IWGIA’s latest human rights report examines the sociocultural impacts two particular projects – the Lake Turkana Wind Power project and Olkaria Geothermal Power plants – are having in several Indigenous communities in Kenya.

If we calculate all the risks, 90 million Adivasis are struggling for their survival, losing access to forests and suffering the gravest threat of being alienated from their forest lands and traditional habitations. This book is an attempt to understand the relationship between Adivasis and the forest, unfolding the ground realities of the Forest Rights Act. It exposes the dual role of the State ...

The purpose of this briefing paper is to provide data on: (1) the land tenure situation of Indigenous Peoples on a global level; (2) the trends of land grabbing; and (3) the drivers behind this phenomenon.

In the current global economic consensus of neoliberalism, maximizing profit is prioritized on behalf of respecting international human rights regulations. Ensuring multinational enterprises implement adequate corporate responsibility in Peru has been troublesome. This report describes issues of union member harassment, questionable tax practices and denial of local Indigenous communities their ri...

Since early August 2019, the most widespread and enduring fires in Bolivia’s history have been recorded in the country’s lowlands (Tierras Bajas). Widespread due to the large area burned and enduring because climatic conditions, along with the negligence of the authorities and even of those involved in the conflict themselves (who have risked setting fires in order to prepare the land for cult...

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of the Government of India published the Draft National Forest Policy of 2018 on 14 March 2018 and is expected to finalise the policy soon.  This draft policy provides for the adoption of а completely new legal framework that is discriminatory towards indigenous peoples and seeks to take away the rights of the indigenous peoples already re...

The world today faces many challenges: a global climate and biodiversity crisis, rising inequality, shrinking civic space in many countries, and increasing distrust in international institutions and national political systems. Indigenous peoples make up five percent of the world’s population and are disproportionately affected by much of this; but they are also key to many of the world’s solut...

To create a room for indigenous peoples to discuss and analyse their experiences around autonomy and self-government, the international seminar "Right to Autonomy and Indigenous Self-Government as a manifestation of the Right to Self-Determination of Indigenous Peoples" was held on March 11, 12 and 13, 2019 in Mexico. Indigenous representatives from Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Nicarag...

Organisée en parallèle à la quarante-deuxième session du Conseil des gouverneurs du FIDA Thème: Promouvoir les savoirs et innovations des peuples autochtones en faveur de la résilience aux changements climatiques et du développement durable

Climate change is the great global challenge of the 21st century. Because of climate change, undesirable disasters became intense and has caused loss of many lives and billions of dollars’ worth of properties. To respond to climate change, the United Nations founded the body called United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change with the global...

In Myanmar, women manage forests and depend on them for their livelihoods, but their tenure over these forests is insecure. Women often have distinct roles in managing forests as compared to men, and therefore also have expert knowledge about forests and different priorities for how forests are managed. Despite their distinct knowledge and priorities, women in Myanmar are under-represented in deci...

The report on the current state of Indigenous Peoples’ Lands, Territories and Resources (LTR) was prepared by the Indigenous Peoples Major Group (IPMG) to inform the implementation of global commitments to Sustainable Development and the various related processes for transformational change. It is a summary of regional reports written by indigenous researchers and experts under the guidance of t...

Rising tensions between states and indigenous peoples are reaching a tipping point, and with an ever-shrinking civic space worldwide, the topics of criminalisation of Indigenous Rights Defenders’ activities and their organisations; land rights issues; and access to justice are more important than ever. The Indigenous World 2019 adds to the documented records, highlighting the increase in a...

Myanmar has adopted a National Land Use Policy in 2016 which mandates the enactment of a comprehensive National Land Law. Once a National Land Law is passed, all other laws will have to be harmonized with its provisions. This new law will be critical for the future of Myanmar’s indigenous peoples, most of whom depend on land and natural resources for their livelihood. Control over land and reso...

An International Seminar to assess the global status and trends with regards to indigenous autonomies is taking place in Mexico City in March 2019. This meeting follows the work developed by indigenous organizations and the organizing institutions over the last few years. In January 2018, at its annual Expert Meeting, the UN Permanent Forum was requested to compile information on indigenous autono...

Myanmar is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change, with the threat of flooding, drought, cyclones, and changing rainfall patters threatening lives and livelihoods.1 Myanmar’s National Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (2017) outlines the major risks that Myanmar will face. Heavier rainfall and shorter monsoons increase the risk of landslides in the uplands and ...

This synthesis report of marginalized and vulnerable indigenous peoples in Thailand represents the cases of ten indigenous groups who are targets of the Community Knowledge-Based Database System (CKBDS) project for empowering the most marginalized and vulnerable indigenous groups in Thailand, namely Mlabri, Kow (Umpi), Bisu, Chong, Yakoor, Saek, Moken, Moklen, Urak-Lawoy and Mani. These groups are...

Human rights defenders are dying, attacked and criminalized all over the world. This is happening at an increasingly alarming rate. In 2017, over 400 people were killed while protecting their community’s land or natural resources. Approximately half of these were indigenous peoples. The conference aimed to understand why in particular and increasingly indigenous peoples from developing countries...

In light of the urgency of both forest conservation and the recognition of indigenous communities’ rights to land and resources, along with the documented potential for creating conservation synergies through recognition of community rights, this study tries to look at the approaches to forest conservation taken in Myanmar so far, and to take stock of their achievements and impact with respect t...

The rising tensions between states and indigenous peoples are reaching a tipping point and The Indigenous World 2018 adds to the documented records, highlighting the increase in attacks and killings of indigenous peoples while defending their lands. The Indigenous World is a one-of-a-kind documentation tool, that offers a comprehensive yearly overview of the developments indigenous peopl...

Customary land tenure of the indigenous peoples in Myanmar is not recognized in policies and laws. Lack of legal protection leaves indigenous territories insecure, threatened by investments and other forms of land concession. On the other hand, there is little evidence showing how the community is managing and using the land. Therefore the study to document the customary land tenure system of indi...

Naga society is a casteless and classless society where, traditionally, women have enjoyed a high social positioning and a fair spirit of independence, playing very central roles in family and community affairs; however, it is also a patriarchal, patrilineal and patrilocal society where, for instance, family names are carried forward through sons, who are also the family members that inherit fami...

In 2003, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) established the Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities in Africa (WGIP) with the responsibility to advise the Commission on matters relating to the rights of indigenous populations/communities on the continent. In this capacity, the WGIP found it appropriate to commission a study on extractive industries, land righ...

BULLETIN ÉLECTRONIQUE PAR LE GROUPE DE TRAVAIL SUR LES POPULATIONS ET COMMUNAUTÉS AUTOCHTONES NOVEMBRE 2017 / NUMÉRO 1 La voix des autochtones est un bulletin électronique annuel publié par le Groupe de travail sur les populations et communautés autochtones (le GTPA ou le Groupe de travail) de la Commission africaine des droits de l’Homme et des peuples (la Commission). Le bulletin a pou...

UPDATES FROM THE WORKING GROUP ON INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS IN AFRICA NOVEMBER 2017 / ISSUE 1 The Voice of the Indigenous is an annual e-newsletter of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities (WGIP) of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Commission) that aims to create awareness about the situation and rights of indigenous populations/communities in Africa as w...

Four reports illustrate how the method “participatory action research” can benefit Indigenous Peoples by acknowledging traditional knowledge and documenting land use and ownership for future generations.

Four reports illustrate how the method “participatory action research” can benefit Indigenous Peoples by acknowledging traditional knowledge and documenting land use and ownership for future generations.

Four reports illustrate how the method “participatory action research” can benefit Indigenous Peoples by acknowledging traditional knowledge and documenting land use and ownership for future generations.

Four reports illustrate how the method “participatory action research” can benefit Indigenous Peoples by acknowledging traditional knowledge and documenting land use and ownership for future generations.