Indigenous food systems, climate

change and resilience

High-Level Expert Seminar on Indigenous Food SystemsNovember 2018, Rome, Italy

nahid@cenesta.org

Indigenous Food Systems, Unique and Undeniable Source of Sustainable & Endogenous Development within Indigenous Mobile Pastoralists of Iran

Sustainability Features of Indigenous Food Systems (IFS)

within Indigenous Mobile Pastoralists (IMPs) of Iran

Rely on indigenous knowledge

Self-governance & internal management

Connect to IMPs Social & cultural identities, territories & nature

Critical asset for food security

Important element of IMPs livelihood

Independency & self-sufficiency

Adaptive to the community needs

Environmentally friendly & adaptive to nature

Simple, smart, healthy, organic & treating diseases

Without food additives and preservers

Resilience Characteristics of IFS within IMPs

Seasonal migration of IMPs— living in harmony with nature

Migration between highlands and lowlands designed to fit ecological

conditions and conserve nature and its resources

• Ability to find creative & innovative solutions using IK• Partnership, mutual aid, autonomy, Respect to nature and its

conservation; identity & rich bio-cultural diversity• Rich and divers in productivity

Food Crops Diversity a key resilience among Sangsari Tribal Confederacy

Resilience Characteristics of IFS within IMPs

Challenges and Constraints

to Sustainability & Resilience

of IFS among Indigenous

Mobile Pastoralists or Iran

Climate change issues: drought, desertification, flood, land degradation, dust storms (lack of water resources, less rain, less vegetation

Dust & sand storms

• Massive land grabbing by both private and public sectors

• Loss of bio-cultural diversity

Urbanization

Big dams buildings

Industry

Challenges and Constraints to

Sustainability & Resilience of IFS

among Indigenous Mobile

Pastoralists or Iran

• Rapid socio-economic changes and loss of bio-cultural diversity

• Weakened sense of ownership & customary governance systems of IPs

• less motivation of youth to continue their ancestral life style

• Widespread advertisement of fast & processed foods and high attention of youth

• Expansion of fast foods even in rural areas and nomadic pastoralists territories

• Losing diversity (flora and fauna)

Recommendations to Global Policy Platform

Recognition of Community Conserved Areas and Territories(ICCAs) and transfer the governance IMPs territories to their customary institutions and organisations;

Participatory assessment with Indigenous Nomadic Tribes on:• Current predicament of IFS; (participatory situation

analysis)• Visioning desirable future and develop strategy

(roadmap) and action plan to promote its role in achieving SDGs (2).

Building multi-stakeholders alliances to support and invest on motivating and involving community youth for promotion and strengthening IFS at different dimensions