Nidhi NAGABHATLA, UNU CRIS (United Nations University), Belgium; McMaster University, Canada
Natalia SKRIPNIKOVA, GRID-Arendal, Norway; UNU CRIS (United Nations University), Belgium
Nancy DOUBLEDAY, McMaster University, Canada
Emerging paradigm of environmental governance (EG) is embracing inclusive and participatory management, co-creation, innovation, collective agenda-setting, consensus building and stakeholders involvement.Also,there is general agreement that indigenous peoples’ participation in environmental decision-making is crucial for achieving better results in safeguarding the environment and improving effectiveness, legitimacy, transparency of EG and acknowledges native and indigenous peoples as carriers of traditional environmental knowledge (TEK).More recently EG and climate change adaptation strategies have found a common agenda for sustaining landscapes and economies, community, and ecosystem health. In Arctic region, and representing states, challenges in engaging of indigenous peoples are often reported, along with direct and indirect implications of climate change for communities, economy, and ecosystems. Regional coalitions, like the Arctic Council and Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), and global mechanisms, such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) do exist to safeguard Arctic Peoples and environment and to offer recommendations on policy and institutional transformation for enhancing inclusion, equity, representation, and participation in Arctic environmental decision-making-inter alia. However, cohesive, integrated approach would be informative. In this review we outline 3 points to address gaps and needs toward an integrated agenda: a)analysis of UNDRIP w.r.t position, voice, and stakes of the Arctic states;; b) examples of UN efforts in supporting indigenous peoples in global environmental discourses e.g. UNFCCC’s Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform, FAO’s Policy on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples; and c) how harmonization of agendas, interventions, commitments can amplify the i-AGE (Integrated Arctic Environmental Governance) approach for states, regions, and the communities, considering these recent changes.
Keywords: Arctic|environmental governance |Indigenous Peoples|of traditional environmental knowledge |international treaties
A105043NN