UN organization to consider indigenous peoples' local adaptation and mitigation measures

Climate-L.org: The ninth session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), which will convene in New York, US, from 19-30 April 2010, will focus on “Indigenous peoples: development with culture and identity: articles 3 and 32 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” This session will consider three reports on the implications of climate change for indigenous peoples’ local adaptation and mitigation measures, namely: a report on the results of the UNFCCC Copenhagen meeting; a study on reindeer herding; 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.

The report on the "Results of the Copenhagen meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC; implications for indigenous peoples’ local adaptation and mitigation measures" (E/C.19/2010/18) addresses equity and justice issues, the agreements reached on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD-plus) and the ways forward, and the Copenhagen Accord.

The "Study on the impact of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures on reindeer herding" (E/C.19/2010/15) notes that the extent of vulnerability and resilience to climate change depends not only on cultural aspects and ecosystem diversity but also on the political, legal and institutional rules that govern socioeconomic systems and socio-ecological systems. The study is based on country cases from Russia, Mongolia, China, the US (Alaska), Canada (Northwest territories), Greenland, Finland, Norway and Sweden….

North American reindeer, shot by Dean Biggins, US Fish and Wildlife Service