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Addressee: Member States
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Recognizing the deep spiritual relationship indigenous peoples have with water, and the great respect they have for the natural laws governing the health and the sanctity of water, the Permanent Forum recommends that States review, with the direct participation of indigenous peoples, their laws on water regulation and the treaties, land claims and self-government agreements that they have entered into with indigenous peoples, taking into account the sanctity of water reflected in those agreements. It is further recommended that States present their reviews to the eighth session of the Permanent Forum in 2009, including in particular, information on the status of the implementation of laws and agreements with respect to water and indigenous peoples.
Responses
With regard to the issue of water, Spain's AECID provides funding to the development NGO Engineers Without Borders for the implementation of a project in North Mendocino, Argentina, aimed at promoting the right to water of the region’s indigenous peoples. Efforts are being made to overcome the main obstacle, which is lack of basic infrastructure for adequate access to water.
The project focuses on three areas. The first area is technical and policy impact through participatory research and the generation of basic knowledge on the water claims of the community territories. The second area consists of the democratization and participation of families and indigenous communities in water resource management. The third area focuses on the establishment of appropriate infrastructures for guaranteeing effective access to water in sufficient quantity and quality. The participation of the huarpes is envisaged during all phases of the project: research (Lagunas de Guanacache), management and dissemination of information, water resource management and development of public policy proposals.
Final Report of UNPFII Session 6 (2007)
Area of Work
