Canada was one of the first countries to submit such a report to the UN in Geneva. It is quite an impressive book, not just a little report. There is much to be learned from aboriginal peoples, and they recognize their responsibility to make this knowledge known and accessible. It must also be equitable, meaning that it must achieve an adequate measure of social justice through direct participation of aboriginal peoples in all stages of the planning process, including social and environmental impact assessement and monitoring, and ensure that the benefits accrue to these people in a manner acceptable to them.
Aboriginal peoples offer an already tested alternative.
While it is true that many of these groups are experiencing a transition into a more cash-oriented economy and, in many cases suffering a breakdown of traditional social structures, they still retain the knowledge and experience of practices which sustained them for thousands of years. Canada seems to be leading in the discrepancy between what it officially says and writes on the one side, and what it really does on the other. Ont. K1A 0H3. I do not know whether the native organisations of Canada are aware of this report. It would be good to let them know.