A-21: INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
Distr.
GENERAL
A/CONF.151/26 (Vol. III)
14 August 1992
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
REPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON
ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
(Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992)
Chapter 26
RECOGNIZING AND STRENGTHENING THE ROLE OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
AND THEIR COMMUNITIES
PROGRAMME AREA
Basis for action
26.1. Indigenous people and their communities have an historical
relationship with their lands and are generally descendants of the original
inhabitants of such lands. In the context of this chapter the term "lands"
is understood to include the environment of the areas which the people
concerned traditionally occupy. Indigenous people and their communities
represent a significant percentage of the global population. They have
developed over many generations a holistic traditional scientific knowledge
of their lands, natural resources and environment. Indigenous people and
their communities shall enjoy the full measure of human rights and
fundamental freedoms without hindrance or discrimination. Their ability to
participate fully in sustainable development practices on their lands has
tended to be limited as a result of factors of an economic, social and
historical nature. In view of the interrelationship between the natural
environment and its sustainable development and the cultural, social,
economic and physical well-being of indigenous people, national and
international efforts to implement environmentally sound and sustainable
development should recognize, accommodate, promote and strengthen the role
of indigenous people and their communities.
26.2. Some of the goals inherent in the objectives and activities of this
programme area are already contained in such international legal
instruments as the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention (No. 169)
and are being incorporated into the draft universal declaration on
indigenous rights, being prepared by the United Nations working group on
indigenous populations. The International Year for the World's Indigenous
People (1993), proclaimed by the General Assembly in its resolution 45/164
of 18 December 1990, presents a timely opportunity to mobilize further
international technical and financial cooperation.
Objectives
26.3. In full partnership with indigenous people and their communities,
Governments and, where appropriate, intergovernmental organizations should
aim at fulfilling the following objectives:
(a) Establishment of a process to empower indigenous people and their
communities through measures that include:
(i) Adoption or strengthening of appropriate policies and/or legal
instruments at the national level;
(ii) Recognition that the lands of indigenous people and their
communities should be protected from activities that are
environmentally unsound or that the indigenous people concerned
consider to be socially and culturally inappropriate;
(iii) Recognition of their values, traditional knowledge and resource
management practices with a view to promoting environmentally
sound and sustainable development;
(iv) Recognition that traditional and direct dependence on renewable
resources and ecosystems, including sustainable harvesting,
continues to be essential to the cultural, economic and physical
well-being of indigenous people and their communities;
(v) Development and strengthening of national dispute-resolution
arrangements in relation to settlement of land and
resource-management concerns;
(vi) Support for alternative environmentally sound means of
production to ensure a range of choices on how to improve their
quality of life so that they effectively participate in
sustainable development;
(vii) Enhancement of capacity-building for indigenous communities,
based on the adaptation and exchange of traditional experience,
knowledge and resource-management practices, to ensure their
sustainable development;
(b) Establishment, where appropriate, of arrangements to strengthen
the active participation of indigenous people and their communities in the
national formulation of policies, laws and programmes relating to resource
management and other development processes that may affect them, and their
initiation of proposals for such policies and programmes;
(c) Involvement of indigenous people and their communities at the
national and local levels in resource management and conservation
strategies and other relevant programmes established to support and review
sustainable development strategies, such as those suggested in other
programme areas of Agenda 21.
Activities
26.4. Some indigenous people and their communities may require, in
accordance with national legislation, greater control over their lands,
self-management of their resources, participation in development decisions
affecting them, including, where appropriate, participation in the
establishment or management of protected areas. The following are some of
the specific measures which Governments could take:
(a) Consider the ratification and application of existing
international conventions relevant to indigenous people and their
communities (where not yet done) and provide support for the adoption by
the General Assembly of a declaration on indigenous rights;
(b) Adopt or strengthen appropriate policies and/or legal
instruments that will protect indigenous intellectual and cultural property
and the right to preserve customary and administrative systems and
practices.
26.5. United Nations organizations and other international development and
finance organizations and Governments should, drawing on the active
participation of indigenous people and their communities, as appropriate,
take the following measures, inter alia, to incorporate their values, views
and knowledge, including the unique contribution of indigenous women, in
resource management and other policies and programmes that may affect them:
(a) Appoint a special focal point within each international
organization, and organize annual interorganizational coordination meetings
in consultation with Governments and indigenous organizations, as
appropriate, and develop a procedure within and between operational
agencies for assisting Governments in ensuring the coherent and coordinated
incorporation of the views of indigenous people in the design and
implementation of policies and programmes. Under this procedure,
indigenous people and their communities should be informed and consulted
and allowed to participate in national decision-making, in particular
regarding regional and international cooperative efforts. In addition,
these policies and programmes should take fully into account strategies
based on local indigenous initiatives;
(b) Provide technical and financial assistance for capacity-building
programmes to support the sustainable self-development of indigenous people
and their communities;
(c) Strengthen research and education programmes aimed at:
(i) Achieving a better understanding of indigenous people's
knowledge and management experience related to the environment,
and applying this to contemporary development challenges;
(ii) Increasing the efficiency of indigenous people's resource
management systems, for example, by promoting the adaptation and
dissemination of suitable technological innovations;
(d) Contribute to the endeavours of indigenous people and their
communities in resource management and conservation strategies (such as
those that may be developed under appropriate projects funded through the
Global Environment Facility and the Tropical Forestry Action Plan) and
other programme areas of Agenda 21, including programmes to collect,
analyse and use data and other information in support of sustainable
development projects.
26.6. Governments, in full partnership with indigenous people and their
communities should, where appropriate:
(a) Develop or strengthen national arrangements to consult with
indigenous people and their communities with a view to reflecting their
needs and incorporating their values and traditional and other knowledge
and practices in national policies and programmes in the field of natural
resource management and conservation and other development programmes
affecting them;
(b) Cooperate at the regional level, where appropriate, to address
common indigenous issues with a view to recognizing and strengthening their
participation in sustainable development.
Means of implementation
(a) Financing and cost evaluation
26.7. The Conference secretariat has estimated the average total annual
cost (1993-2000) of implementing the activities of this programme to be
about $3 million on grant or concessional terms. These are indicative and
order-of-magnitude estimates only and have not been reviewed by
Governments. Actual costs and financial terms, including any that are
non-concessional, will depend upon, inter alia, the specific strategies and
programmes Governments decide upon for implementation.
(b) Legal and administrative frameworks
26.8. Governments should incorporate, in collaboration with the indigenous
people affected, the rights and responsibilities of indigenous people and
their communities in the legislation of each country, suitable to the
country's specific situation. Developing countries may require technical
assistance to implement these activities.
(c) Human resource development
26.9. International development agencies and Governments should commit
financial and other resources to education and training for indigenous
people and their communities to develop their capacities to achieve their
sustainable self-development, and to contribute to and participate in
sustainable and equitable development at the national level. Particular
attention should be given to strengthening the role of indigenous women.
END OF CHAPTER 26
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=====================RRojas Research Unit/1996=========================
