A/69/267 development tradition, which ignored the traditional knowledge, cultural and natural resources and concepts of well-being of indigenous peoples. 37. One such example is the undervaluing of the traditional livelihoods and occupations of indigenous peoples, such as traditional fishing practices, hunting and gathering, pastoralism and shifting cultivation. In all parts of the world, indigenous peoples who are engaged in such sustainable but non-sedentary subsistence activities face overwhelming threats to their collective rights to lands, territories and resources, which form the basis of their livelihoods as well as their culture and identity. As observed by the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Issues “… national development policies often consider traditional livelihood activities as no longer relevant and sometimes seek to discourage them, even in the absence of viable alternatives”. 8 The Special Rapporteur observes that this situation persists despite the fact that the dominant development strategies have led to immense challenges related to the adverse effects of climate change, loss of biodiversity, environmental degradation, financial instability, increasing inequalities and unemployment and social crises in many countries. 38. In contrast, indigenous peoples’ traditional knowledge and practices for sustainable low-carbon development, ecosystem management, biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation provide important resources not only for indigenous communities but also for the global community, and there is ample evidence supporting this assertion. Studies show that: pastoral systems based on mobility and diversity of livestock are supportive of a healthy ecosystem and are complementary to wildlife conservation; there is a considerable overlap between indigenous peoples’ territories and areas of high biological diversity; and a considerable part of the global biodiversity survives within indigenous and community-conserved areas. Hence, strengthening indigenous peoples’ own strategies for sustainable development is not only key to achieving their economic, social and cultural rights, it is also an indispensable element in global efforts to achieve sustainable development. 39. What is more, according to various studies, programmes that maximize indigenous self-determination tend to perform better than those controlled by the State or by other external actors. The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development has diligently documented numerous examples of successful indigenous-run development programmes and has concluded that when Native nations make their own decisions about what development approaches to take, they consistently outperform external decision makers — on matters as diverse as governmental form, natural resource management, economic development, health care and social service provision. 9 Thus, for sustainable development to take root, it is necessary to promote the conditions under which indigenous decision -making is maximized and to ensure that development models and programmes targeted towards indigenous peoples are grounded in their own cultures and ways of doing things, as discussed below. __________________ 8 9 14-58847 See Inter-Agency Support Group, Thematic paper towards the preparation of the 2014 World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, “Indigenous peoples’ access to decent work and social protection” (2014), available at: http://www.un.org/en/ga/president/68/pdf/wcip/IASG% 20Thematic%20paper_%20Employment%20and%20Social%20Protection%20 -%20rev1.pdf. See http://hpaied.org. 11/23