A/79/160
1.
Climate change and conservation
35. Movement restrictions reduce the adaptive capacity and resilience of mobile
Indigenous Peoples, as they depend directly on their land, territories and marine areas
for survival. 70 Heat, fire and droughts caused by climate change destroy natural
resources, heightening levels of poverty and food insecurity and threatening the
restoration of grasslands, meadows, valleys and aquifers. During periods of drought,
there is little water for human consumption, livestock feed and crop cultivation. These
factors has caused the loss of subsistence practices, food shortages and malnutrition
among mobile Indigenous Peoples. 71 Internal conflicts further undermine their
resilience to climate change as they cannot move in search of water and pastures. 72
36. Pastoralists are sometimes accused of driving climate change by promoting
environmental degradation, 73 however it is well established 74 that seasonal and
periodic livestock grazing benefits the environment. Unlike industrial livestock
production, pastoralism allows rangelands to regenerate, reducing wildfires,
supporting the heterogeneity of plants and enhancing carbon sequestration. 75
Restrictions on movement increase the concentration of livestock and lead to land
degradation and a lack of productivity. Animal movement improves soil moisture,
fertility and microbiodiversity. 76 Pastoralists are also keepers of animal genetic
resources through the rearing of adaptable breeds for the future and livestock at risk
of extinction. 77
37. Fulani pastoralists of Guinea, Mali, the Niger, Nigeria and Senegal are
particularly impacted by the adverse effects of climate change. As a survival
mechanism, they leave their lands for months and bring cattle to where they find food
and water. Climate adaptation mobility-based strategies are used to manage cattle
herds, including through the diversification of food sources and differentiated labour
division. 78
38. Over the past 80 years, the average temperature in the Mongolian highlands has
increased by 2.25 degrees, 2.5 times the world average, while precipitation has
decreased by 8 per cent. These conditions are killing herders’ livestock and
threatening their livelihoods. 79 In the Amazon, climate change is causing extreme
temperatures, severe droughts and floods, as well as the disappearance of species.
Indigenous Peoples living in voluntary isolation and initial contact are the most
vulnerable, as they fully depend on local resources for their survival. 80 In 2015, the
Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples expressed concern over this
situation. 81
39. As the Special Rapporteur noted in his report to the Human Rights Council on
the theme of green finance, 82 mobile Indigenous Peoples are particularly at risk from
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International Land Coalition submission.
Submission from Mexico.
Mainyoito Pastoralists Integrated Development Organization submission.
Ibid.; and University of Shizuoka (Japan) submission.
Barron J. Orr and others, Scientific Conceptual Framework for Land Degradation Neutrality: A
Report of the Science and Policy Interface (Bonn, United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification, 2019); and United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, challenge 5 on
communities.
International Land Coalition submission.
Van Gujjar Tribal Yuva Sanghatan submission.
International Land Coalition submission.
World Pastoralist Forum submission.
Permanent Forum side event on mobile Indigenous Peoples and the Dana Declaration, 19 April, 2024.
International Working Group of Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact submission.
Communication No. BRA 9/2015.
A/HRC/54/31.
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