The Indigenous World 2025: IFAD's Engagement with Indigenous Peoples

Written on 25 April 2025. Posted in Indigenous Peoples at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

The Indigenous Peoples’ Forum at IFAD (IPFI) was established in 2011 as a permanent process of consultation and dialogue between representatives of Indigenous Peoples’ institutions and organizations, IFAD and governments. The global meeting of the Forum convenes every second February in conjunction with IFAD’s Governing Council, the Fund’s main decision-making body. A series of regional consultations lead up to each global meeting, ensuring that the Forum reflects the diversity of perspectives and recommendations gathered from Indigenous Peoples around the world. The overall process is guided by a steering committee (SC) composed of representatives of Indigenous Peoples’ Organizations from the different regions, representatives of Indigenous youth, the Indigenous Peoples Assistance Facility (IPAF) Board, the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) and IFAD.

A unique process within the UN system, the Forum aims to improve IFAD’s accountability, enhancing its development effectiveness for Indigenous Peoples. The Global Forum process, including its preparatory processes, enables participants to assess IFAD’s engagement with Indigenous Peoples, consult on rural development and poverty reduction, and promote the direct and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples’ organizations in IFAD’s operations at the country, regional and international levels. These activities help IFAD to implement its Policy on Engagement with Indigenous Peoples and translate the policy’s principles into action on the ground.

In 2024, in preparation for the Seventh Global Meeting of the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum at IFAD (IPFI), taking place in February 2025, 11 regional and subregional consultation meetings were held in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Pacific.^[1] The sessions provided a space for IFAD to update Indigenous Peoples’ Organizations (IPOs) and Indigenous Peoples’ communities and their representatives about the work conducted over the past two years, reflect on progress since the last IPFI global meeting, and engage in dialogue on the 2025 Forum’s overall theme, “Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination: a pathway for food security and sovereignty”.

This article is part of the 39^th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of an Indigenous activist Funa-ay Claver, a Bontok Igorot, standing alongside Indigenous youth activists and others. They are protesting against the repressive laws and human rights violations suffered through the actions and projects of the Government of the Philippines and other actors against Indigenous Peoples at President Marcos Jr’s national address on 22 July 2024 in Quezon City, Philippines. The photo was taken by Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas and is the cover of The Indigenous World 2025 where this article is featured. Find The Indigenous World 2025 in full here

The regional and subregional consultations

The format of the 2024 regional and subregional consultation sessions combined in-person and virtual formats to maximize participation. The sessions brought together over 450 participants from more than 70 countries, including representatives from IPOs and Indigenous Peoples’ communities, partners implementing the Indigenous Peoples Assistance Facility (IPAF) small grants, participants from IFAD-funded projects, and representatives from IFAD, the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, government representatives, and development partners. The meetings were organized by regional IPOs in collaboration with IFAD country offices, IFAD staff and the IPFI Steering Committee.

The objectives of the regional and subregional consultation meetings were to: (i) Exchange experiences and good practices on the main theme of the Forum; (ii) Share knowledge on and evidence of Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination and the exercise of this right to enhance food security and sovereignty; (iii) Identify opportunities for strengthening good practices and finding sustainable solutions to the challenges that Indigenous Peoples face in the recognition and exercise of their right to self-determination that IFAD can support; (iv) Analyse and formulate action-oriented recommendations on the theme of the Forum.

The sessions also contributed to: assessing the progress in implementation of the IFAD Policy on Engagement with Indigenous Peoples adopted in 2009 (updated in 2022), including the implementation of the regional action plans adopted at the IPFI Sixth Global Meeting (2023); and preparing the regional participation in the IPFI Seventh Global Meeting, including identifying different regional and subregional issues and related recommendations, and selecting delegates for the global meeting.

Main lessons learned common to all regions included: 

• The role of self-determination: Indigenous Peoples emphasized the importance of self-determination as a cornerstone for addressing systemic issues such as land tenure insecurity, governance, and the preservation of traditional livelihoods. Ensuring this right strengthens their ability to make decisions over their resources and future development.
• Intergenerational knowledge and leadership: Indigenous knowledge, passed down the generations, was highlighted as vital for climate resilience and sustainable practices. Women and youth play crucial roles as leaders, innovators, and custodians of this knowledge, driving community initiatives that balance tradition and modern challenges.
• Collaboration with external partners: Effective partnerships between IFAD, governments and IPOs are pivotal. Transparent and inclusive approaches have led to better project outcomes; however, there is still a need to simplify access to funding for Indigenous Peoples and to ensure that they are more directly involved in shaping and implementing initiatives that impact their communities.
• Cultural sustainability as resilience: The integration of cultural practices in food production, conservation, and governance models enhances community resilience. These systems provide not only food security but also social cohesion and identity preservation.

Several recommendations common to all regions were also made to IFAD, such as:

• Strengthening Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC): Systematically implement FPIC across all project stages to ensure that Indigenous Peoples’ voices are respected and their consent obtained before initiating projects. This includes enhancing monitoring mechanisms to verify compliance.
• Facilitating direct access to funding: Streamline funding processes to reduce bureaucratic barriers. IPOs, especially those led by women and youth, should have equitable access to financial resources for capacity-building and community-driven initiatives.
• Integrating climate adaptation and traditional knowledge: Support projects that merge traditional practices with modern climate adaptation strategies. This includes agroecology, reforestation and community-led biodiversity conservation efforts.
• Enhancing country and regional platforms for dialogue: Create or strengthen platforms at both the country and regional levels to enable continuous and constructive dialogue between Indigenous communities, governments and development partners. These platforms should focus on exchanging best practices and addressing context specific challenges.
• Promoting long-term investments in food sovereignty: Prioritize funding projects that promote sustainable food systems based on Indigenous knowledge. This includes support for seed banks, agroforestry, and the preservation of traditional crops.
• Capacity development for Indigenous leadership: Invest in training programs that allow governance, advocacy and technical capacities to be developed among Indigenous Peoples. This should include tailored support for Indigenous women and youth to amplify their roles within their communities and beyond.
• Monitoring and evaluating impact: Establish participatory mechanisms to evaluate the social, economic and environmental impacts of IFAD-funded projects. Indigenous Peoples must be actively involved in this process to ensure accountability and continuous improvement.

Opportunities and challenges

The regional consultations that took place in each region emphasized opportunities and challenges associated with the role Indigenous youth play in their communities.

In Africa, a recommendation was made to Indigenous Peoples’ constituencies to enhance Indigenous women and youth participation in rural development initiatives, recognizing their roles in food security and leadership, and ensuring that a portion of project funding directly benefits them.

Similarly, in the Pacific, the involvement of youth and women in knowledge preservation and transmission was recommended, including highlighting the role that Indigenous communities themselves can play in terms of empowerment, by training women and youth in sustainable living practices, empowering them to become self-sufficient and environmentally conscious.

In Asia, one day of the consultation was dedicated to a field visit, which included visiting rotational agriculture fields, a meal of diverse traditional foods, and discussion and sharing with the Indigenous Kui Youth Camp, who showcased the role of youth in the transmission of traditional agricultural knowledge, including through dance performance. In addition, the discussions in Asia brought up the importance of advocating for equal employment opportunities for youth and women in the communities and the possibility of encouraging their self-employment, always within the community, through capacity building (including financial literacy, value enterprise, and micro-enterprise support). Ensuring access to justice for youth, women, and children was also identified as a challenge.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the regional consultations were organized by the Fund for the Development of Indigenous Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean (FILAC) in partnership with the Red de Jóvenes Indígenas (Indigenous Youth Network) and the Organización Nacional Indígena de Colombia (National Indigenous Organization of Colombia). Special attention was therefore given to youth engagement and participation. Among the main issues raised were an agreement on the importance of strengthening intergenerational dialogue and the participation of youth and women, the need to improve access to resources for youth and women and the importance of collecting gender- and age-disaggregated data. A recommendation to IFAD included creating internship programs for Indigenous youth.

Grant financing, partnerships and advocacy in support of Indigenous youth

In 2024, an IFAD grant was approved to provide additional resources for the IFAD/Slow Food initiative “Enhancing Indigenous Youth and Women Capacities to Protect and Promote Their Communities’ Food Heritage”. The project involves members of the Slow Food Indigenous Peoples’ Network in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Kyrgyzstan and aims to empower Indigenous youth and women leaders by building their leadership skills to safeguard and promote their food heritage through training, events and grassroots projects, thus strengthening Indigenous Peoples’ commercialization and marketing techniques. This grant builds on the achievements of successful initiatives such as the Slow Food Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGSs) and Earth Markets, which emphasize the value of agroecology and food heritage.

In June 2024, IFAD supported the Indigenous Partnership (TIP) fellowship to organize a meeting aimed at deepening the understanding of Indigenous Peoples’ perspectives on global initiatives in food systems, biodiversity, climate change, nutrition, and nature-based livelihoods. It also explored strategies to connect global IPs’ advocacy with grassroots youth networks.

In September 2024, in preparation for the UN Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 16), IFAD’s biodiversity team held a strategic meeting with representatives of the Indigenous Youth Network to ensure their voices were included in global biodiversity discussions. The meeting was aimed at aligning priorities, sharing insights on biodiversity conservation, and exploring how Indigenous knowledge intersects with innovative practices for ecosystem preservation. Participants discussed key topics such as sustainable resource management, intergenerational knowledge transfer, and the role of Indigenous youth in shaping biodiversity and climate resilience policies. This collaborative effort highlights IFAD’s commitment to amplifying Indigenous voices and perspectives and fostering inclusive dialogue ahead of important international negotiations.

IFAD also engaged in several advocacy initiatives related to Indigenous youth. For example, in August 2024, for the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, IFAD launched a social media video to celebrate and honour Indigenous Peoples’ contributions to sustainable development and climate resilience. The video highlighted the vital role Indigenous communities play in preserving biodiversity, safeguarding traditional knowledge, and building resilient food systems. Through powerful visuals and stories from Indigenous leaders and youth, the video emphasized IFAD’s commitment to supporting Indigenous-driven solutions for a more sustainable future.

During the UNPFII, IFAD co-organized an official side event with ILC and Slow Food focused on “Youth & Women Protecting Indigenous Lands & Food Systems” and, during Slow Food Terra Madre Salone del Gusto in Turin in September 2024, IFAD hosted two events focusing on youth: (i) Indigenous Women and Youth on the Front Line, Reshaping the Future; and (ii) The Role of Indigenous Youth in Coffee Cultivation: Experiences from the Philippines, Thailand, and Mexico.

Ilaria Firmian is Senior Technical Specialist on Indigenous Peoples at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

This article is part of the 39^th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of an Indigenous activist Funa-ay Claver, a Bontok Igorot, standing alongside Indigenous youth activists and others. They are protesting against the repressive laws and human rights violations suffered through the actions and projects of the Government of the Philippines and other actors against Indigenous Peoples at President Marcos Jr’s national address on 22 July 2024 in Quezon City, Philippines. The photo was taken by Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas and is the cover of The Indigenous World 2025 where this article is featured. Find The Indigenous World 2025 in full here

Notes and references

^[1] For more on the regional meetings see: https://www.ifad.org/en/w/events/regional-meetings-ahead-of-the-global-meeting-of-the-indigenous-peoples-forum-at-ifad

Tags: Youth, Cultural Integrity , International Processes