A/HRC/45/34/Add.1 99. The Wildlife Conservation Society has argued that acts of violence against indigenous people are isolated and principally perpetrated by rogue individuals, and has said that it had a number of internal mechanisms to ensure that any guards abusing their power were held accountable. 100. The continuing allegations against forest guards must be properly investigated, those responsible must be prosecuted and victims must be given remedy. International donors to conservation projects should make sure that their money does not fuel any form of violence against local indigenous communities. 101. Building on her earlier recommendations on this subject,32 the Special Rapporteur continues to believe that current concepts of conservation need to be rethought to recognize the fact that indigenous peoples, while enjoying the human rights conferred to them by international law, are also an essential part of the ecosystem and that their presence and practices must also be conserved. Indigenous peoples’ rights share common goals with conservation imperatives and may reinforce each other to foster healthy communities in thriving ecosystems. I. Impact of climate change 102. Climate change appears to be having a significant impact on indigenous communities in the Congo. Although overall information was limited, the Special Rapporteur was told that the fact that seasonal changes had become less pronounced was deeply affecting indigenous peoples’ hunting and gathering practices, as ; they were no longer able to use changes in the weather to accurately predict the arrival of different kinds of wild food. Out-of-season rainfall was disrupting the fishing habits of indigenous peoples and negatively affecting the growth of certain nuts, fruits and vegetables. 103. It was also reported that rain patterns had started to change due to rising temperatures in the rainforest, with abnormal periods of dry spells. As a result, foraging and fishing opportunities had changed, affecting livelihoods and food security. A proposal by WFP for building the adaptive capacity to climate change of vulnerable communities living in the Congo Basin33 was recently approved, with the consent of local communities, by the Government, civil society and the United Nations. The project aims specifically to support local communities in Sangha and Likouala Departments, including indigenous peoples, to adapt to climate change, notably by diversifying their income sources. IV. Conclusions and recommendations A. Conclusions 104. The Government of the Congo has established a solid legislative and institutional framework for the protection of indigenous peoples’ rights since 2010, and its efforts to put indigenous peoples “on the map” should set an example in the region and the continent. Much work remains to be done, however, to end the exclusion and marginalization of indigenous peoples and to fully recognize and protect their distinct identities, cultural practices and ways of life. 105. The country still lacks adequate policies to enable the concrete realization of indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination, an essential part of which lies both in the demarcation of their traditional collective lands and in State recognition of their autonomous governance structures. Indigenous peoples, whether they live in a more urban setting or on the margin of the forest, continue to experience high levels of discrimination; they are not systematically consulted, nor is their consent systematically sought, in decisions affecting them; and only rarely do they benefit in practice from special measures taken by the Government, for example through the provision of social programmes, mainly in the form of fee waivers to promote 32 33 18 A/71/229. See www.adaptation-fund.org/document/proposal-for-congo.