UNITED NATIONS • Forum on Minority Issues and adherence to ethical standards. The participation of minorities should be ensured in all aspects of design of methodology and collection of data. The legislative framework must provide for an effective data protection system to ensure that data are not misused to violate the rights of minorities, especially of rights to safety and freedom from violence. In this regard, better international standards and guidance for data protection should be developed. 22. Governments should value and protect the pursuit of traditional livelihood practices by minority groups. Such practices frequently add value to the wider economy but may face threats from environmental change, economic crisis or undue restrictions on activities. Pastoralists, for example, should have special protection measures for access to pasture and water; regional development initiatives could enable transborder economic activity. Governments should develop legislation and policies to promote the sustainability and welfare of pastoralist ways of life and include pastoralists, particularly women, in the development of such policies. Traditional craft industries could be afforded better market access through technology and infrastructure support. Fisher peoples should participate in policy decisions on the conservation of fish stocks and the protection of coastal regions and rivers. 23. Environmental degradation has a particularly harsh impact on pastoralists and fisher peoples. Governments should strictly enforce environmental protection laws in regions where minorities live. Localized adaptation and mitigation strategies should be put in place in cooperation with minority groups in response to climate change. 24. Governments should review, with the full and effective participation of minority groups, the extent to which minorities have equal access to land and security of land and property rights. Land owned or occupied by minorities may be highly valued for industrial growth or urban development because of its minerals, resources or location. Development projects, including the construction of dams, may have a negative impact on the use of land owned or occupied by minorities. This can create significant threats to minorities who lack the political or legal means to challenge land theft, forced displacement, involuntary resettlement or the harmful impact of extractive industries. 25. Strategies for improving security of land rights for minorities must be based on the principle of free, prior and informed consent to actions that would have an impact on the rights of minorities. Strategies can include a programme of land titling, review and, where necessary, revisions of domestic laws on land tenure, and fair and transparent resolution of land and property rights cases in domestic courts. Particular attention should be paid to land and property rights of women belonging to minorities, including equality in inheritance rights. Systems of shared or collective land rights and customary land tenure and property rights should be recognized and protected within the national legal system. 26. Governments must provide adequate and equitable compensation options for land and other forms of property, including full restitution and equity shares for land acquisition, in consultation with affected minorities or their freely chosen 32 Compilation of Recommendations of the First Four Sessions 2008 to 2011