FAO Highlights Indigenous Peoples’ Role in Climate Change Adaptation

8 August 2008: On the eve of the International Day for the World’s Indigenous Peoples, which is celebrated on 9 August, Regina Laub, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) focal point for Indigenous Peoples, noted that climate change and limited land rights increasingly threaten indigenous peoples’ livelihoods.

“Many live in vulnerable environments and are among the first to identify and suffer the effects of climate change. Indigenous peoples can play a critical role in adapting to these impacts, as they hold unique knowledge and skills, and their territories contain approximately 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity,” she said. Recognizing the importance of land rights for indigenous peoples’ livelihoods, FAO has developed activities aimed to improve their tenure security in sub-Saharan Africa and has documented good practices in sub-Saharan Africa and the Pacific. [FAO press release, 8 August 2008]