Welcome to the United Nations
Addressee: IFAD
Full Text
The Permanent Forum congratulates the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on the establishment of an indigenous peoples’ forum on 18 February 2011. This is consistent with international standards and, in particular, with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It is also an example of good practice to be followed by other United Nations entities. The Forum encourages IFAD to: (a) actively promote the participation of indigenous peoples’ organizations in country strategies and programme cycles; (b) improve the design, monitoring and evaluation of IFAD-funded projects by using specific indicators for the well-being of indigenous peoples and by promoting an independent assessment of such projects by indigenous peoples; and (c) improving its advocacy role in disseminating its best practices in terms of development approaches with indigenous peoples at the national, regional and international levels.
Responses
On the use of specific indicators, during the course of 2011, IFAD carried out a desk review on 53 small projects financed through the Indigenous Peoples Assistance Facility, using the IFAD Results Measurement Framework (RMF) and the Results and Impact Management System (RIMS) first and second level indicators, complemented by indicators on the well-being of indigenous peoples and others adopted by the CBD.The desk review recommended the expansion of the RIMS framework to incorporate specific indicators on the well-being of indigenous peoples.Some of these have been adopted by the IFAD-funded project Economic Inclusion Programme for Families and Rural Communities in the Territory of the Plurinational State of Bolivia (ACCESOS), Bolivia, approved in December 2011.The design of this project includes Free, Prior and Informed Consent in its logical framework, and also specific indicators relating to a) the number of groups using traditional crop varieties and ancestral agricultural techniques; and b) the number of community promoters trained on indigenous peoples’ rights.This project can be considered a model and benchmark in implementing the IFAD Policy on indigenous peoples, as it builds upon the assets of their cultural distinctiveness, and takes full advantage of their traditional knowledge, culture, governance systems and natural resources.With reference to advocacy, in August 2011 IFAD participated in the National Conference on Land, Forest and Culture of Indigenous Peoples, organized by the Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum with support from Oxfam GB.Experience and good practices on participation of indigenous peoples were shared in international meetings: a) in Indonesia the International Funders for Indigenous Peoples (IFIP) Asia Pacific Indigenous Peoples Resource Sustainability and Funders Summit; b) the Terra Madre Indigenous Peoples, in Jokkmok, Sàpmi; c) the Indigenous peoples self-convened meeting on strengthen partnerships and round table of donors financing indigenous peoples, held in Nairobi in October.The indigenous and tribal peoples’ desk at IFAD has strengthened its cooperation with the Rome based universities.The University of Rome La Sapienza has interest in including a specific module on IFAD funded projects in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Indigenous Peoples Assistance Facility.With the same University IFAD signed a tripartite fellowship agreement to host two indigenous fellows at IFAD, sponsored by the Christensen Fund. IFAD’s commitment to indigenous peoples’ development has been reaffirmed in the Fund’s new Strategic Framework 2011-2015 (SF), approved in May 2011 by IFAD’s Executive Board.
Final Report of UNPFII Session 10 (2011)
Area of Work
