Abstract:

There are approximately 370 million indigenous peoples in the world; they represent the greater part of the world’s cultural diversity (UNPFII nd) and speak more than 4,000 of the world’s almost 7,000 languages (Harrison 2007). They own, occupy or use up to 22 per cent of the global land area, which is home to 80 per cent of the world’s biological diversity (UNDP 2011). Indigenous peoples’ knowledge refers to the knowledge and know-how accumulated across generations, and tested and adopted through millennia, which guide indigenous societies in their interactions with their surrounding environment.