UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (at podium) addresses the opening of the 22nd session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at the UN headquarters in New York, on April 17, 2023. Indigenous Peoples hold many solutions to the climate crisis and the world has much to learn from them, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday. (Eskinder Debebe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)
UNITED NATIONS, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Indigenous Peoples hold many solutions to the climate crisis and the world has much to learn from them, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday.
In his speech marking the opening of the 22nd session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Guterres highlighted the challenges indigenous peoples are facing.
Indigenous peoples make up around five percent of the world's population, but account for 15 percent of the world's poorest, he said.
Living on the frontlines of the climate emergency, indigenous peoples have done nothing to cause the climate crisis but often face the worst and most immediate impacts, he added.
"My message today is clear: the United Nations stands with you," said Guterres.
The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues was established by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 2000. The forum provides expert advice and recommendations on indigenous issues to the UN system through ECOSOC.
The priority theme for this year's session, which runs till April 28, is "indigenous peoples, human health, planetary and territorial health and climate change: a rights-based approach."
In his remarks, Guterres saluted indigenous peoples for the pioneering role they play in efforts to protect nature and preserve biodiversity.
For thousands of years, indigenous peoples have pioneered sustainable land management and climate adaption, in places as varied as the Amazon, the Sahel and the Himalayas, he said.
"Indigenous peoples hold many of the solutions to the climate crisis and are guardians of the world's biodiversity," said Guterres. "We have so much to learn from their wisdom, knowledge, leadership, experience, and example."
He underscored the need to speed up efforts to deliver climate justice and scale up finance and capacities for adaptation and loss and damage.
The United Nations is committed to keep promoting the rights of indigenous peoples in policies and programming at all levels and to amplify their voices, said Guterres. ■
