Indigenous Peoples and Pastoralist:
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Indigenous Peoples and Pastoralist

Securing Rights to Access and Natural Resources

There are an estimated 350 million indigenous peoples in the world. They represent approximately 5 % of the total population, yet they represent 15% of the world’s poor. Indigenous peoples have a diversity of languages, knowledge systems, and livelihoods, but share in common the vulnerability of land tenure and resource access. Most indigenous peoples do not have the legal right to live on the lands they inhabit nor to the resources on which they depend for subsistence. They face several obstacles to legal recognition of their land rights, and their traditional territories are threatened by political and economic pressures and inadequate legal protections.

Pastoralists inhabit some of the more uncertain and variable environments in the world. They maintain a sustainable livelihood based on intricate relationships between pastures and livestock, moving from place to place through the seasons. Nearly 25% of the world’s land area is used by pastoralists, supporting nearly 200 million pastoral households. Ten percent of the world’s meat is produced by pastoralists.

Pastoral resource management is based on a complex set of temporal claims on resources and on the principles of flexibility. Pastoralists do not individually own land, but access it via specific mechanisms of cooperation and customary practice. Encroaching interests such as agriculture, mineral extraction, and interest in private property threaten pastoralist livelihoods. In addition, global climate change may exacerbate the unpredictable and scant resources that exist in pastoral areas.

ILC Works with Indigenous Peoples and Pastoralists

ILC works with both indigenous peoples’ groups and pastoralists to share and build knowledge on land rights. ILC hosts knowledge sharing discussions, bringing together groups from around the world to identify emerging issues and threats. ILC works with these groups to build capacity and builds dialogue between governments, local authorities and minority groups. ILC supports efforts that strengthen indigenous peoples and pastoralists’ organizations’ abilities to negotiate with government and local authorities.