A/HRC/16/46 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 representatives. In cases in which minorities have lost land rights owing to theft or deceit, forced displacement or eviction, measures should be taken to ensure that they have the possibility to assert claims to these lands, or to gaining access to agreed upon equivalent land elsewhere. In post-conflict or post-displacement situations, processes for land and property restitution should be established and implemented. 27. Persons belonging to minorities are often not able to obtain full and equal access to social protections and security. Minorities are more likely to work in the informal economy, where contributions to social security schemes are unlikely. Governments should take steps to ensure that minorities are aware of their rights and how to have access to them. Cash transfer schemes and related social protection measures should be adapted to take account of vulnerabilities and risks due to discrimination based on minority identity. Social security programmes should be accessible to workers in the informal economy. Where access to social protection measures are contingent on identity cards, special measures should be taken to accommodate minorities who often face barriers to obtaining identity cards and birth registration created by prejudice. 28. Education is a key aspect of improving the economic participation of minorities. Governments should ensure that persons belonging to minorities have equal access to quality education leading to equal educational outcomes. Education should comply with international standards on the right to education for minorities, including mother-tongue education, curriculum reform, teacher training and investment in educational facilities used by minorities. 2 Governments are encouraged 2 See A/HRC/FMI/2008/2. 7