Institute of Biodiversity Conservation

Montreal, 08 August 2009

Woman carrying bamboo products (Photo: EABP)

The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples honours the contributions made by indigenous peoples to sustaining life on Earth. Indigenous peoples have a special relationship with nature in general and biodiversity in particular, which makes them crucial partners of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Indigenous peoples are stewards of the Earth’s biological diversity and their diverse cultures and languages are the pillars of humanity’s cultural diversity. This is especially true for indigenous women, who play a vital role in language transmission (mother-tongue), the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and in acting as guardians of traditional knowledge, and treasure keepers of seeds for their communities.

In decision IX/13 E, Parties to the Convention requested Governments and relevant international organizations in collaboration with the Executive Secretary, through the Global Initiative on Communication, Education and Public Awareness (CEPA) to develop, including in local languages, alternative means of communicating public information on traditional knowledge related to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, in order to ensure the full and effective participation of indigenous and local communities, including women and youth, at local, national and international levels, while supporting the development by indigenous and local communities of their own media tools.

Furthermore decision IX/13 I, requests the Executive Secretary to draw attention to the important role of indigenous and local communities in activities related to 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity, and to cooperate closely with the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to explore opportunities for common activities as related to information exchange and awareness-raising under the guidance of the Bureau.

I wish all indigenous peoples of the world a memorable celebration of this International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples and take this opportunity to invite you to be our partner in preparing for the International Year of Biodiversity, so that we can highlight and celebrate the important role of indigenous and local communities and your traditional knowledge, in addressing the grave issues currently facing humanity.

Dr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of CBD

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