UNFCCC: The rights, roles and contributions of Indigenous Peoples in NDCs: Experience from Asia

The forest and land use sector can provide up to one third of the emissions reductions needed to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change representing the most significant opportunity to increase the ambition of NDCs in many tropical forested countries. Forests are also central to the traditions, cultures, and livelihoods of some 70 million Indigenous people worldwide who provide environmental stewardship to at least 36 % of the world’s intact forests.

The rights of Indigenous Peoples are protected under international human rights laws and standards and the preamble of the Paris Agreement acknowledges the need for State Parties to respect, promote and consider their obligations to these rights. Efforts to ensure the inclusion of indigenous knowledge in climate mitigation and adaptation measures and to strengthen Indigenous Peoples’ participation in the formal negotiation process of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have been boosted by the establishment of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform.

Analysis undertaken by the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) and the Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) over the past two years, supported by UNDP, the UN-REDD Programme, the Development Cooperation Section of the Embassy of Sweden in Bangkok and the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) through Swedbio at the Stockholm Resilience Centre investigates the rights, roles, and contributions of Indigenous Peoples in the NDCs of ten countries in Asia (Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam) against nine indicators.

Sharing the findings of an analysis of NDCs in 10 Asian countries, assessing how the rights and contributions of IPs are reflected in national climate commitments, identifying best practices, gaps, and issuing a call to action to recognize IPs as equal partners in efforts to enhance climate ambition.

Virtual participation will be available for registered SB 56 participants. 

This event will be broadcast on UNFCCC's Youtube Channel. Please click here to watch.