Note: This version is a draft. All targets and actions are being finalized and pending official Finnish Government decision. 

Target 21: Sámi peoples´ right to self-determination, as well as the principle of FPIC (Free, Prior, and Informed Consent) are advanced and enhanced with regard to climate change mitigation and adaptation measures on state-owned lands. Best practices of Sámi culture to conserve biodiversity are advanced, and Sámi traditional knowledge is actively preserved, developed and applied.(target year: 2035)

Article 8(j) of the CBD, which recognises the right of Indigenous Peoples to participate in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in a meaningful way, emphasises the crucial role of traditional knowledge for the future viability of the Indigenous cultures. In recent years, the role and importance of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in conserving biodiversity has been highlighted in international environmental  policy. For example, The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has stated that nature is generally declining less rapidly in lands managed by Indigenous Peoples’ than in other lands.

Voluntary guidelines promoting the national implementation of Article 8 (j) encourage the Parties to the Convention to create legislation, mechanisms and good practices to strengthen the meaningful participation of Indigenous Peoples and local communities and to preserve and apply their traditional knowledge as part of biodiversity conservation.

To be added later once the related actions are approved by the government.