|
"Indigenous
Peoples Among Earth`s Poorest"
Respect for cultures needed in development, World Bank Head
Says
WASHINGTON - "Indigenous people account for some of the
poorest and most excluded populations on the planet," World
Bank President James Wolfensohn says. Speaking September 23 at a
World Bank forum on trends in development involving indigenous
peoples, Wolfensohn said the bank recognizes that respect for
different cultures is integral to development efforts.
Too often, he said, recognition of culture has been seen as a
"luxury" and not central to development.
Indigenous peoples` "close ties to land and natural resources
may expose them to different types of risks and levels of impact,"
he said.
The exclusion of native people from the rest of society must end,
said Mateo Martinez, head of the Fondo Indigena, an indigenous
development fund for Latin America and the Caribbean. Martinez
also spoke at the forum, which was part of the official program
celebrating the September 21 opening of the National Museum of the
American Indian (NMAI) in Washington.
The bank sponsors an indigenous peoples leadership
capacity-building program for Andean countries in cooperation with
the Bolivia-based Fondo Indigena, Andean governments and
indigenous groups.
The Andean program is part of the bank`s larger Global Fund for
Indigenous Peoples initiative, according to a September World Bank
newsletter. The initiative currently has 150 projects, Wolfensohn
said. The bank`s first policy recognizing the needs of indigenous
people was formulated in 1982, he said.
During questioning, Wolfenson also said the bank currently budgets
more than $10 million a year for projects that respond to global
warming. The issue is of great interest to native peoples because
climatic changes affect their farm-based incomes and wear on
cherished lands and honored places.
At the forum, Richard West, director of the new NMAI, said that
the knowledge and "sense of balance" of indigenous
people can help recuperate traditional values "not currently
present in the global society."
Source:
Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Departement of
State, September 24, 2004
|