmes and partnerships and in the future negotiations of international instruments. Such efforts should include recognition of the traditional knowledge, practices and innovations of indigenous peoples, in particular indigenous women, in plans and actions to restore landscapes and ecosystems and to address marine litter and plastic pollution.
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.
The Permanent Forum requests the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity to complete its work on the draft code of ethical conduct for the recognition and protection of indigenous intellectual property and cultural heritage, taking into account the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as a minimum standard, with a view to adopting the code at the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties in 2010, the International Year of Biodiversity.eas.
The Permanent Forum applauds the good work of the nomadic herders project on enhancing the resilience of pastoral ecosystems and livelihoods, led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)/GRID-Arendal and the Association of World Reindeer Herders. The Permanent Forum recommends that the Global Environment Facility Council approve the project as a good example of a transboundary project by and for indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum recommends that the International Finance Corporation establish a mechanism of engagement with indigenous peoples in the context of its sustainability framework, including Performance Standard 7, on indigenous peoples.
The Permanent Forum urges States to include indigenous peoples in decision-making processes in all areas of water management, including commercial use, irrigation and environmental management, and to ensure that such decision-making processes are consistent with the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in particular its article 32, under which the free and informed consent of indigenous peoples is required prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources.
The Forum recommends that the United Nations Environment Programme report on the feasibility of developing mechanisms for indigenous peoples to participate in the persistent organic pollutants global monitoring programme’s evaluation process under the Stockholm Convention. The Forum also welcomes the key findings of the UNEP global mercury assessment, and recommends that the Economic and Social Council recommend that UNEP take immediate action on mercury contamination and work towards initiating a global legally binding instrument and other measures at the next UNEP Governing Council meeting of environmental ministers, to be held in the Republic of Korea in 2005.