Utoo Radio with Othwer News Sources - July 14, 2024 - Arctic biodiversity is crucial for the survival of Indigenous populations in ten countries, but climate and environmental changes are occurring four times faster than any other place in the world.

Retreating sea ice and permafrost thawing impact pasture conditions and routes for livestock and over 100,000 nomadic Indigenous people.

This makes food security difficult to sustain as they cannot rely on food resources along their paths. Human-caused climate change also disrupts further Arctic food systems and threatens the passing of culture onto younger generations.

Reindeer herders have adopted food diplomacy strategies to convince policymakers to protect Indigenous people's culture and environment.

The Arctic Council is the only political organization with permanent Indigenous people representatives. In 2018, they made the first food diplomacy attempt with an Indigenous people's cookbook co-created by 50 Indigenous youth groups.

The Nomad Indigenous Food Lab was launched in late 2020 to feed top European politicians with what could soon be lost.

The concept has the potential to get people to understand more about their food systems and how one might think about true sustainability. To navigate the climate crisis, Nomadic people believe they have to strengthen their communities so they have a voice at the table.

The goal is to help younger Indigenous peoples realize the importance of their food systems and engage their youth to take charge themselves to become the leaders of their future.

To avoid being left behind, the European Union has a progressive policy towards Indigenous peoples in the world, but does not practice those same regulations for Indigenous peoples inside the European Union.