This year August 9 marks the close of a decade dedicated to the world's indigenous peoples. The decade was a call to action for governments and all members of the international development community to work in partnership with indigenous peoples on key issues including human rights, rights to land and resources, the environment, development, education and health.

The close of the decade in no way signifies an end to this partnership. ''In many ways, our work and partnership with indigenous peoples has just begun,'' said Vanda Altarelli, IFAD's adviser on indigenous peoples. ''Now that we've gotten to know each other and seem to be on the right track, it's important to keep up the momentum.'' The United Nations is favourably considering a request by indigenous peoples for the declaration of a second decade.

There are about 300 million indigenous men, women and children worldwide. They are extremely diverse - more than 5,000 different groups of indigenous peoples live in more than 70 countries. They make up one third of the world's 900 million extremely poor rural people. In many countries, indigenous peoples are the most severely disadvantaged. They are often forced to live on the least productive terrain, denied rights to land, forests and other natural resources that they have managed sustainably for millennia, and marginalized by modern society.

Yet, their value systems, spirituality, capabilities and cultures have huge untapped potential for sustainable development. They play a crucial role in the stewardship of natural resources and biodiversity and provide environmental services at local, regional and international levels. Indigenous peoples have rich, varied and locally rooted knowledge systems and their immense cultural diversity is extremely valuable in a world threatened by the homogenizing trend of globalization.

Today, there is a growing consensus that accountability is crucial to poverty reduction, human development and human security. The human rights approach to poverty reduction emphasizes the obligations of governments and all partners in the development process and requires that they be held to account for their conduct in relation to international human rights. This has led to greater emphasis on the obligations of governments and UN agencies towards indigenous peoples.

UN sources acknowledge achievements over the past decade, noting that several organizations and agencies have increased their activities related to indigenous peoples. Ten years of work has served to raise the profile of indigenous peoples' concerns and to improve awareness and understanding of their special needs.

Learning to work in partnership

IFAD has worked with indigenous peoples since it was created, initially offering solutions to boost agricultural production and income. Today, 26 years later, IFAD emphasizes partnership with indigenous peoples, supporting their self-empowerment so that they can address the root causes of their marginalization. It backs them in their efforts to strengthen their own voices and ability to claim rights to land and resources, by providing legal advice, assistance and training. Legal defence funds have been set up in India and Nepal , for example, to minimize exploitation and protect the rights of indigenous peoples and women to land.

IFAD is increasingly adopting a rights-based approach to programming, in which the aim of all activities is to contribute directly to the realization of one or several human rights. The organization also advocates with governments. For example, the IFAD-funded Orissa Tribal Empowerment and Livelihoods Programme in India successfully advocated for women to be able to inherit dongar pattas (land deeds).

IFAD pays special attention to the needs of indigenous women and works to expand their access to and control over fundamental assets like capital, land, knowledge and technologies. The role of indigenous women as peace brokers is also supported by IFAD - a vital role given that many of the world's conflict zones are home to indigenous groups. Insurgency is particularly rife in areas where ethnic minorities have suffered human rights violations, but experience has shown that women often hold the key to reconciliation and post-conflict reconstruction.

New projects in 2003

In 2003, IFAD allocated USD 138.1 million in loans to six projects that will benefit more than half a million indigenous families in China , Ecuador , India , Indonesia and Laos . In the same year, IFAD provided five grants totalling just under USD 1.3 million directly to indigenous organizations or to organizations working with them, in the Amazon Basin, Brazil, Guatemala , India and The Philippines.

Also in 2003, the International Land Coalition (ILC) initiated projects in six countries to secure the land rights of indigenous communities or promote indigenous natural resource management. Hosted by IFAD, the ILC works with rural poor people to increase their secure access to natural resources, and to enable them to participate directly in policy and decision-making processes that affect their livelihoods. The ILC contributed USD 392,000 to the total cost of USD 1.165 million of these projects.

As part of its work in support of indigenous identity and intercultural awareness, IFAD was associated with the production of a documentary about the Garo people in north-eastern India . Entitled Still, the children are here, the documentary was produced by Mira Nair and directed by Dinaz Stafford. Shot in the village of Sadolpara in the West Garo hills, it shows the daily life of a people who cultivate rice as their ancestors have done for 6,000 years, while confronted with the challenges of a changing world.

The documentary has been selected by the prestigious Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland . It will also be screened at the Planet in Focus Film Festival in Toronto in September 2004, and will be distributed in the United States later in the year. (For information on how to obtain a copy of the documentary for non-commercial purposes, contact IFAD's Manager Video, Radio and Visual Media James Heer )

The close of the decade is a time to take stock, to seriously consider how to continue to enhance the well-being and rights of indigenous peoples and to support them in realizing their capabilities. The UN report on the decade acknowledges that indigenous peoples in many countries continue to be among the poorest and most marginalized. On the crucial matter of human rights protection, two issues are highlighted. The first is the lack of implementation of human rights standards at national level, noted repeatedly by the UN Special Rapporteur on indigenous peoples and the Secretary-General. The second concerns the adoption of the draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples, which was recommended in the decade's programme of activities, but which has not yet been achieved.

In his message on the International Day of the World's Indigenous People, Secretary-General Kofi Annan appeals for decisive action: ''A dialogue and partnership with the United Nations has been launched in the context of the International Decade. That process needs to bear fruit through decisive action at the regional, national and local level. In those efforts, governments, intergovernmental organizations and civil society must work to empower indigenous people and ensure their participation in decisions that affect their lives.''