SGP engagement with Indigenous Peoples: a retrospective review of 25 years and plans for the future

The 25th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNFPII) was held in virtual format between 19 and 30 April 2021, focusing on the theme “Peace, justice and strong institutions: the role of indigenous peoples in implementing Sustainable Development Goal 16”. On 29 April, the Global Environment Facility’s Small Grants Programme (SGP), implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), hosted a side event entitled “SGP engagement with Indigenous Peoples: a retrospective review of 25 years and plans for the future”. Watch the full recording of this event:

SGP’s Global Manager, Yoko Watanabe opened the event introducing the retrospective report on SGP’s 25 years of engagement with Indigenous Peoples in the context of the priorities of the 2021 UNPFII, accompanied by a video. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) Secretariat was represented by Sarah Wyatt, who reiterated the importance of Indigenous Peoples to the overall GEF mission, including a range of different initiatives and programmes support by the GEF. The Chair of the GEF Indigenous Peoples Advisory Group (IPAG), Lucy Mulenkei, explained how IPAG plays an important role in supporting the GEF partnership of agencies with respect to the implementation of the “GEF Principles and Guidelines for Engagement of Indigenous Peoples”. Her presentation is available here.

SGP’s Programme Advisor, Terence Hay-Edie, moderated a panel of speakers on how SGP projects and initiatives have engaged and empowered Indigenous Peoples across various GEF thematic areas, including through the Indigenous Fellowship programme.

The Co-convenor for Indigenous Peoples Major Group (IPMG) for the Sustainable Development Goals, Joan Carling, presented on human rights violations and other challenges that Indigenous Peoples continue to face with respect to large-scale energy development, including for renewable energy projects, as well as in securing access to culturally appropriate forms of energy. She highlighted opportunities offered by SGP’s Innovation Programme on Indigenous Peoples Access to Energy, in partnership with IPMG in seven countries. Her presentation can be viewed here.

An SGP Indigenous Fellow from Nepal, Barsha Lekhi shared her experiences in strengthening the capacities of Indigenous Peoples’ institutions in her country, including modalities for grant-making through direct involvement of Indigenous Peoples, use of local languages, support to traditional knowledge, and advocacy towards Indigenous Peoples’ access to international climate finance. Her presentation is available here.

A community miner from the Ashanti tribe in Ghana, Francis Oti Boateng described the drivers of illegal mining in his country and its challenges to the environment. Boateng shared emerging lessons from SGP projects supported in the sector of artisanal small-scale gold mining, which promoted the elimination of mercury, including the use of technology transfer and certification of community miners. His presentation is available here.

An indigenous youth leader from Guatemala’s Palajunoj Valley, Fabiola Quijivix inspired the audience by sharing her personal journey as a young Maya K’iche woman in promoting community-led ecotourism and the inter-generational transmission of knowledge between elders and youth. Confronted with escalating emigration due to lack of economic opportunities, she highlighted the importance of support provided through the Global Support Initiative to Indigenous Peoples and Community-Conserved Territories and Areas to youth-led initiatives to recover and transmit ancestral knowledge, conserve native species and empower women through alternative local income-generating options. Her presentation is available here.

Acting as a moderator, Hay-Edie engaged the GEF CEO, Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, in a discussion about possible future avenues for SGP to support widespread landscape revitalization efforts, as part of the United Nations Decade for Landscape and Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030). Rodriguez described the positive contribution made by SGP in convening multi-actor partnerships with Indigenous Peoples and local communities, as he had personally witnessed in Costa Rica, together with the need to expand SGP’s modality to benefit as many eligible countries as possible at the global level. He strongly supported the theme of South-South knowledge exchanges, as presented by Carling and Boateng, and referred to new financial opportunities under the forthcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference, the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and the ongoing GEF-8 replenishment negotiations.

The Assistant Secretary General for UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, Haoliang Xu, provided some final remarks sharing his personal conviction on the critical role played by SGP as an accelerator of tangible action in support of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.