Forests Sourcebook - HCV Resource Network

NOTE 1.3
Indigenous Peoples and Forests
It is estimated that worldwide 60 million Indigenous
Peoples are highly dependent on forest resources for
their livelihoods. Forests and other natural resources are
the foundation for most Indigenous Peoples’ livelihoods,
social organization, identities, and cultural survival, which
are based on a strong and deeply rooted historic relationship
with their ancestral lands and natural resources. This
relationship has cultural, socioeconomic, and spiritual
dimensions and has influenced customary institutions and
practices for managing land and resources.
The identities and cultures of Indigenous Peoples are
inextricably linked to the lands on which they live and the
natural resources on which they depend. This deeply rooted
link informs their livelihoods, social organization, identities,
and cultural survival. It also informs their perceptions
of poverty, well-being, and “the good life,” which often differ
from those of mainstream society as well as of other
rural communities. Their patterns of land use and relationship
with land and resources may also translate into different
goals and models for development—for example, developers
may want to extract natural resources for economic
gain, while indigenous communities may want to leave the
environment and resources intact, providing them with
their livelihoods and spiritual links to their ancestors.
Indigenous Peoples have specific rights relevant for
forest-based projects. The rights and concerns of Indigenous
Peoples have been internationally recognized, foremost
through International Labour Organization (ILO)
Convention 169. The convention affirms the way of life of
indigenous and tribal peoples, recognizes the need to safeguard
their customary rights to land and natural resources,
and stresses that they should benefit equally from economic
and social development and that they and their traditional
organizations should be closely involved in the planning
and implementation of development projects that affect
them.
Specifically concerning biodiversity and sustainable natural
resource management, Agenda 21, adopted by the
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
(UNCED) in 1992, as well as the Rio Declaration, recognize
the actual and potential contributions of indigenous
and tribal peoples to sustainable development. The 1992
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) calls on contracting
parties to respect traditional indigenous knowledge
with regard to the preservation of biodiversity and its sustainable
use. The CBD has been a key vehicle for enhancing
Indigenous Peoples’ rights to their resources and their participation
in biodiversity conservation and management.
Indigenous Peoples are represented in the Conference of
Parties of the CBD, which recognizes traditional knowledge
and cultural heritage as conservation values.
In October 2007, the United Nations’ General Assembly
adopted the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples. The declaration, while nonbinding, sets international
standards for the protection and promotion of the
individual and collective rights of Indigenous Peoples,
including their rights to land and natural resources, and
advocates a human rights–based approach to development
as it applies to Indigenous Peoples.
These and other international conventions and agreements,
along with the World Bank’s Indigenous Peoples policy
(OP 4.10), provide an important context for World
Bank–assisted, forest-related projects affecting Indigenous
Peoples. Through OP 4.10, the World Bank recognizes the
rights of Indigenous Peoples as addressed in international
and national law and agreements. The policy acknowledges
the vital role that Indigenous Peoples play in sustainable
development, and calls for special considerations when
projects affect the close ties that they have to land, forests,
water, wildlife, and other natural resources. Specifically for
projects supporting parks and protected areas, the policy
states that the World Bank “recognizes the significance of
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