Indigenous Peoples

There is no universally accepted definition of “Indigenous Peoples”. The term “Indigenous Peoples” is used here in a generic sense to refer to a distinct social and cultural group possessing the following characteristics in varying degrees:

• Self-identification as members of a distinct indigenous cultural group and recognition of this identity by others;
• Collective attachment to geographically distinct habitats or ancestral territories in the project area and to the natural resources in these habitats and territories;
• Customary cultural, economic, social, or political institutions that are separate from those of the dominant society or culture;
• A distinct language or dialect, often different from the official language or languages of the country or region in which they reside. [Source: International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standard 7]