Indigenous Land Rights: How Far Have We Come and How Far Do We Have to Go?
By: Katie Reytar, Peter Veit and Nicholas Tagliarino - August 09, 2016
By Marie Becher and Jill Powis, Peace Brigades International
More land and environmental activists are being killed than ever before. We can't forget their work when planning for the future.
The world’s remaining forests, the planet’s biodiversity, and rivers are found in indigenous peoples’ territories. However, rampant large-scale development projects without regard to the environment and the indigenous peoples inhabiting these areas are threatening to wipe out populations and extract resources.
At the end of September, the global land community met in Bern, Switzerland for the 2nd International Conference on Community Land Rights, to tackle some of the most pressing issues facing those who rely on access to community lands for their livelihoods. Discussions at the conference focused on the perpetual divide between indigenous peoples and governments with regard to land ownership.
This week in New York, representatives of United Nations member states will meet to discuss an ambitious new set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets for countries around the world to achieve by 2030, inspired by the ethos that the world must "leave no one behind".