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Addressee: FAO, UN system/UN agencies
Full Text
The Permanent Forum encourages the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), jointly with other United Nations agencies, to support the consolidation of the already established communication platforms in Latin America and Canada and to establish platforms in Asia and Africa and the Pacific. The Forum recommends that FAO and other agencies strengthen the reporting and monitoring mechanisms for the communication platforms, especially with a view to supporting indigenous peoples with a monitoring mechanism for their territories.
Responses
FAO reports: 54. FAO has also tried to respond to the recommendation to address the limited access to communication and information services that indigenous peoples often face. FAO has long been involved in using communication tools to advance sustainable rural development, including specific activities in recent years on
communication for and by indigenous peoples. FAO welcomes the positive response of the Forum to the development of indigenous peoples’ communication platforms
in Latin America and Canada. At the moment, however, the platform in Latin America is facing some difficulties and, although the possibility of extending this initiative to Asia and Africa is being sought, no significant progress has yet been
made. It is important that some follow-up regarding these platforms takes place with other United Nations partners to determine if and how to proceed with this particular recommendation.
FAO Reports (2010):
Over the last years, FAO promotion of initiatives in the field of indigenous peoples’ ComDev, has proven to be strategic in supporting sustainable livelihoods and self-determined development. One of the main activities has been the establishment of regional participatory communication platforms of indigenous peoples, such as the Plataforma Indigena in Latin America and K-Net in Canada.
FAO activities in 2009 related to the indigenous peoples’ right to communication included, among others, the reinforcement of the Indigenous Platform and the development of the Communication for Sustainable Activities Initiative (CSDI) in collaboration with UN-REDD.
The Latin American Indigenous Peoples’ Communication Platform led by CIDOB (Confederación de Pueblos Indígenas de Bolivia) with the support of FAO, aims to influence indigenous peoples’ development through participatory tools. Within this framework, the platform constitutes a channel for exchange of knowledge, proposals and mechanisms for coordination and cooperation among different stakeholders committed to indigenous peoples. At the same time, it seeks to favour, arrange and promote ComDev’s political agendas and programmes. The next step is to establish and expand the Platforms in other regions such as Africa and Asia.
In 2009, FAO and the Italian Ministry of the Environment and Territory launched a joint project called Communication for Sustainable Development Initiative (CSDI), which applies communication strategies and approaches to Climate Change Adaptation, sustainable Natural Resources Management (NRM) and Food Security. Working together with indigenous peoples, CSDI aims to implement communication programmes and services in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and to make suitable ComDev methods and tools available at the international level through knowledge networks and partnerships. In Bolivia, the initiative is currently being implemented in conjunction with indigenous organizations, such as CIDOB and the Plataforma Indígena, and within the framework of the UN-REDD programme.
Final Report of UNPFII Session 7 (2008)
Area of Work
