Press release number: IFAD 13/05

Experts gather on the eve of IFAD's Governing Council session to discuss

Rome, 16 February 2005 - Representatives from the United Nations and other organizations working on indigenous issues gathered on the eve of IFAD’s Governing Council session for a special event at the Palazzo dei Congressi to discuss “Integrating indigenous peoples’ perspectives on development to reach the Millennium Development Goals.”

The message of the event was clear: to overcome poverty, the world’s 300 million indigenous peoples need special development initiatives based on their own objectives and needs.

The event was organized by the Secretariat of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and Tebtebba/Indigenous Peoples’ International Centre for Policy Research and Education, in cooperation from IFAD, and featured representatives from six different organizations from Guatemala, India, Nicaragua, Kenya and the Philippines, as well as the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies in Denmark.

Indigenous peoples constitute about one third of the world’s poorest and most marginalized people and live in more than 70 countries. Yet their needs and perspectives are seldom taken into consideration in development policies and practices. Even the Millennium Development Goals – the most broadly supported, comprehensive and specific poverty targets the world has ever established – have overlooked many of the special needs and contributions of indigenous and tribal peoples.

For a host of political and historical reasons, indigenous peoples tend to live on the least fertile and most fragile lands, such as remote forestlands or rugged mountain areas. In these isolated and harsh environments, many indigenous peoples find it difficult to grow enough food to eat, earn a living, access medical care, receive an education, and improve their lives while preserving their cultural identity.

Historically, development schemes have tried to integrate indigenous peoples into mainstream society. Not only were such efforts unwelcome, they were often destabilizing factors that served to exacerbate poverty and create conflict in many indigenous communities.

“Mainstream development has acquired a bad name for many indigenous peoples,” said Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, the executive director of Tebtebba and a member of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. “But the last two decades have seen several positive examples of development projects within indigenous communities.”

Since 1978, IFAD has channelled a significant part of its loans and grants to support indigenous peoples in various regions of the world.

“In Asia and Latin America alone, IFAD has allocated more than US$ 800 million projects supporting indigenous peoples – about one-fifth of the total loans extended in those regions,” said Cyril Enweze, IFAD’s vice president.

In Africa, IFAD is helping pastoralists and other small groups, including the Imraguen fishers in Mauritania and the Batwa peoples in the Republic of Democratic Congo and Rwanda, improve their livelihoods and natural resources management.

“IFAD has also taken a more proactive advocacy role for indigenous peoples within the international dialogue, beyond the confines of our projects,” said Enweze.

“We are interested in indigenous peoples not only because of the extreme poverty they face but their enormous untapped potential. IFAD greatly appreciates the value systems of indigenous peoples and recognize their knowledge and stewardship of natural resources and biodiversity.”

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IFAD is a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries. Seventy-five per cent of the world's poorest people – 900 million women, children and men – live in rural areas and depend on agriculture and related activities for their livelihoods. Through low-interest loans and grants, IFAD works with governments to develop and finance programmes and projects that enable rural poor people to overcome poverty themselves.

There are close to 200 ongoing IFAD-supported rural poverty eradication programmes and projects, totaling US$ 6.5 billion. IFAD has invested about US$ 3 billion in these initiatives. Co-financing has been provided by governments, beneficiaries, multilateral and bilateral donors and other partners. At full development, these programmes will help more than 100 million rural poor women and men to achieve better lives for themselves and their families. Since starting operations in 1978, IFAD has invested US$ 8.5 billion in 676 projects and programmes that have helped more than 250 million poor rural men and women achieve better lives for themselves and their families.