State of the Rainforest 2014

People in the rainforests

Still, their numerous ethnic groups represent the main cultural diversity of the world. The greatest number of indigenous peoples is found in the tropical forest regions. 60 A recent study on the correlation between areas with high biological diversity and high linguistic diversity further underscores the link between indigenous peoples and tropical rainforest. 61 Some 70 per cent of the world’s languages are spoken in the biodiversity hotspots, mainly tropical rainforests. Land is where collective culture is being lived and shared, and where the transfer of skills from one generation to the next takes place. Land is linked to worldview and historic references, and certain places have spiritual and religious importance. Land is intrinsically linked to worship, collective knowledge, to male/ female activities, to skills linked to food harvesting and medicine collection, house building, income generation, etc. According to ILO Convention 169 on the Rights of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples (1989), indigenous and tribal peoples ‘have the right to decide their own priorities for the process of development as it affects their lives, beliefs, institutions and spiritual well-being and the lands they occupy or otherwise use, and to exercise control over their economic, social and cultural development’(Article 7). Consultation with indigenous peoples should be undertaken through appropriate procedures, in good faith, and through the representative institutions of these peoples. Importantly, indigenous and tribal peoples also have a right to manage for themselves the land they use and depend on, expressed even

The world’s tropical forests are home to millions of people who depend on the forest for their livelihood. Their cultures are often closely linked to the forest. Even in forests which are considered ‘untouched wilderness’, a closer look reveals how indigenous peoples have, for thousands of years, used and harvested from the forest, and contributed to the management and protection of forests and their resources. An understanding of the close relationship between local communities and the forests and its resources must be at the core of any strategy to protect the forests. 56 Estimates vary, but around 750 million – 1 billion people depend directly on forest ecosystems and agroforestry for parts of their fuel wood, food and fodder needs. 57 At least 60million of the forest peoples are indigenous. 58 Forest-based indigenous peoples have strong social, cultural and spiritual bonds to their ancestral territories. If the forests disappear, these people lose not only their livelihoods, but also essential elements of their culture and identity. In the Amazon, peoples living in voluntary isolation, or ‘un-contacted indigenous peoples’, are particularly vulnerable. These are relatively small groups with distinct languages and cultures, living in the forest and explicitly avoiding contact with the majority society (see Peru story, section 3). Without special measures and effective protection of their ancestral forests, these peoplesmay well not exist a few years fromnow. Cultural diversity and land Indigenous peoples are relatively few in number, approximately 370 million people 59 and constitute about 5% of the world population.

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STATE OF THE RAINFOREST 2014