30 April 2010: The ninth session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), which convened from 19-30 April 2010, at UN Headquarters in New York, US, considered economic and social issues and their impacts, including the financial crisis, climate change, forests and the actions of multinational corporations, among other issues.
The special theme of the session was “Indigenous peoples: development with culture and identity.” In its concluding session, the Forum adopted a draft report that urged the UN system to support indigenous peoples’ efforts in formulating their own development models based on their values, cultures and identities.
On climate change specifically, the Forum considered the results of the Copenhagen meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the implications for indigenous peoples’ local adaptation and mitigation measures (E/C.19/2010/18). The session also considered a study on the impact of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures on reindeer herding (E/C.19/2010/15) and a study on the extent to which climate change policies and projects adhere to the standards set forth in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (E/C.19/2010/7). In addition, climate issues were prominent in the discussion of other themes such as land rights issues, which focused on the anthropogenic impact of climate change, its impacts on forests and the renewed interest in such ecosystems due to their capacity for carbon sequestration, and the impact of land use and climate change on reindeer grazing lands.
The Forum recommended that its tenth session be held from 16-27 May 2011,in New York, and to host a three-day international expert group meeting on indigenous peoples and forests, to report to the ninth session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF). [UN News Press Release, 30 April] [UN News Press Release, 29 April] [UN News Press Release, 28 April] [UNPFII 9 website] [9th Session Report]