UNITED NATIONAL, 8 August (IPS) – Writer, Director, UNDP’s Global Program on Nature for Development International Day of Indigenous Peoples of the Worldis celebrated annually on August 9, a day to celebrate the many contributions of 476 million indigenous people worldwide.
As the world grapples with the planetary crisis of biodiversity loss and climate change, scientists and policymakers are racing to find viable solutions. Increasingly, they are realizing that traditional Indigenous knowledge can provide cost-effective nature-based solutions.
For example, the authors of a national environmental assessment in Australia recognized for the first time the importance of Indigenous knowledge in avoiding catastrophic fires; a new federal program in Canada offers sponsor indigenous coastguards, in recognition of their unique knowledge; and Indigenous knowledge of tiger behavior are helping to avoid human-wildlife conflict in Nepal.
This is a radical departure from the past, when the knowledge and efforts of Indigenous peoples had traditionally been marginalized or discredited.
The emerging recognition of the importance of indigenous knowledge about the natural world is part of a broader realization that there are cracks in our global capitalist system – cracks that if allowed to continue to develop, would pose an existential threat to humanity.
The Financial Times front page headline in 2019, “Capitalism. Time to reset“Summary of what is needed – a profound transformation of the global status quo of how we protect, restore and manage natural resources, and re-establish our relationship with indigenous peoples, especially women and young people.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the first Equator award, led by UNDP partner’s initiative recognizes indigenous peoples and local communities from around the world using nature-based sustainable solutions to achieve their local development needs.
Participation 264 winners previously, out of this year’s ten winners, selected from a total of more than 500 nominations from 109 countries, are some examples of the economic and social transformations needed to bring knowledge Indigenous and indigenous women to the forefront of a new pact with nature.
At the forefront of recovery knowledge
The Associação Rede de Sementes do Xingu from Brazil brings together women from 25 indigenous and agricultural communities to collect and commercialize more than 220 different native seed species for large-scale ecological reforestation in the Amazon and Cerrado.
In doing so, they have generated over $700,000 in local income, financially empowering Indigenous women throughout the region. The organization also collaborates with local research institutions to exchange and combine local knowledge, practices and research and techniques to combat industrial agriculture and mass deforestation, sowing seed by seed.
Restoration is a social and ecological imperative; Latest Global land prospect found that up to 40% of the world’s land area is degraded. And while the global community has committed to restoring one billion hectares of infertile land by 2030through the knowledge and actions of community members, such as those from the Associação Rede de Sementes do Xingu, can help make these commitments a reality.
The Organiación de Mujeres Indígenas Unidas by la Biodiversidad de Panamá is an indigenous-led organization in Panama that uses indigenous knowledge of conservation techniques to protect the American jaguar, while preserving both their territory and culture.
Recently Report on the global assessment of biodiversity and ecosystem services of the International Commission on Biodiversity and Ecosystems found that more than a million species are endangered and that large predators such as jaguars are particularly vulnerable to disruptions in environmental connectivity. habitats, especially in a place like Panama, where there’s likely to be a narrow corridor connecting the continents.
OMIUBP’s indigenous knowledge and actions play an essential and vital role in protecting the future of the jaguar.
Leading the way in a sustainable supply chain
The Ghana’s Sunkpa Shea Women’s Cooperative, a cooperative led by indigenous women, is setting an example for sustainable commodity production through their shea butter production cooperative. The cooperative has redefined production practices in the area by developing a Community Resource Management Area that includes production areas, restricted areas and restricted use areas.
Their management plan also includes the restoration of ecosystems with indigenous food forests, as well as traditional fire management methods to reduce the risk of wildfires in this drought-stricken area. of Ghana. By integrating organic production into international supply chains, they are improving the lives of 800 women, while protecting biodiversity and eliminating deforestation.
While hundreds of companies have pledged to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains, Few people achieve this goal. It is through progressive groups like Ghana’s Sunkpa Shea Cooperative that we see real progress.
The International Day of Indigenous Peoples, celebrated annually on August 9, with the theme of Indigenous women’s role in preserving traditional knowledge, is a reminder timely about the profound transformations we need today and the need to nurture the roles of women in transmitting intergenerational knowledge at the core of identity, culture and heritage native.
This year’s winners of the Equator Prize are an inspiration to show that these transformations are already underway and that effective women-led solutions to our planet’s crises are in the pipeline. reach of hand.
Learn more about the winners on ‘s Equator Initiative website and join us to celebrate November 30th at virtual Nature center for life.
IPS UN Office
By @IPSNewsUNBureau
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