A/66/288 indigenous territories to collect recommendations on the issue. 1. and understand views, concerns and Preliminary assessment of the responses to the questionnaire 104. The views communicated by indigenous peoples, Governments, businesses and other relevant stakeholders concerning the development of projects for extracting natural resources and energy-related projects in indigenous territories reveal that, despite a growing awareness of the need to respect the rights of indigenous peoples, many problems still remain. The responses of indigenous peoples’ organizations and representatives, Governments and corporations reflect a clear understanding of the negative, even catastrophic, impact on the economic, social and cultural rights of indigenous peoples caused by irresponsible or negligent projects that have been or are being implemented in indigenous territories without proper guarantees or the involvement of the peoples concerned. 105. In addition, while many Governments are committed to and have demonstrated an awareness of the need to protect the rights of indigenous peoples, the responses to the questionnaire received by the Special Rapporteur from States, coupled with those received from other sources, also reflect a lack of consensus with regard to the extent of a State’s duties concerning resource extraction and development projects and the means of ensuring such protection. In several responses, particularly those received from businesses, it was pointed out that Governments tend to distance themselves from the implementation of the outcomes of consultation procedures and other measures to safeguard the rights of indigenous peoples in the context of extractive operations and to act as mere regulators. The fact that States tended to delegate their protective role to business enterprises was repeatedly pointed out as a matter of concern, particularly in cases in which the State’s regulatory frameworks regarding indigenous rights, including in relation to the protection of lands and resources, consultation and benefit-sharing, are insufficient or do not exist. 106. Another significant area that elicited divergent responses concerned the balance of costs and benefits of extractive development projects. Although responders were aware of the negative impact that extractive activities had had on the lives of indigenous peoples in the past, they expressed widely divergent perspectives about the incidence and value of actual or potential benefits from extractive industries, especially with regard to the future. In their responses to the Special Rapporteur’s questionnaire, many Governments underscored the key importance of such activities for their economies. Many businesses shared the view that indigenous peoples could benefit from the activities of extractive industries. 107. For their part, indigenous peoples expressed considerable scepticism and, in many cases, outright rejection of the possibility of benefiting from extractive or development projects in their traditional territories. The vast majority of indigenous peoples, many of whom had direct experience of specific projects affecting their territories and communities, emphasized in their responses a perception of disenfranchisement, the impression that States and businesses were ignorant of the rights and concerns of indigenous peoples and constant insecurity in terms of their livelihoods in the face of encroaching extractive activities. These perceptions have led indigenous peoples to see no positive impact from these operations, which are seen more as a top-down imposition of decisions taken in collusion by the State and 11-44942 21