By External Source
Aug 7 2020 (IPS-Partners)

Indigenous Peoples are culturally distinct societies and communities.

There are approximately 476 million Indigenous Peoples worldwide, in over 90 countries.

They make up over 6 percent of the global population and 15 percent of the extreme poor.

Their territories are home to 80% of the world’s biodiversity.

The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is celebrated on August 9 each year.

This year’s theme is COVID-19 and indigenous peoples’ resilience.

It will focus on the how preservation and promotion of indigenous peoples’ traditional knowledge and practices.

They hold vital ancestral knowledge and expertise on how to adapt, mitigate, and reduce climate and disaster risks.

Indigenous peoples’ traditional expertise and relationship with nature show that the degradation of the environment can unleash disease.

They can teach us much about how to rebalance our relationship with nature and reduce the risk of future pandemics.

Now more than ever, we must safeguard their knowledge.