The Akwé: Kon Voluntary Guidelines for the Conduct of Cultural,Environmental and Social Impact Assessments Regarding DevelopmentsProposed to Take Place on, or which are Likely to Impact on, Sacred Sites andon Lands and Waters Traditionally Occupied or Used by Indigenous and LocalCommunities were developed pursuant to task 9 of the programme of work onArticle 8(j) and related provisions adopted by the Conference of the Parties of theConvention on Biological Diversity at its fifth meeting, in May 2000. The pro-gramme of work was, itself, adopted on the basis of recommendations from theAd Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisionsestablished at the fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, in 1998. The programme of work on Article 8 (j) and related provisions is the main instru-ment that Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity have given them-selves to achieve the commitments in Article 8(j) to respect, preserve and main-tain knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communitiesembodying traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and sustainable useof biological diversity, to promote their wider application with the approval andinvolvement of the holders of such knowledge, and encourage the equitable shar-ing of the benefits arising from the utilization of traditional knowledge. Othermajor elements of the work programme include: participatory mechanisms forindigenous and local communities, status and trends, equitable sharing of bene-fits, legal elements, as well as monitoring elements of which the Guidelines area part.