The document discusses the impacts of climate change on indigenous peoples and territories. It notes that indigenous peoples make up a small portion of the global population but hold 80% of the world's biodiversity across 24% of the Earth's surface. Areas with high biodiversity that are threatened by climate change impacts like destruction are also home to many indigenous communities. The document then provides examples of specific impacts, such as deforestation in Borneo threatening food security and contributing to climate change, thinning Arctic sea ice making transportation more difficult and accelerating industrial development, and rising seas levels and extreme weather worsening issues for Pacific island communities. In conclusion, it states that indigenous peoples are disproportionately affected by climate change despite contributing little to its causes

1. Indigenous Peoples and
Climate Change
Dr. Roger W. Harris

2. Global Warming and Indigenous Peoples
• Indigenous people and territories
• hold 80% of the world’s biodiversity
• cover 24% of the Earth’s surface
• 5% of the world’s population - 15% of the world’s poor
• Biodiversity hotspots threatened with destruction. 50% of
the world’s plant species and 42% of terrestrial vertebrate
species are endemic to these areas. Global warming
Indigenous peoples
Biodiversity Hotspots

3. Losing Borneo’s Forest
• Borneo has lost over half of its forests; a
third in the last three decades.
• Deforestation accounts for 20% of
annual global greenhouse gas
emissions.
• Dams and palm-oil plantations threaten
food security, livelihoods, biodiversity
polluting water sources, and also
contributing to climate change.
Deforestation in Borneo

4. Losing Greenland’s Ice
• Average Arctic temperature has increased twice as much
as the global temperature.
• Arctic sea ice has shrunk to the smallest size ever seen
• Thinner sea ice makes transportation more challenging
• Marine mammals face extinction
• The warmer climate changes the behaviour of animals
that hunters depend on
• More ships pass through the northern passages
• Arctic minerals and hydrocarbons are easier to access
• Climate change will accelerate industrial development
• Adaptation to an industrial future amounts to assimilation
Elevation change
+1m per
year
-1m per
year

5. Losing Melanesia’s Islands
• Melanesia’s sea level rises at 3 times the global
average
• Low elevations make the Pacific very vulnerable
• Coastal land and infrastructure is lost to; erosion,
inundation and tidal surges, increase in frequency
and severity of cyclones;
• Climate change causes; coal reef destruction,
droughts, flooding, diseases, loss of food and water
• In Kiribati, two uninhabited islands disappeared
underwater
Increase in ocean heatwaves
Rate of sea level increase

6. Conclusion
• Indigenous peoples suffer the worst impacts of climate change without
contributing much to its cause.
• Indigenous lifestyles have conserved the world’s richest and most vulnerable bio-
diverse areas for centuries. They can continue to do so provided they are allowed
to maintain their traditional practices.
• Indigenous knowledge increases our understanding of the impacts of climate
change as well as the adaption methods that can strengthen community resilience.
• ICTs can be very effective in assembling, organising and mobilising indigenous
knowledge.
• ICTs can foster the continuance of traditional indigenous lifestyles into the
globalised 21st century.
• The rest of us should understand this, for everyone’s benefit.