DEMONSTRATING PEOPLE AND LANDSCAPES THRIVE THROUGH THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ FOOD SYSTEMS
The Indigenous Peoples are well placed to provide expert contributions to global debates on sustainable food systems, however, much of the existing evidence on Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems (IPFS) is fragmented, unstandardised, highly context-specific, and lies in “grey literature”. This has hindered necessary policy action focused on protecting and strengthening IPFS and scaling up learnings from them. In the context of ongoing global climate change, environmental degradation, and slow progress in reducing malnutrition, there is thus urgent need to strengthen the evidence base that exists on the principles, benefits, and regenerative outcomes of IPFS.
TIP is starting a new project funded by the Rockefeller Foundation to conduct a multi-sited study, in collaboration with Indigenous partner organizations in North-East India, Northern Thailand, Mau Forest, Kenya, and Quintana Roo, Mexico, which seeks to characterise respective IPFS, their agroecological/regenerative outcomes and best food system practices. Using a mixed methods approach, the study will provide information on the current status of IPFS, and historic and ongoing changes and pressures faced. To support later implementation efforts, the study will aim to identify what local practices, behaviours and knowledge could be adopted and upscaled to regenerate diverse food systems.
