-- Related Links -- Indigenous Peoples Development Gateway World Bank Expert: Navin K. Rai

At a Glance

• There are approximately 300 million Indigenous Peoples worldwide.
• Indigenous Peoples are distinct communities: The land on which they live and the natural resources on which they depend are inextricably linked to their identities and cultures.
• Dispossession from the land or restriction of access to natural resources, therefore, brings not only economic impoverishment but also the loss of identity and threatens their cultural survival.

Inclusive Sustainable Development and Indigenous Peoples at the World Bank

The World Bank supports the efforts of client countries to better address poverty and social exclusion among Indigenous Peoples. Since 1992, the Bank has financed 671projects involving Indigenous Peoples issues. The current portfolio contains 367 projects under supervision, with another 98 projects in the pipeline. Within the broader framework of the operational policy (OP 4.10), the Bank is assisting Indigenous Peoples in the following areas: projects in the Bank’s six regions, the Global Environmental Facility, the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, partnerships with other agencies, and building a knowledge base on Indigenous Peoples issues.

The Bank recently completed an assessment of poverty and socioeconomic indicators among Indigenous Peoples worldwide.The report confirms that Indigenous Peoples make up a disproportionate number of the worlds’ poor. A regional study for Latin America (2006) confirms the higher incidence of poverty among Indigenous Peoples across the region but, more importantly, finds that Indigenous Peoples experience fewer benefits from economic growth and poverty reduction than the rest of the population. 

Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change

As the Bank expands its efforts to address climate change, it notes that Indigenous Peoples are extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, given that they often live in environmentally sensitive areas (e.g., the arctic region, tropical forests, coastal zones, mountains, deserts, etc.), and often depend primarily on their surrounding biodiversity for subsistence as well as cultural survival. At the same time, Indigenous Peoples hold knowledge that may be critical to climate change adaptation.

The Bank will build on these peoples’ knowledge when assisting countries in developing strategies to adapt to changing environmental patterns and conditions. It will also work to address the specific needs of indigenous communities in dealing with climate change.  To this end, the new Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, which aims to prevent deforestation by compensating developing countries for carbon dioxide reductions achieved by maintaining their forests, has been the subject of consultations with Indigenous Peoples in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

A Proactive Approach

By working with Indigenous Peoples directly, the Bank has learned that economic development without respecting the Indigenous Peoples norms, cultures, and traditions cannot be sustainable. Poverty reduction efforts, therefore, must address the social, cultural, and environmental dimensions of development as well as the economic ones.

The Bank has made an important strategic shift in which it emphasizes a proactive approach in its work with Indigenous Peoples. It has shifted from a strategic posture of “doing no harm” to one of “doing good”. The Bank’s commitment to Indigenous Peoples reinforces this approach, positioning vulnerable groups at the center of development so that they can have control over their own futures. Proactive measures include:

·         Strengthening and improving the policy and institutional frameworks affecting Indigenous Peoples and their relations with other sectors of national society;

·         Building Indigenous Peoples’ capacity for self-development, based upon their cultural heritage and knowledge;

·         Demonstrating the important role that Indigenous Peoples can play in the management of fragile ecosystems and biodiversity conservation; and,

·         Disseminating the experience learned from such indigenous development initiatives to national governments and the international donor community.

The World Bank’s Indigenous Peoples Policy

In 1982, the Bank became the first multilateral financial institution to establish a safeguards policy on Indigenous Peoples. The current Indigenous Peoples policy (endorsed by the Bank’s Board of Executive Directors in May 2005) recognizes that the distinct identities and cultures of Indigenous Peoples are inextricably linked to the lands on which they live and the natural resources on which they depend. The policy requires client governments to seek broad community support of Indigenous Peoples through a process of free, prior, and informed consultation before deciding on development projects affecting Indigenous Peoples. The policy requires that Indigenous Peoples benefit from the commercial development of natural resources.

Direct Partnerships with Indigenous Peoples

During the last eight years, the Bank has engaged directly with Indigenous Peoples leaders and their representative Indigenous Peoples Organizations (IPOs), demonstrating the Bank’s commitment to Indigenous Peoples. The Bank participates each year in many high-level international Indigenous Peoples’ fora, including the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in New York. 

In building wider alliances with the international Indigenous community, the Bank also has collaborated with various IPOs in developing countries. In addition, as part of the initiative on “Direct Engagement with Forests People in Forest and Climate Change Operations,” the Bank is making a concerted effort to assist Indigenous Peoples to: (a) strengthen their capacity to effectively participate in the design and implementation of Bank forest and climate change operations; (b) hold a policy dialogue on relevant operations with national governments in selected countries; (c) network with other stakeholder groups; and (d) access global funds for forests and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Direct Funding to Indigenous Peoples Organizations

The World Bank Grants Facility for Indigenous Peoples is another example of the proactive shift in the Bank’s strategy. Beginning in 2003, the Grants Facility provided small grants to IPOs/communities from around the world for a range of culturally appropriate development activities. During the first three years of the grants program, 1,929 applications were received, of which 79 grants were awarded in 35 countries for a total amount of US$1.25 million. In 2006, the Grants Facility Secretariat was transferred to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Rome. The Bank continues to assist IFAD in its implementation of the Facility.

For more information, see: www.worldbank.org/indiges. 

Media Contacts:

Robert Bisset, (202) 458-5191, rbisset@worldbank.org

Karolina Ordon, (202) 458-597, kordon@worldbank.org

Roger Morier, (202) 473-5675, rmorier@worldbank.org

Updated September 2009