UNPFII Mandated Areas - Environment

图像 Photo: Broddi Sigurdarson | IPDB UNDESA

Indigenous Peoples are among the world’s greatest sources of cultural diversity and are closely connected to some of the planet’s most diverse and fragile ecosystems. Around 476 million Indigenous Peoples live across all regions of the world and care for approximately 20 per cent of the Earth’s land, including forests, mountains, deserts, islands, wetlands, coastal areas and Arctic regions. Their cultures, knowledge systems and ways of life have developed over generations through close relationships with their lands and territories.

Through these relationships, Indigenous Peoples play an essential role in caring for nature and sustaining ecosystems that benefit all of humanity. Their knowledge and practices contribute to food systems, biodiversity conservation, climate resilience and sustainable resource use, offering valuable lessons at a time of growing environmental change.

Today, environmental pressures such as climate change and biodiversity loss increasingly affect Indigenous territories and communities. These changes highlight the importance of listening to Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge and ensuring their participation in decisions that affect their lands, resources and futures. When Indigenous Peoples’ rights are respected and upheld, they contribute effectively to environmental protection and sustainable development.

The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues provides a unique space to bring together Indigenous Peoples, Member States and other stakeholders to share experiences, promote dialogue and advance solutions that support rights-based, inclusive and sustainable approaches to global challenges.

Key challenges faced by Indigenous Peoples

Land rights not fully implemented: In many countries, Indigenous Peoples’ land rights exist in law but are weakly implemented. Land titling and demarcation processes are often delayed, incomplete, or reversed. Indigenous lands are frequently allocated for mining, logging, agribusiness, or infrastructure projects without free, prior and informed consent. Secure tenure remains a critical and unresolved issue worldwide.

Development- and technology-driven displacement: Large-scale development models and certain technologies, including industrial agriculture, monoculture plantations, and extractive activities, degrade ecosystems and undermine Indigenous livelihoods. In some cases, these processes force communities to abandon or relocate from ancestral lands.

Impacts of unsustainable development: Large dams, mining, conservation projects, and tourism development have led to forced displacement, loss of access to lands and resources, and increased poverty among Indigenous Peoples. Those who defend their rights often face criminalization, intimidation, and violence.

Implementation gap: Despite growing international recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ rights, a persistent gap remains between global commitments and action on the ground. Participation in decision-making is often limited or symbolic, and international standards are not consistently applied at all levels.

Disproportionate impacts on Indigenous women: Land dispossession and environmental degradation have particularly severe impacts on Indigenous women, increasing unpaid workloads, limiting access to livelihoods, and reinforcing social and economic inequalities.

Key environmental issues and Indigenous Peoples’ rights

Areas where Indigenous Peoples’ rights and participation are essential

Lands, territories, and resources: Indigenous Peoples’ relationships to their lands and territories are central to their identities, cultures, and knowledge systems. Advancing collective rights to lands, territories, and resources is essential for both Indigenous well-being and global environmental protection, including ecosystems, biodiversity, and water systems. While some States recognize these rights through laws or agreements, implementation gaps remain, including incomplete land mapping, demarcation, and titling.

Climate change: Climate change threatens Indigenous Peoples’ lands, livelihoods, cultures, and languages. Extreme events—droughts, floods, and rising temperatures—undermine traditional livelihoods and, in some cases, contribute to displacement. Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge and practices are crucial for climate adaptation and resilience. However, barriers persist to meaningful participation in climate decision-making. Policies developed without Indigenous Peoples’ involvement risk undermining rights and environmental outcomes.

Conservation and protected areas: Conservation initiatives that exclude Indigenous Peoples, such as forced evictions or restricted access, negatively affect their rights and fail to recognize their custodianship of biodiversity. Rights-based conservation approaches, built on dialogue and respect under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, are essential.

Extractive industries and the (un)just energy transition: Concessions for extractive industries, large-scale agriculture, and energy projects often proceed without free, prior and informed consent, leading to conflicts and rights violations. The global energy transition can exacerbate these challenges. Indigenous Peoples’ participation is necessary to ensure just, equitable, and sustainable environmental solutions.

Autonomy and self-determination: Indigenous Peoples have developed diverse governance systems that allow sustainable management of lands and resources while preserving cultural identity. Documenting and sharing these good practices strengthens policymaking and promotes inclusive environmental solutions.

Recognition and visibility: In recent years, the term “Indigenous Peoples” has often been conflated with broader categories in public debates, policymaking, UN frameworks, and academia. This can obscure their distinct political and legal status as collective rights-holders under international law. Such conflation not only weakens the recognition of their unique historical experiences but also can also lead institutions to treat Indigenous lands as generic community lands, overlook free, prior and informed consent, and sideline Indigenous governance systems.

Clear recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ status is essential: it ensures their political voice, strengthens legal standing, and protects their authority over lands and resources. Recognition and visibility are not just semantics—they are central to upholding rights, supporting environmental stewardship, and advancing justice.

Key milestones in Indigenous Peoples’ environmental rights

2025 – COP30 Climate Summit (Belém, Brazil)

• Largest Indigenous Peoples’ participation in a UNFCCC COP, with over 5,000 representatives.
• COP30 “Mutirão for the Earth” outcomes officially recognize Indigenous rights, lands, and traditional knowledge.
• US$1.8 billion pledged (2026–2030) to support Indigenous Peoples’ land and forest tenure rights.
• Launch of the Tropical Forests and Finance Facility (TFFF), ensuring at least 20 % flows directly to Indigenous Peoples.
• 15 countries commit to secure 160 million hectares of Indigenous land by 2030.

2025 – UN Environment Assembly (UNEA‑7)

• First formal Indigenous caucus established and a full day dedicated to discussions on Indigenous rights and traditional knowledge.

2025 – International Courts Affirm Climate Justice as Human Rights Obligation

• ICJ and IACHR affirm climate action as a human rights obligation.
• Protection of Indigenous territories, knowledge, and free prior and informed consent is essential to environmental stewardship.
• Recognition of the right to defend human rights strengthens protections for Indigenous defenders.

2025 – UN Secretary-General’s Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals

• Emphasizes Indigenous rights, free prior and informed consent, and meaningful participation in mineral supply chains.
• Recognizes Indigenous Peoples as key actors in biodiversity protection and equitable benefit-sharing.

2024–2025 – COP16, Convention on Biological Diversity (Cali & Rome)

• Establishment of the Subsidiary Body on Article 8(j) for Indigenous traditional knowledge and participation.
• Adoption of a new Programme of Work on Article 8(j).
• Launch of the Cali Fund to channel benefits from Digital Sequence Information toward Indigenous stewardship of biodiversity.

2022 – Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF)

• Recognizes Indigenous Peoples as rights-holders and partners in biodiversity conservation.
• Safeguard affirms that nothing diminishes Indigenous rights.
• Indigenous knowledge and practices must be respected, with free prior and informed consent for implementation.

2022 – UN General Assembly Resolution on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (A/RES/76/148)

• Introduces the terms “Indigenous leaders” and “Indigenous human rights defenders”.
• Reinforces tailored protection measures respecting Indigenous rights, cultures, and worldviews.
• Strengthens normative recognition of Indigenous Peoples as key actors in human rights and environmental stewardship.

2017 – IPBES Indigenous Knowledge Approach (Annex I to decision IPBES-9/1) 

• Establishes participatory mechanisms for Indigenous Peoples in biodiversity science and policy.
• Integrates Indigenous perspectives into global environmental assessments.