Biocultural community protocols for livestock keepers
Strategic Priority 14 seeks to strengthen national human capacity for characterization,
inventory and monitoring of trends and associated risks, for sustainable use and development, and for conservation, including establishment and strengthening of community-based
organizations, networks and initiatives for sustainable use, breeding and conservation.
Strategic Priority 20 promotes development and reviewing of national policies and legal
frameworks for animal genetic resources, including their effects on the contribution and
needs of local communities keeping livestock.
In 2009, FAO emphasized that the development of national strategies and action plans
ensure full and effective participation of government and other key stakeholders including
local and indigenous communities (FAO, 2009b).
The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples
The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples1 was adopted by the General Assembly in September 2007. It states in its Article 31.1 that indigenous peoples have the right
to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and
traditional cultural expressions, as well as the manifestations of their sciences, technologies and cultures, including human and genetic resources, seeds, medicines, knowledge of
the properties of fauna and flora, oral traditions, literatures, designs, sports and traditional
games and visual and performing arts. They also have the right to maintain, control, protect
and develop their intellectual property over such cultural heritage, traditional knowledge,
and traditional cultural expressions.
The Voluntary Right to Food Guidelines
The Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate
Food in the Context of National Food Security2 were adopted unanimously by the FAO
Council in November 2004. Guideline 8.1 on Access to Resources and Assets specifies that:
“States should facilitate sustainable, non-discriminatory and secure access and utilization
of resources consistent with their national law and with international law and protect the
assets that are important for people’s livelihoods. States should respect and protect the
rights of individuals with respect to resources such as land, water, forests, fisheries and
livestock without any discrimination… Special attention may be given to groups such as
pastoralists and indigenous people and their relation to natural resources.” (FAO, 2008).
1
2
www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/en/declaration.html
www.fao.org/righttofood/publi_01_en.htm
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