E/CN.4/2002/97 page 8 remains, and is likely to remain for some time to come, the only international legal instrument currently in force and open for ratification that addresses specifically the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples. Since its adoption in 1989, it has had considerable influence at the national, regional and international levels. 2. Agenda 21, chapter 26 (1992) 13. The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, adopted Agenda 21, of which chapter 26 grants a central position to indigenous populations as important players who must be included in the environmental agenda. Chapter 26 recommends that indigenous lands need to be protected from environmentally unsound practices and from activities the people consider to be socially and culturally inappropriate. Indigenous people may require greater control over their lands and self-management of their resources. States should also adopt laws and policies to preserve customary practices and protect indigenous property, including ideas and knowledge. Indigenous peoples should be allowed to participate actively in shaping national laws and policies on the management of resources or other development processes that affect them. Since then, a number of legal instruments relevant to indigenous peoples have been elaborated such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention to Combat Desertification, and the establishment of the United Nations Forum on Forests. 3. Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) 14. The Convention on Biological Diversity, adopted in Nairobi in 1992, has been signed by 141 countries. Article 8 (j) addresses the knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. The article embodies the recognition of the contribution that traditional knowledge can make to both the conservation and the sustainable use of biodiversity. B. Draft declarations 1. The Draft United Nations declaration 15. The “Draft United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples”, prepared by the Working Group on Indigenous Populations with the active participation over the years of numerous indigenous organizations from around the world, and currently under review by the Commission,3 is undoubtedly the most important human rights document for indigenous peoples, and it should be adopted before the end of the International Decade. Though similar in many respects to Convention 169, there are certain differences. Considering that the rights of indigenous peoples constitute an evolving area in the field of human rights in general, and an important step in the consolidation of the International Bill of Human Rights, then surely the draft declaration must build upon and go beyond the achievement represented by Convention 169 and certainly not lower the human rights standards that have already been set in this Convention.