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Genetic, species, ecosystem: learn about the three main types of biodiversity and explore the role each plays in making agriculture productive, nutritious and resilient.

On this episode, Indigenous leaders from Nepal, Mexico and Kenya weigh in on what it means to protect the planet while preserving their cultures, and fighting for the right to land, nutrition and education.

For countless people in IFAD-supported projects, 2023 was a year in which their lives changed. Here are some of the stories we told over the past 12 months.  

When climate and natural disasters strike, it’s rural people who are worst affected. Investing in their resilience ensures that they not only endure times of crisis, but emerge stronger. Associate Vice-President of Programmes Donal Brown explains how rural communities can change the world for the better.

Climate change is having a huge impact on Indigenous Peoples all over the world. We sat down with three indigenous youth to talk about how erratic weather patterns are affecting their communities and how they are drawing on tradition and technology to cope with it.

As the climate crisis intensifies and the world seeks sustainable solutions, IFAD, together with its partners the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and the Packard Foundation, have today announced the recipients of the Indigenous Peoples' Assistance Facility grants.

Few storytelling mediums are more powerful than film. Find out how IFAD is using virtual reality and 360° video technology to ensure that rural people’s voices are heard.

Indigenous youth not only embody many generations of tradition, but they are also the guardians of our future. By playing critical roles in today's society, they are shaping a better world.

The world is full of misconceptions about rural people and the environment. Find out what’s true and what’s not, as we debunk three major myths.

Biodiversity is especially important for small-scale farmers. Here’s how IFAD is further integrating it into projects all over the world.

IFAD and the government of the state of Maranhão launched today a project that seeks to address the pressing issue of environmental degradation of the Amazon Forest in Maranhão and the high rates of poverty and food insecurity in the region - the “Amazon Sustainable Management Project (PAGES).”

Journalists can play an important role in telling the stories of Indigenous Peoples. Here are five ways in which the media can report on these important communities in a meaningful way.  

Find out what happens behind the scenes of an IFAD project as we answer our followers’ top questions.

In Peru, IFAD-funded project helps small-scale farmers connect to new markets and access technical assistance online.

Gracias a su excelente gestión ganadera, adaptada al cambio climático, y la protección efectiva sus medios de vida y los ecosistemas, los Pueblos Indígenas de tres departamentos de Bolivia se hicieron merecedores del Premio de los Pueblos Indígenas, siendo así reconocidos como el proyecto con mejores resultados entre aquellos financiados por el FIDA.

Through the Indigenous Peoples Awards, IFAD celebrates inspirational development projects that partnered with and made a real difference to indigenous communities in 2022

40 indigenous leaders, who were in Rome to attend the 6th Global Meeting of the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum hosted by IFAD, met with with His Holiness, Pope Francis, today, and raised their concerns about the toll that extractive and exploitive industries fuelling the global economy were having on growing inequality, preventing access to basic human rights and hindering environmental sustainability.

IFAD’s updated Policy on Engagement with Indigenous Peoples enshrines the value of their traditions and supports the crucial role they play in the world. We spoke with three experts to get an insight into the policy.

With IFAD’s Indigenous Peoples’ Forum coming up in February, we focus on a crucial yet underrepresented group in the fight for climate change: Indigenous Peoples.

As we near the end of 2022, IFAD looks back on some of the themes that defined a year of dramatic change.

To conserve biodiversity, Indigenous Peoples use centuries-old food systems anchored in sustainable practices and unique to their native ecosystems.

Violence against women is one of the greatest barriers to sustainable development. On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, let's reaffirm commitments to eliminate and prevent gender-based violence.  

In the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, a group of indigenous women are fighting climate change through reforestation and ancestral farming techniques.  

Even when a world without poverty seems out of reach, here’s how IFAD continues to work in developing countries, amplifying the voices of rural people and integrating them into value chains, so they can earn and save, while feeding the world and conserving the natural environment.

Young members of indigenous communities are working to reverse centuries of dispossession and preserve their way of life, including their food heritage.

The Indigenous Peoples Awards recognize the efforts and the achievements of development projects that successfully engage with indigenous peoples or ethnic minorities living in rural areas. They promote best practices, share knowledge and identify opportunities to replicate and scale-up results.

Indigenous peoples can teach us a lot about mitigating the impacts of climate change. Over generations, these communities have protected the biodiversity of their homes. They also use language in a powerful way to describe how they interact with the natural environment. Discover five unique words and concepts.

IFAD and the Government of the State of Maranhão signed a financing agreement today for the implementation of the Amazon Sustainable Management Project (PAGES). Implemented in Brazil’s state with the highest poverty and food insecurity rates, the project will address the entrenched environmental degradation of the Amazonian forest.

At the heart of this year’s session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is “free, prior and informed consent.” Quite a mouthful! But what does it really mean? And why does it matter?

Learn more about food sovereignty and what it means for indigenous peoples with Dr Elifuraha Laltaika, a professor of law and expert on indigenous peoples’ rights.

Over the millennia, indigenous peoples have developed practices that honour the interconnectedness of people and nature – yet all too often, their contributions are overlooked and devalued. IFAD is committed to supporting indigenous peoples in overcoming poverty and meeting global challenges through building on their identities and cultures.

Every year, we recognize a project from each of our regions that empowers rural women and girls. Here, we present the winners of the 2021 Gender Awards.

Brejo Dois Irmãos is a tiny and isolated community of 200 families in north-east Brazil. It hides a precious treasure: the burití, or “tree of life” in the indigenous Tupi-Guarani language.

Our vision of inclusive, sustainable, green, and resilient rural economies can’t be accomplished without the inclusion of persons with disabilities. We are committed to finding ways for persons with disabilities to participate fully in society and realize their potential as contributors to vibrant rural economies.

The end of COP26 is fast approaching, and we’re still waiting for a final agreement. However, based on the draft texts that have been released, it’s clear there’s still a risk of gaps between long-term targets and short-term action.

Brazil’s São Francisco river is a place of convergences. The river delta, and the stunning tropical forest surrounding it, is home to many different ethnic groups who settled there in search of a fresh start. Plans for a new ecotourism route that would allow visitors to experience the area’s rich culture and traditions were well under way – and then the pandemic struck. Nevertheless, one IFAD-funded project managed to support the region’s artisans and fishers.

“Nature-based solutions” (NbS) might sound like a buzzword, but these techniques are some of the most effective tools in our arsenal against the effects of climate change.

The natural world has a wealth of plants that can sustain human life, yet global food systems are dominated by just three: wheat, maize, and rice. These species provide 50 percent of the plant-based calories we eat and occupy 40 percent of the world’s arable land.

Shifting cultivation is an indigenous food system practiced by millions of people across south and south-east Asia. A new resource book authored by Dr Dhrupad Choudhury, in collaboration with ICIMOD, is designed to guide policymakers and development professionals in sustainably transforming this practice.

EcoHimal Nepal is a national non-government organization that works with rural mountain communities. They developed a project with NELHOS, another local organization funded by IFAD, in Rukuma and Chepuwa villages of Bhotkhola Rural municipality to develop ‘’smoke-free kitchens’’.

IFAD’s Annual Report provides a concise, compelling and interactive discussion of how we addressed the challenges of the last year.

For over a decade, Chef Shane Chartrand has been on a personal and culinary journey: figuring out what it means to be of Cree descent and of Métis upbringing, and how to integrate that into being a professional chef living and working in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on Treaty 6 territory.

The rights of indigenous peoples to control their land according to their own needs and decisions is fundamental to protect their livelihoods and defend the biodiversity of native animal breeds and plant varieties.

An unprecedented commitment to ensure that the voices and opinions of millions of the world’s most remote rural people are at the heart of the United Nations Food Systems Summit was announced today by the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, Agnes Kalibata and the President of IFAD, Gilbert F. Houngbo.

Indigenous Peoples have suffered disproportionately from the economic impacts of COVID-19, yet they hold essential knowledge for rebuilding a more sustainable and resilient post-pandemic world, free of poverty and hunger, said Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of IFAD, at the opening of the Fifth global meeting of the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum today.

Indigenous food systems represent a treasure trove of knowledge that contributes to well-being and health, benefiting communities, preserving a rich biodiversity, and providing nutritious food.

This year, representatives from Indigenous Peoples’ groups from around 57 countries will meet with development organisations and governments to discuss ways to address challenges and opportunities.

In this month’s episode, we’re focusing on youth and indigenous peoples as agents of change in the developing world.

2020 has been a tumultuous year. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone across the world – and meanwhile, the other challenges faced by rural people across the globe haven’t gone away.

Our current food systems are not sustainable. Hunger has been on the rise for several years, with an estimated 811 million people worldwide going hungry in 2020 – and with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, up to 132 million more people are expected to join this number soon.

For rural people, especially low-income rural people, land and livelihood are one and the same.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues on, many people around the world, including small-scale farmers, are learning how to cope with its various effects.

From climate action groups to political institutions, youth are taking on leading roles and bringing new perspectives into the table – showing they are not only the future, but also the present.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many people to re-examine everything: their priorities, their jobs, even their roles in society.

58 millones de mujeres viven en zonas rurales de América Latina y el Caribe; una parte importante de ellas juega un rol central en la producción y abastecimiento de alimentos

IFAD launches the first call for nominations for the Indigenous Peoples Awards to recognize the efforts and the achievements of development projects that successfully engage with Indigenous Peoples or ethnic minorities living in rural areas.

Although you won’t find the little village of Wowetta on any Internet map, it’s the centre of the universe for Priscilla Torres, a 37-year-old Wapishana woman. A very active and outspoken mother of three, Priscilla is a true community leader.

Indigenous Peoples and their unique knowledge are essential to address the COVID-19 outbreak and to build a more sustainable, resilient world.

It is increasingly clear that human health and our relationship with nature are inescapably intertwined. This holds true across many dimensions of health, including the potential for the transmission of disease – just as we are seeing with the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Resilience has become the talk of the town in the development community.

Mattia Prayer Galletti, lead technical specialist at IFAD , talks about indigenous peoples.

Malnutrition causes health problems and losses in economic productivity. Over the course of their lifetimes, malnourished individuals can earn 10 per cent less than those who are well-nourished.

In IFAD's Podcast Episode 5, we’re focusing on indigenous peoples and the challenges they face when it comes to agriculture.

I have always loved food - how it brings people together, the smells and flavours of new cultures. I guess I associate food most with gathering, communion.

Have you ever found yourself looking outside the window, wondering if it will be raining soon? Perhaps you never thought of asking the ants.

What are the global transformations required for our food systems to become sustainable in the face of climate change?

Against the backdrop of the climate crisis, José Gregorio Diaz Mirabal, Coordinator of the Congress of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA) visited IFAD in Rome, where he discussed the situation affecting the Amazon and the implications for indigenous peoples’ livelihoods and for humanity as a whole.

Development projects that integrate investments in rural indigenous peoples, youth and women with measures to adapt to climate change are more likely to be successful in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to a new report launched today by IFAD.

A new framework will guide practitioners to use a broad portfolio of crop species to bring nutrition back to the table.

The Jakun people is the largest group of the Orang Asli Indigenous Peoples of Malaysia. They have an amazing partnership between people and the forest - looking after it and using only what they need to live. But their traditional livelihoods are at risk.

In the Sierra Norte mountain range in Mexico lives a special breed of bee. Known locally as pisilnekmej, the Scaptotrigona Mexicana is a member of the family native to the American continent whose distinctive trait is that they have no sting.

The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) will be held on 22 April to 3 May in New York. Here is our shortlist of books on the diverse issues affecting Indigenous Peoples around the world that will be discussed at the Forum.

In the Chencha region of southern Ethiopia, erosion continues to be a pressing concern for the Gamo people, one of the main indigenous tribes of Ethiopia. The Gamo people live in the highland area and primarily practice mixed agriculture and weaving.

Leaders attending the 4th Global Meeting of the Indigenous Peoples' Forum, held at the International Fund for Agricultural Development's (IFAD's) headquarters, called on governments to recognise indigenous peoples’ contributions in the fight to reduce the impacts of climate change and encourage sustainable development around the world.

Over the years international support for indigenous peoples has grown, also sanctioned by international declarations.

The fourth global meeting of the Indigenous Peoples' Forum at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) promotes indigenous peoples' knowledge and innovations for climate resilience and sustainable development.