The U.S., Europe, Japan, Canada, and other developed countries are debating national policies to make their countries more energy-efficient and to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and other harmful byproducts. United Nations reports, scientific studies, and mainstream media are constantly touting the harmful effects of climate change and decrying irrevocable damage and destruction to the environment unless immediate action is taken to reduce emissions, stop deforestation, etc...Yet, rarely are the outcomes for indigenous people, living in the least fertile and most fragile areas, discussed or examined by these reports and studies.

In March 2008, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (ITCU), a network of 1,000 NGOs, government agencies, UN agencies, local communities, and volunteer scientists from more than 160 countries, released a comprehensive report “Indigenous and Traditional Peoples and Climate Change,” which highlights the impact of global warming on indigenous populations around the world.

This analysis summarizes report’s key findings:

• how indigenous and poor populations are addressed in major UN climate change documents and agreements;
• what factors increase indigenous groups’ vulnerability to climate change;
• how global warming currently affects (and will possible affect in the future) different regions (mountainous, tropical, deserts, etc) and the indigenous people located within those regions; and, 
• how the developed world can learn from practices and adaptations already initiated by these populations.

Indigenous People and Major UN Climate Change Agreements
The ITCU report examines how indigenous people were addressed in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocols, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and various assessment reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocols do not explicitly discuss how climate change will affect indigenous people; however, both urge developed countries to help with knowledge transfer and technology transfer to social groups living in areas that will be affected by rising sea levels. Most of the reports analyzed did not address lesson learned from local communities’ adaptations to climate change.

Since 2001, the UNFCC has recognized indigenous people’s organizations as a constituency for climate change negotiations. These groups though are still waiting for approval of an ad hoc UNFCCC Working Group on Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change, which would allow them to participate in the UNFCCC Conferences of the Parties (COP). In recent years COP conferences have held separate events addressing the needs and concerns of indigenous groups.  

The CDM is a mechanism outlined in the Kyoto Protocols, which specifically was designed to help poor countries with sustainable development. Developed countries help developing countries reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon storage capacities. In return, developed countries receive certified emission reductions, which can be used to reach emission reduction commitments required under the Kyoto Protocols. The indigenous communities have been wary of such efforts and fear expropriation of their lands for emission reduction projects, such as afforestation to protect wilderness areas and deforestation for bio-fuel agricultural projects.

The IPCC 2007 Fourth Assessment Report emphasizes indigenous people’s rights, including:

• the limited adaptive capacity of indigenous people, on a global scale, to deal with climate change outcomes such as health risks, sea rise, and environmental hazards; 
• the impact of climate change on indigenous communities in North America, New Zealand, Australia, the Polar Regions, and Africa (communities in Asia, the Amazon, and Andean nations were not discussed); and,
• the variations in vulnerability for indigenous groups.

Vulnerabilities of Indigenous Communities
Indigenous groups’ vulnerability depends on their ability to cope with adverse affects of climate change. In general, indigenous groups also have limited access to education, information technologies, power, and national and international aid. Poverty is one the main determining factors of vulnerability of indigenous populations. Many indigenous communities rely on subsistence farming as well as hunting and gathering. These groups tend to have few cash crops and are highly dependent on natural resources. Natural resources that are used to generate income, such as wood, fiber, and medicinal plants, are likely to be affected by climate change.

Health and nutrition issues also serve as a factor that determines level of vulnerability. Many indigenous communities face high levels of malnutrition and a variety of health problems, which makes them less adaptable then other communities. Since many indigenous communities are isolated, they have less access to health services and prevention mechanisms, and face the proliferation of and spread of infectious diseases resulting from flooding.

Droughts, another well-known affect of climate change, lead to increased concentration of pathogens in drinking and bathing waters used by indigenous community, resulting in even more health problems. Droughts also lead to an increase of forest fires and desertification, resulting in less cooking foods and longer periods of time needed to gather wood, often collected by women who are forced to take their children, especially girls, out of school to help with these and related chores.

Indigenous coping mechanisms are often based on traditional knowledge, which may or may not be valid under new environmental conditions, such as planting seasons based on weather cycles that are no longer present. These communities would benefit greatly from facilitated access to scientific information and technology, including early warning systems, evacuation strategies, and improved building techniques. Other ways to assist indigenous groups include helping them diversify their resource bases, including diversifying sources of food and income. 

Another important way to help these communities is to address issues of land tenure and access rights, which are not always legally recognized, leading to potential exploitation and encroachment.

Affects of global warming on regions and their indigenous populations
The report highlights the affects of climate change on oceans, coastal areas and islands, tropical forests, dry-lands, and watershed areas.

Oceans
Oceans cover 70 percent of the world’s surface, contain 90 percent of the world’s living biomass, play an important role regulating climate and weather, and are an important source of livelihood and animal protein for millions of people around the world. Global warming raises ocean temperatures, leading to shifts in ocean populations, invasions of alien species, and even species’ deaths; these side affects will be most pronounced in shallow, continental shelves where 90 percent of the global fish catch reside.

Oceans also serve a carbon reserve and sink. They store 50 times more carbon dioxide than the atmosphere and 20 times more than land. Increased carbon emissions lead to acidification of the oceans, which results in decreased calcification (growth) of ocean species, such as plankton, snails and corals. Their decreased growth will affect the whole ocean food chain and will result in the loss of coral reefs. Island communities, who rely on coral reefs, will be especially vulnerable.

Another effect of global warming on oceans is rising sea levels, leading to flooding and loss of coastal habitats. Global warming will affect oceans around the world. More than 25 percent of Africa’s population lives within 100 km of the ocean and more than 50 percent of Asia’s population live near the ocean (1.7 billion people). Small island nations are especially vulnerable. In the Arctic, global warming has already led to melting of glaciers, loss of sea ice, changes in species concentration, and loss of some polar species.

Tropical Forests
In tropical forests, global warming will change temperatures and rainfall, leading to forest fires and the subsequent lifestyle changes amongst indigenous communities living within those forests. There are more than 1,400 distinct indigenous tribes, most of whom are hunters and gatherers, living in the world’s tropical rain forests. Many of these tribes are starting to become sedentary and increasingly are relying on agriculture for their sustenance.

To adapt to the new climate patterns, these groups will need to:

• Diversify crops to minimize the risk of harvest failure;
• Change their hunting and gathering patterns to reflect new animal migratory paths and new fruiting periods;
• Change the way they store food, i.e. by smoking or drying the foods to preserve the foods for longer periods; and,
• Change the timing of planting and harvesting, a practice that indigenous groups traditionally based on phases of the moon.

The report cites a number of case studies. For example, in Borneo, the Dayak tribe has observed new bird species never before seen by them, which reflects changing, seasonal water tables. The tribe also has experienced difficulty in finding plants used for traditional, medicinal purposes. Different migratory paths of birds and lack of availability of plants will force the Dayak tribe to change their hunting periods and their use of traditional medicines.

Indigenous groups living in tropic forests also face development problems, as their countries consider creating profitable carbon trading and carbon sequestration plantations. Since indigenous land tenure is not secure, these groups may not receive any of the profits from these plantations. Furthermore, these plantations might prevent efforts by the indigenous groups to develop the land for their own needs. Indigenous groups must be consulted before any negotiations on carbon sequestration projects and biofuel projects to be built where they reside.

Drylands
Drylands consist of about 40 percent of the world’s terrestrial surface and are home to more than two billion people, many of whom are considered the world’s poorest people. Due to global warming, drylands are expected to receive less rain and experience more droughts and floods.

For example, yield from rain-fed, African agriculture is expected to decrease 50 percent by 2010. Rising water temperatures in African lakes will results in less fresh-water fish. Water-borne diseases are expected to rise from increased flooding due to unsustainable consumption of ground water aquifers. Similarly, Asia is expected to see a 30 percent decrease in agricultural yield in its drylands.

One way to combat these problems is to develop a community-based system to address local concerns. For example, in the western Sudanese Bara province, drylands are further being degraded by droughts, cultivation of marginal lands, overstocking of livestock and fuelwood gathering. Seventeen villages have developed community-based, natural resource management efforts to combat land exploitation. Already, these initiatives have stabilized sand dunes; restocked livestock by removing goats and replacing them with more resilient sheep; created subcommittees to manage wells and to develop drought emergency plans.

Watersheds
Freshwater ecosystems around the world face a potential extinction of 20 percent of their 10,000 species. Changes in water temperature, precipitation and sea levels will increase fresh water pollutants from sediments, nutrients, dissolved organic carbon, pathogens, pesticides, salt, and thermal pollutants. Demand for fresh water is also expected to grow. Communities will need to consider new pricing systems, water efficiency initiatives, engineering and structural improvements to water supply infrastructures, new agriculture policies, and new urban planning/management policies.

Adaptation methods from the Quenzungals of Honduras offer a model of how to protect watersheds. Traditionally Quenzugals planted crops under trees whose roots anchored the soil and pruned the vegetation, so that the soil received enough nutrients. They also terraced the crops to reduce soil erosion. During Hurricane Mitch in 1998, the community only lost ten percent of their crops; most of the other communities hit by the hurricane were completely devastated.

Learning from Indigenous Conservation Efforts
Indigenous communities offer many examples of how to adapt to adverse conditions. For example, these communities have reinforced shorelines, tested water quality, harvested rainwater, used traditional farming techniques to protect watershed, changed their hunting and gathering periods, diversified crops, and have developed community-based disaster preparedness plans, and more. Challenges facing these communities include poverty, lack of resources, technology limitations, and insecure land rights.

The report offers many policy recommendations, including:

• Promote land tenure and access rights, as well as access to natural resources;
• Promote self-determination and self-entitlement;
• Facilitate access to scientific information and technology
• Recognize indigenous adaptation methods;
• Create risk management strategies;
• Take indigenous communities into account for major climate change legislations (at all levels);
• Reward indigenous communities for use carbon offset strategies.

Additionally, the report recommends to build the capacity of these communities to adapt to climate change and to address underlying issues as well, such as poverty, economic and political marginalization, lack of education and health care, etc..

This comprehensive report sheds lights on an often unreported aspect of climate change. These communities will be on the frontlines in combating the negative outcomes of global warming. Governments, non-profits, and international organizations, such as the UN, must include indigenous groups in decision-making and not only needs to empower these communities, but also needs to provide them with the financial, technological, and scientific resources to succeed.