Recognise indigenous communities as equal partners in devp: NESFAS founder at COP29

SHILLONG, Nov 17: Founder of the North East Slow Food and Agrobiodiversity Society (NESFAS) and Coordinator of The Indigenous Partnership for Agrobiodiversity and Food Sovereignty (TIP), Phrang Roy, provided a compelling vision at COP29 for integrating community-led solutions into global strategies for food security, biodiversity conservation, and climate resilience.
The NESFAS founder urged policymakers to recognise communities as equal partners in development.
Speaking to an international audience via Zoom on November 15, he said, “Let COP29 call upon policymakers to acknowledge that communities are an indispensable pillar of development, as important as the state or the market. Only then can we collectively march towards healthy, inclusive, and sustainable food systems.”
Roy underscored the crucial role of communities in creating healthy, inclusive, and sustainable food systems.
“All too often, we look to the State and the Market as the primary pillars of development, relegating communities to a subservient role,” Roy said. He emphasised the need for recognising communities as indispensable contributors to sustainable development, on par with the State and Market.
Highlighting the potential of nature-based solutions, Roy shared NESFAS’s success with a community-initiated school meal programme. This initiative integrates local wild edibles into school meals, improving child nutrition, promoting biodiversity, and fostering local livelihood opportunities.
“This initiative demonstrates the wisdom of local circular markets, which can offset climate risks generated by linear value chains,” Roy explained.
Roy presented findings from a groundbreaking agroecology assessment conducted by TIP, NESFAS, and three indigenous partners.
The study analysed the food systems of 500 indigenous households across Northern Thailand, Northeast India, Kenya, and Yucatec Mexico. The results showcased high levels of agroecological practices deeply rooted in the communities’ sacred relationship with their lands and environments.
Key findings included the use of traditional methods, such as fallow lands for natural regeneration, to enhance soil ecology and sustainability; besides inclusive local governance systems grounded in social values of care and sharing, with women playing a central role in managing natural resources.
However, Roy warned that the introduction of large-scale market practices like monocropping or state-driven modernisation often disrupts these systems. “When the market or the state erodes traditional governance mechanisms, these healthy and inclusive systems are forced to compromise their decision-making and equitable access to resources,” he said.