New report spotlights urgent issues faced by mobile indigenous populations

A consultation session in Mongolia. Credit: Elizabeth Hempstead

A team of researchers, led by Dr Ariell Ahearn, Departmental Lecturer in Human Geography at the School of Geography and the Environment (SoGE), and Dawn Chatty, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology and Forced Migration at the Refugee Studies Centre (RSC), were instrumental in arranging in-person and virtual consultations with mobile groups from across the world for the UN report which was a response to the demands of the Dana+20 Manifesto.

Dr Ahearn said: ‘This report is not only a powerful advocacy tool but also the result of years of relationship-building and collaboration. Our involvement with the Dana+20 Manifesto and its connection to the UN report highlights the impact of sustained efforts to promote the rights and visibility of Mobile Indigenous Peoples. This work will have far-reaching effects.’

Key findings of the report:

• Over the past 80 years, the average temperature in the Mongolian highlands has increased 2.5 times more than the world average while precipitation has decreased by 8%. These conditions are killing herders’ livestock and threatening their livelihoods.
• In Mongolia, mining is harming herder’s livelihoods, livestock, traditional knowledge, water quality, pastures, sacred sites and cultural practices. Mining chemicals are contaminating lands and waters, and mining dust prevents herders from selling their cashmere wool. However, herders are not able to raise claims against mining companies.
• In the Peruvian highlands, young herders are leaving for urban areas, losing their traditional lifeways and endangering their safety. This is affecting the transmission of culture and generational renewal.
• Transboundary Mobile Indigenous Peoples, such as the Bedouin, have found themselves separated by borders and divided between States, subjecting them to immigration restrictions and cutting off their access to resources. Tension between States creates further instability, forcing migration across borders and increasing the risk of exposure to armed conflict, human smuggling and drug trafficking.
• The Maasai in Kenya, who cross into the United Republic of Tanzania to visit family, traditionally move across the region following clouds during times of drought. They are now stopped by border patrols, which undermines their resilience to climate change and their governance of lands and resources.
• Education opportunities for Mobile Indigenous Peoples are limited by linguistic differences, inadequate infrastructure, culturally disconnected curricula, low enrolment, and poor-quality education.
• The failure of Finland, Norway, the Russian Federation and Sweden to include information about Sámi culture in education curricula has bred anti- Sámi violence and racism.

The report is built on contributions from Mobile Indigenous Peoples worldwide, including (but not limited to) Sámi reindeer herders from Finland, Norway, the Russian Federation, and Sweden; Mongolian pastoralists; Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada; Maasai pastoralists from Tanzania and Kenya; Batwa hunter-gatherers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and Bedouin herders in Jordan. With a wealth of firsthand experiences and examples, the document serves as a vital resource for understanding the challenges and resilience of these communities.

The Oxford team with a group of Mobile Indigenous Peoples in Mongolia. Credit: Elizabeth Hempstead

Looking forward, the team is continuing its advocacy by organising a side event with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in New York on 14 October 2024. The event aims to ensure that the recommendations laid out in the report are implemented in partnership with Mobile Indigenous Peoples, further amplifying their voices in international policy-making.

View the full report here.