and delegations. A Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples was established to facilitate the attendance of indigenous delegations. Reports started flowing in from all quarters regarding the role of international financial institutions in financing projects leading to uprooting of indigenous populations. Therefore, in 1991, the World Bank revised its concerns in this area and issued Operational Directive 4.20 on ‘Indigenous Peoples.’ The Durban Accord The Durban Accord is a global commitment for people and Earth’s Protected Areas. The IUCN World Congress on Protected Areas, or IUCN World Parks Congress as it has become known, is a 10 yearly event, which provides the major global forum for setting the agenda for protected areas. The Accord recognizes the contribution of local communities and indigenous people in conservation despite inadequate recognition given to their efforts, protection and support (IUCN, 2005). United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples provides new international guidelines on the right to formulate strategies for the development or use of indigenous peoples’ lands and resources. The Declaration also provides guidance with regard to protected areas. The Rio Declaration, Agenda 21 and the Convention on Biological Diversity all recognize the unique relationship indigenous peoples have with their traditional lands and establish international legal standards that go toward protecting indigenous peoples’ rights to their traditional knowledge and practices in the area of environmental management and conservation. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) The CBD is one of the most widely adopted international agreements providing recognition of legal rights to the indigenous communities. In India, the Biological Diversity Act of 2002 was enacted but implementation has barely been able to take hold. At the international level, the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB) ensured participation of indigenous people at various forums. India is a signatory to the Earth Charter (Rio Declaration), a non-legally binding instrument, which has 27 principles. Principle 10 of the Declaration commits a country towards ensuring participation of concerned citizens in environmental issues and access to judicial and administrative proceedings, while Principles 22 and 23 commit a country’s efforts towards ensuring participation of indigenous people and other local communities in sustainable management and protection of natural resources of people under oppression, domination and occupation respectively. UN Framework Convention on Climate Change The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) adopted in 1992 is aimed at stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Since 1988, indigenous peoples have been participating at UNFCCC Conferences of the Parties (COP) and have released a number of statements and declarations expressing their Lok Niti 53