Indigenous Peoples and their Sacred Lands A sia is home to about 70% of the world’s estimated 370 million indigenous peoples.1 In Southeast Asia, indigenous peoples comprise as much as 30% of the total populations in Lao PDR and Burma, 14% to 17% in the Philippines, to 1.2% in Cambodia. Their estimated numbers range from a high of 30 to 40 million in Indonesia, to a low of 200 thousand in Cambodia. In South Asia, indigenous peoples comprise an estimated 37% of the population in Nepal, 15% in Pakistan, 8.6% in India, and 1-2% in Bangladesh.2 In terms of numbers, India has the largest indigenous and tribal population in Asia (80 million people), comprised of over 500 distinct communities.3 Photo sources (left to right): Supriyo Chakma; NGOF; AVARD; JKPP; CSRC; and Dave de Vera In light of these figures, the importance of land rights and access to resources by the indigenous populations of Asia cannot be overstated. The seven country papers presented here speak of vast diversity across the different groups who live in varied geographical locations, speak unique languages, practice distinct customs. Yet there are numerous commonalities among them as well – particularly in the types of political, economic, IFAD. http://www.ifad.org/english/indigenous/index. htm 2 As culled from various sources. See the list of references cited in An Issue Briefing Paper on Customary Land Rights of Indigenous Peoples, by Antonio B Quizon, former Chairperson, Asian NGO Coalition. See www.angoc. org/prtal/. 3 ILO. http://www.ilo.org/indigenous/ Activitiesbyregion/Asia/SouthAsia/India/lang--en/index. htm 1 6 Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC)