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From: "Tebtebba Foundation" <tebtebbaf@yahoo.
To: <indigenous_wssd@
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Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2008 5:48 AM
Subject: [indigenous_
7th Session Update No. 9: UN Press Release on Day 2 Sessions
Tebtebba Indigenous Information Service
UNPFII 7th Session Update No. 9
Dear Friends,
Below in the UN press release of what transpired on
Day 2 of the 7th Session. In the morning session,
indigenous peoples gave interventions on the special
theme of climate change. In the afternoon, it was the
governments' turn to make their intervention.
------------
22 April 2008
Economic and Social Council
HR/4946
Department of Public Information . News and Media
Division . New York
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Seventh Session
3rd & 4th Meetings (AM & PM)
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES MUST BE INCLUDED IN GLOBAL
NEGOTIATIONS AIMED AT COMBATING CLIMATE CHANGE, SAY
SPEAKERS IN PERMANENT FORUM
Delegates Stress Indigenous Voices Now Excluded from
Process, Some Proposed Solutions Could Have Disastrous
Impact on Their Communities
As the seventh session of the Permanent Forum on
Indigenous Issues entered its second day, dozens of
delegates took the floor to point out that indigenous
peoples must have a say in negotiations on how to
combat global climate change, because solutions
currently being implemented were turning out to be
further violations of indigenous rights.
A speaker representing the International Alliance of
Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forest,
International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate
Change, told the Forum that many policies proposed as
solutions, such as carbon trading, were potential
disasters for indigenous people. Territories and
resources were threatened, along with basic rights.
The voice of indigenous peoples must be considered in
the building of the overall framework of approaches,
and all actors should cooperate on capacity-building
to meet the demands of addressing climate change.
A speaker for Caucus Indigena de Latinoamerica said
the industrialized countries were responsible for
global climate change with their wastefulness and
over-consumption, and it was unacceptable that they
would make decisions on how to control climate change
without consulting indigenous peoples. The
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
contained recommendations on how to address climate
change and they should be immediately implemented.
Many indigenous peoples in the Pacific region had been
forced to leave their lands, a representative of the
Pacific Caucus said. The immense coastline made it
particularly vulnerable to tidal surges and other
consequences of global warming. Worse, the Clean
Development Mechanisms Fund of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change had financed
projects that had caused the deaths of indigenous
peoples, who had refused to relinquish their
territories. The hubris of industrialized nations was
also of concern. They urged emissions reductions in
developing countries as a precondition for taking
responsibility for carbon emissions at home.
Indigenous peoples must be integrated into climate
change forums as valued stakeholders and experts.
The Chief of the Haudenosaonee, Six Nations, pointed
out that today was Earth Day. He said indigenous
people spoke in defence of the natural world and said
that humans were bound by the laws of nature. In
1978, an indigenous runner from Greenland had informed
the United Nations that ice was melting in the north.
That same message was being delivered today, with
positive options at a late date. There was little
time left to arrest global warming. The
industrialized world must place a cap on carbon and it
was up to States to rein in and regulate corporate
power.
Among presentations made by Governments today,
Ecuador's Minister of Indigenous Issues said her
Government would be developing a project that would
impact on the environment, but would also bring
development to thousands of people. The world
community would be asked to contribute $5 per barrel
towards the cause of preserving biodiversity. The
Governments with indigenous peoples in their
populations must consider it their responsibility to
insure that indigenous peoples were included in
decisions affecting them, which meant that Governments
must build societies that were more sustainable,
equitable and inclusive.
Other representatives of Governments speaking today
were the Assistant Deputy Minister of Indian and
Northern Affairs of Canada and the Vice-Minister of
Communitarian Justice of Bolivia.
The Governor of the Amazon State, Venezuela, delivered
a statement, as did officials on behalf of the
National Corporation on Indigenous Development in the
Ministry of Planning of Chile and on behalf of
Australia's Indigenous Land Corporation.
A Member of Parliament from Denmark delivered a
statement, alongside parliamentarians from Parlamento
Indigena de America and the Saami Parliamentary
Council, Norway.
The representatives of Spain, Brazil, Cameroon,
Philippines, Guyana and Suriname also spoke.
In an ongoing dialogue among agencies, Governments and
delegates, two forum members called for consideration
of the extent to which the Convention on Indigenous
Rights adopted last year was legally binding on
signatories. Four Forum members yesterday had noted
that agencies involved in indigenous affairs often
overlooked gaps in assistance provided and that left
indigenous people without coverage by any agency. It
had also been pointed out that only Bolivia had
ratified the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples the Assembly had adopted last year.
Delivering statements were members of the following
indigenous caucuses: Global Indigenous Caucus;
Indigenous Women's Caucus; Indigenous Peoples' Caucus,
North America Region; Arctic Caucus; African Caucus;
Asia Caucus; Indigenous Youth Caucus; Caribbean
Caucus; and Australian Aboriginal Caucus.
Joint statements were delivered on behalf of: ONIC,
CECOIN, Fuerza de Mujeres Wayuu, Foundation for
Research and Support of Indigenous Peoples of Crimea,
AIPYN, Tuvalu Climate Action Network, Eagle Clan
Arawaks, Sima Masai Outreach Organization, AMWAE,
United Confederation of Taine People, Sinyatt Youth
Association, Masai Women for Education and Economic
Development, Centre d'Accompagnement des Autochtones
Pygmées et minorités vulnérables, Conseil National des
Concertations des jeunes autochtone de la République
Démocratique Congo, Indigenous Environmental Network,
CORE, Indian Confederation of Indigenous and Tribal
Peoples, Federation of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples
Alliance of Asia, Western Shoshone Defense Project,
International Indian Treaty Council, Cabildo Wayuu
Nouna, and Asociacion Indigena Ambiental.
Other statements were delivered on behalf of the
Centre for Organization, Research and Education, Dooda
Desert Rock, Kipam, Apache Women, CEDHUNG, Mikisew
Cree First Nation, Advocate for the Protection of
Sacred Rites, Federation of Indigenous Tribal People
of Asia, India Confederation of Indigenous Tribal
People, Land is Life, Indigenous Peoples and Nations
of Ecuador in America, Resisting Environmental
Destruction on Indigenous Land, Sustainable
Energy-Economy Network, Consejo Indigena Mesoamericano
and Fundacion Para la Promocion del Conocimiento
Indigena.
Statements on behalf of the following were also heard:
International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate
Change; Buffalo River Dene Nation; Maya Vision; Lipan
Apache Women's Defense; Ribert Menchu Fund; Flying
Eagle Women Fund; Indigenous Environmental Network;
First Peoples Human Rights Coalition; Bangsa Adat
Alifuru; Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantar; Chin Human
Rights; PACOS, Cordillera Peoples Alliance; NGO Forum
Cambodia; Kalumaran-Alliance of Indigenous Peoples of
Mindanao; Shimin Gauko Centre; CALPI; USP; Accion
Ecologica; CEDIS; CJIRA; Uk'Ux B'e; Kus; Kura;
Jentzera; and Hawaii and Pacific Northwest Indigenous
World Association.
Other groups delivering statements were the
Netherlands Centre for Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous
Women's Biodiversity Network, Kitchenahmay Koosib,
Inninuwug, Indigenous Network on Economics and Trade,
Treaty 6 in Canada, Indigenous Environment Network, BC
First Nations Summit, Chiefs of Ontario, Mohawk Nation
at Kahnawake and Assembly of First Nations, Mi'k maq
Grand Council, Mi'k maq of Canada and the United
States, and Native Women's Association in Canada.
The Forum will continue its debate at 3 p.m. tomorrow,
Wednesday, 23 April.
Background
The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues today
continued its seventh annual two-week session with a
focus on the stewardship role of indigenous people in
relation to climate change. (For background, see
Press Releases HR/4943 issued 18 April and HR/4944
issued 21 April.)
Statements
ISABEL ORTEGA VENTURA, Parlamento Indigena de America,
said higher levels of greenhouse gases had increased
the occurrence of natural disasters, affecting
indigenous peoples by harming their economies.
Indigenous peoples suffered the effects of climate
change more than multinationals and industrialists,
seeing their biodiversity and ways of life altered
permanently. Indigenous peoples were committed to
self-determination over the territories and ecosystems
that their ancestors had preserved for thousands of
years.
She said indigenous lawmakers must play an active part
in developing laws to protect their lands, and to help
plan and assess industrial activities. Developed
countries must develop strategies to lessen the level
of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The system for
preserving natural resources must refer to the rich
knowledge already possessed by indigenous peoples.
Indigenous peoples were the best alternative for
countering climate change and restoring an ecological
balance. Also, developed countries must pay
reparations for the damage they had caused to the
environment. There must be a global plan to recover
the "environmental balance", with the participation of
indigenous peoples.
CARMEN RAMIREZ BOSCAN, of the Global Indigenous
Caucus, said the United Nations system should
recognize the critical importance of the effects of
climate change on human rights. The world community
should pay attention to the Declaration that set out
the degree of the threat climate change presented to
the survival of indigenous peoples. The world
community and the United Nations system must make sure
that indigenous peoples were guaranteed the free use
of their traditional lands and that they were allowed
to continue the traditional practices that were
threatened by global climate change.
BENJAMIN POWLESS, also of the Global Indigenous
Caucus, said the policies of financial institutions
continued to be based on principles that threatened
the environment and the existence of indigenous
peoples. Instead of ensuring the welfare and
development of indigenous peoples, they have furthered
the violation of their rights. They had ignored the
wisdom of indigenous peoples, who knew that "if we
take care of our land, it will take care of us". The
world must take steps to prevent further acceleration
of climate change by developing respect for the world.
The Forum should begin collecting best practices and
models and the final document of the current session
should call for urgent action by all, including the
Security Council, to address global climate change as
the serious threat it posed to international peace and
security. Indigenous peoples had no time to lose.
Their very existence was threatened.
FIU ELISARA, Pacific Caucus, said indigenous peoples
saw the negative effects of climate change on land and
marine resources as a matter of life and death. Many
had been forced to leave their lands, even if, as
sovereign peoples, they had a right to exist as
peoples according to the United Nations Charter. The
immense coastline in the Pacific region made it
particularly vulnerable to tidal surges and other
consequences of global warming. Mainstay food
sources, such as sugarcane, yams, taro, banana and
cassava were being lost to extreme temperature
changes. Potable water sources were being inundated
by sea water.
He said dealing with the effect of climate change
would prove expensive, and as such, it would be better
to act preventively. Not only that, the Clean
Development Mechanisms Fund of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) had
financed projects that had caused the deaths of
indigenous peoples who refused to relinquish their
territories for those purposes. Indigenous peoples
were concerned by the hubris of industrialized
nations, who promoted emissions reductions in
developing countries as a precondition for taking
responsibility for carbon emissions at home. They
must demonstrate leadership by reducing emissions
within their own borders through deep and hard
targets.
He said the Pacific Caucus recommended that indigenous
peoples be integrated into climate change forums as
valued stakeholders and experts. The Forum must
undertake, in conjunction with other human rights
mechanisms, to study the ways to align climate change
strategies and projects with indigenous peoples'
rights. The Forum must also actively participate in
forthcoming Climate Change Convention processes, while
acting in partnership with the secretariats of the
Convention on Climate Change and Biodiversity to
provide financial support to developing countries, so
they can address climate change without diverting
funds needed for development purposes.
YOLANDA TERAN, of the Indigenous Women's Caucus, said
the polluter countries must take responsibility for
their share of the harm that climate change had
brought to indigenous peoples' lives. The indigenous
peoples knew the solution to climate change. It was
found in measures that protected traditional knowledge
systems and models of development that led to
sustainability, rather than exploitation. The
Declaration offered concrete steps that would result
in effective solutions to climate change as
alternatives to the present solutions that were
market-based. The systems of carbon-trading, for
example, were troubling both ethically and
practically. The promotion of genetically modified
trees, crops and other life forms was extremely
harmful, as was deforestation.
She said her group had many specific recommendations,
starting with the call for all States to implement the
Declaration. The United Nations system should support
reclamation of traditional practices and laws leading
to global solutions to address climate change. A
global moratorium should be called on genetically
modified plants and animals and on the exploration and
excavation of fossil fuels. Also, an expert workshop
on the right to water should be held.
ANDREA CARMEN, Indigenous Peoples' Caucus, North
America Region, said the impact of climate change was
being felt by Native Americans through the
disappearance of subsistence foods and game. Inland
watertables were diminishing, ice caps were melting,
and warming temperatures brought about new diseases.
As such, the growing impact of climate change -- and
the unsustainable development activities that caused
it -- was in violation of the rights of indigenous
peoples to self-determination and an entire range of
other fundamental rights.
She said State Governments were failing to respond
adequately, often creating more problems than they
solved. The full participation of indigenous peoples
in the ongoing dialogue on climate change, and in
developing policy, was essential to addressing the
diverse consequences of climate change. Solutions
must take a rights-based approach. Projects,
programmes and initiatives of local communities, many
of which were based on traditional knowledge, must be
given adequate support by Governments. The importance
of treaty rights should be highlighted in those
discussions.
She said the world must institute a new energy economy
that respected the natural world, and industrialized
countries, such as Canada and the United States, must
adopt stringent emissions reduction plans. There must
also be a moratorium on the new exploration of oil,
natural gas and coal in and near indigenous lands,
while upholding the right to prior consent and
self-determination enshrined in the relevant human
rights documents. Carbon trading had turned the Earth
into a commodity, while strategies such as the
"Reducing emissions from deforestation and
degradation" (REDD) initiative, biofuel production and
others, had contributed to environmental degradation.
The Forum should request the Economic and Social
Council and the Human Rights Council to conduct a
thematic debate on the subject, and should meet with
the Climate Change Convention secretariat to establish
formal relations. Best practices should be compiled,
so that the Forum and others might use it as a
resource.
AZELENE KAINGANG, Caucus Indigena de Latinoamerica,
said the industrialized countries were responsible for
global climate change, with their wastefulness and
over-consumption. The poor countries should not be
blamed for the ills produced by those with unbridled
consumption. Furthermore, it was unacceptable that
those wasteful countries, who were party to the Kyoto
Protocol, should make decisions on how to control
climate change without consulting indigenous peoples.
States and United Nations agencies should adopt the
recommendations in the Declaration to address climate
change and there should be immediate implementation.
Further, States must be urged to ensure the full and
effective participation of all peoples in processes
that affected them. Governments should be urged to
require corporations to get free prior consent with
all the cautionary conditions. They should also
control deforestation.
PATRICIA COCHRAN, Arctic Caucus, said the Forum had
much to offer in terms of concrete proposals for
coping and adapting to climate change. Indigenous
peoples' traditional knowledge and other knowledge
systems were invaluable and she hoped the United
Nations would agree to use them in its processes. By
hosting the climate change summit, the
Secretary-General was, in effect, calling on all
Members and United Nations agencies to consider the
cause as a matter of top priority. She noted the
closed-door environment that prevailed in numerous
meetings of the Climate Change Convention, including
those concerning the creation of Kyoto Protocol, and
called on the United Nations to open those processes.
She stressed the connectivity between peoples, saying
that the people of the islands, mountains, rainforests
and deserts would soon enough experience the effects
being felt by Arctic peoples. Yet, in planning
mitigation strategies, the world needed to be
cautious. Many indigenous peoples had borne the brunt
of misguided mitigation measures. For example,
hydropower plants had flooded lands; geothermal plants
had displaced sacred sites; and the growing popularity
of nuclear power meant that plants would be built on
indigenous lands and uranium mining conducted near
indigenous settlements.
She requested that each United Nations agency develop
a special Arctic focal point, and that the Climate
Change Convention create an indigenous peoples' seat.
United Nations Member States and agencies should
develop a screening mechanism to study the effects of
mitigation projects on the indigenous peoples within
their borders.
KANYINKE SENA, of the African Caucus, said climatic
changes were causing problems for African societies,
but indigenous peoples there were concerned that they
would have to pay the price for a problem they'd had
no role in creating. They were also concerned that
present prescriptions for a solution to climate change
would not work -- but would work as reasons to further
deny indigenous peoples their rights. The solution to
deforestation, for example, was not any of the
proposed mechanisms. Rather, it lay in the
recognition of land tenure for forest communities.
There are a number of steps the Forum should take to
reverse the direction on control of climate change,
she said. It should urge Governments to recognize the
expertise of indigenous peoples on climate change. It
should make sure that indigenous peoples from Africa
were involved in processes, research and decisions on
climate change and in climate change processes. And
finally, the Forum should urge African states to
urgently formally recognize indigenous peoples, their
cultures and their traditional ecological systems.
KITTISAK RATTANAKRAJANGSRI, Asia Caucus, expressed
concern at the recently adopted programme on Reduced
Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation
(REDD) at the climate change meeting in Bali. In
general, Government policies relating to climate
change, environment and development lacked clarity and
contained contradictions. Indigenous peoples' rights
were not given enough emphasis and their free prior
informed consent had not been sought for development
projects. In some cases, existing legislation was
watered down to accommodate the interest of the
private sector and those with vested interests.
He said initiatives to tackle climate change should
include indigenous decision-makers. The Forum should
form a committee to study the effects of climate
change on indigenous peoples, in order to identify
both good and bad mitigation and adaptation schemes
put forward by the Climate Change Convention. An
in-depth analysis should also be conducted on food
security, and the expansion of biofuels should be
reviewed. The principle of obtaining the free prior
informed consent of indigenous peoples must be upheld
in any project relating to mitigation and adaptation
schemes. Projects already being undertaken by
indigenous peoples -- such as building windmills --
should be given due financial support and replicated
by others. In addition to liaising more frequently
with the Climate Change Convention, the Forum should
engage with the Human Rights Council to monitor the
impact of climate change mitigation and adaptation on
indigenous peoples.
SKY SCHOLFIELD, Indigenous Youth Caucus, said the
entire United Nations system, including the Security
Council, should use its influence to address the
effect of climate change on the rights of indigenous
peoples. It should ensure that there was no new
fossil fuel development on indigenous peoples' land
and it should get the message across that assistance
to correct the problem now was exponentially less than
it would be if the problem were not corrected now. On
behalf of previous indigenous youth caucuses, a
permanent youth component should be established within
the Forum to help facilitate youth involvement in its
activities. The Forum should also call for full
implementation of the Declaration by all countries of
the world. While it was possible that restrictive
legislation on pollutants could not be enacted in all
situations, the solutions adopted to decrease the
causes of climate change should be aimed to prevent
further degradation, instead of merely taking care of
surface problems. The solutions should also centre on
reducing the need for energy.
LUIS EVELIS ANDRADE CASAMA, CECOIN, Fuerza de Mujeres
Wayuu, said paramilitary groups in Colombia had been
responsible for displacing indigenous peoples at the
behest of the Government. The Government had
sanctioned laws aimed at legalizing the exploitation
of natural resources on indigenous lands, in violation
of the prior informed consent rule. The Government's
mining code contained close to no environmental
standards. Also, the practice of using land to grow
"monocrops" posed a serious risk to mankind by
jeopardizing the ecosystem and resulting in
deforestation on a massive scale. Among the
consequences of such new farming practices was loss of
forest species, heating of water, sedimentation and
changing the course of rivers.
He said the arrival of paramilitary troops on
indigenous lands had been accompanied by killings and
abductions. Pastoral activities were being hampered
and sacred burial grounds disturbed. He urged the
Forum and the United Nations system to ensure that
further discussions on climate change take a new tack.
Governments must change their industrial practices in
favour of saving Mother Nature, and indigenous peoples
should be actively present when decisions were being
made on issues affecting them. Meanwhile, she urged
those who had refused to sign pacts and protocols on
climate change to accede to them as quickly as
possible.
CARIB CALINGAGO CHIEF CHARLES WILLIAMS from the Island
of Waitikubuli, Dominica, speaking on behalf of the
Caribbean Caucus, said that his country was being
promoted as the Natural Island of the Caribbean. The
country's indigenous peoples occupied one and a half
square miles of an island comprised of 300 square
miles. That was all that was left of the ancestral
stronghold on that island, while the region itself had
been named for its indigenous peoples.
He said the situation of climate change was not caused
by the world's indigenous peoples, but by greed for
wealth and power. Bolivia's President had put the
situation into the right context. In every country of
the world, indigenous peoples were forced into the
most remote areas. When faced with disaster,
indigenous people suffered the most since they had no
access to capital and did not live in selected areas
where adequate shelters could be built. Climate
change was a reality, however. It affected rich and
poor, weak and powerful. All suffered from its
effects. The voice of the indigenous peoples should
be heeded -- respect Mother Earth and support
protective measures against climate change.
ADAN ALARCON, spoke on behalf of the Foundation for
Research and Support of Indigenous Peoples of Crimea,
AIPYN, Tuvalu Climate Action Network, Eagle Clan
Arawaks, Sima Masai Outreach Organization, AMWAE,
United Confederation of Taine People, Sinyatt Youth
Association, and the Masai Women for Education and
Economic Development. He reiterated the belief that
indigenous peoples knew how to live in harmony with
Mother Earth. Their expertise should be sought more
often by those that crafted climate change mitigation
schemes. The carbon trading system now being
practiced had the adverse effect of encouraging
emissions to continue, rather than recede. Meanwhile,
the decision to grow biofuels had led to environmental
degradation and displaced entire communities,
including indigenous peoples.
He asked that the Climate Change Convention include
indigenous peoples at the negotiating table on equal
footing with States, so that they might share their
knowledge. When drawing up discussion on climate
change, both indigenous and non-indigenous experts
should be consulted. Indigenous peoples should be
given direct access to the adaptation fund. The
implementation of the rights of indigenous people, as
approved by the United Nations General Assembly,
should be applied as a minimum standard when creating
mitigation and adaptation plans. He urged the Forum
to inform United Nations agencies and bodies,
including the Security Council, of the urgent threat
posed by climate change to the lives of indigenous
people.
PACIFIQUE MUKUMBA, Centre d'Accompagnement des
Autochtones Pygmées et minorités vulnérables, Conseil
National des Concertations des jeunes autochtone de la
République Démocratique Congo, said the situation of
the Pygmy peoples in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo was deplorable. It had been further undermined
by an agreement involving his Government, that of
Spain and also the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on a
biosphere project that would compromise the
stewardship of Pygmies over their rainforests without
consulting them. Furthermore, unbridled deforestation
was destroying their homes. Logging companies had
been given concessions to use chain saws.
Participatory zoning was not being respected, which
amounted to a de facto absence of such zoning.
Therefore, the Forum should demand a moratorium on the
biosphere project. It should also demand the
Government of the Democratic Republic enforce relevant
laws on both participatory zoning and forestry.
CASEY CAMP-HORINEK, speaking on behalf of the
Indigenous Environmental Network, CORE, Indian
Confederation of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples,
Federation of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Alliance
of Asia, Western Shoshone Defense Project,
International Indian Treaty Council, Cabildo Wayuu
Nouna, and Asociacion Indigena Ambiental, said the
inability of Governments to address the climate change
issue was tantamount to cultural genocide. The Earth
had already warmed by nearly 1° Celsius above
pre-industrial levels. A rise of 2° Celsius was
considered the tipping point, where temperatures and
weather events would be out of control, and concerned
scientists were saying that the world was almost at
that tipping point.
She said the world must move more aggressively towards
a zero fossil fuel emissions level by 2050.
Conventional fossil fuel supplies were limited, and
tearing up the Earth to get the last drop of oil was
not a sustainable practice. It also violated the
principles of "indigenous original instructions"
such, she demanded a worldwide moratorium on new
exploration, extraction and processing of fossil fuels
on indigenous peoples' lands. The Forum should,
through the Economic and Social Council, call on the
United Nations General Assembly to convene an
emergency world session to explore the impact of
climate change and its link to the use of fossil
fuels, and also how climate change affected the human
rights of indigenous peoples.
JININE LAISHARAM spoke for the Centre for
Organization, Research and Education, Dooda Desert
Rock, Kipam, Apache Women, CEDHUNG, Mikisew Cree First
Nation, Advocate for the Protection of Sacred Rites,
Federation of Indigenous Tribal People of Asia, India
Confederation of Indigenous Tribal People, Land is
Life, Indigenous Peoples and Nations of Ecuador in
America, Resisting Environmental Destruction on
Indigenous Land and Sustainable Energy-Economy
Network. He said he had profound concerns about the
inclusion of their forest in the carbon market through
the REDD mechanism. The system would not benefit
indigenous peoples, but would, in fact, result in more
violations of their rights. It would force evictions
and prevent access to indigenous agriculture
practices, for example. In brief, under that plan,
States and carbon traders would take more control of
forests.
He said steps were being taken in many countries, such
as India, to enact legislation making way for REDD
projects. The Forum and the United Nations system
must make sure that REDD would not be considered as a
strategy to combat climate change, but was, in fact, a
violation of the Declaration on Indigenous People's
Rights. The Forum must also strongly recommend to the
Convention on Biological Diversity that the
implementation of the programme of work on forest
biodiversity prohibit REDD.
ONEL MASARDULE, Consejo Indigena Mesoamericano,
Fundacion Para la Promocion del Conocimiento Indigena
and Land is Life, said that even as indigenous peoples
suffered disproportionately from the effects of
climate change, they were being sidelined in the
development of policies to mitigate those effects. He
reiterated the belief that industrialized countries
were responsible for the impact of climate change, and
rejected the implication that indigenous people should
somehow bear the responsibility for those countries'
actions.
He said the carbon trading market proposed by the
private sector, as well as the strategy to grow
monocrops for biofuel, had consequences that violated
the rights of indigenous peoples. He called for the
full and effective participation of indigenous peoples
in Climate Change Convention proceedings, and urged
the involvement of indigenous experts in the
Convention Conference of parties. The Forum should
recommend to the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights and Special Rapporteur for indigenous
rights that they produce a report on the consequences
of climate change, with particular attention to its
impact on indigenous peoples. Also, the financial
mechanism should be rendered more flexible, so that
indigenous people could gain access.
HUBERTUS SAMANGUN, the International Alliance of
Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forest,
International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate
Change, said the people he represented had been given
virtually no voice in Kyoto. The failure to recognize
the importance of indigenous peoples and their vital
role in controlling climate change had made a serious
impact on approaches to control of climate change.
Further, there was no mechanism at present to ensure
the participation of indigenous people in climate
change control measures. The direct effect of that
non-participation of indigenous peoples in global
forums was an increase in the problems and the
potential threat presented by climate change. Many
policies proposed as solutions -- such as carbon
trading -- were potential disasters for indigenous
people. Territories and resources were threatened,
along with basic rights. The voice of indigenous
peoples must be considered in the building of the
overall framework of approaches. The Conference of
Parties to the Kyoto Protocol should recognize and
take action to curb the adverse impacts of climate
change on indigenous peoples. All relevant actors
should cooperate on capacity-building to meet the
demands of addressing climate change.
LARSON BILL, speaking on behalf of the Western
Shoshone Defense Project, Buffalo River Dene Nation,
Maya Vision, Lipan Apache Women's Defense, Ribert
Menchu Fund, Flying Eagle Women Fund, Indigenous
Environmental Network, First Peoples Human Rights
Coalition and Bangsa Adat Alifuru, stressed that
"Mother Earth is not a resource; she is the source".
Transnational companies were proving more powerful
than Governments, and used money and influence to
create laws that legitimized the theft of indigenous
lands, with no sense of accountability.
He extended his appreciation to the Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which, in its
concluding observations and recommendations to the
United States in 2007 and Canada in 2008, had informed
both Governments that they must regulate the impact of
their transnational corporations on communities
outside their borders. He called on the Forum to
request a dialogue with, and a written report from,
the offices of the Special Representative of the
Secretary-General on Human Rights and Transnational
Corporations and Other Business Enterprises, and the
Special Rapporteur on human rights and the fundamental
freedoms of indigenous peoples. Such a report should
focus on the impact of transnational actors on
indigenous peoples, to be completed before the Forum's
eighth session with adequate time for consideration
and comments by the indigenous regional caucuses. The
Economic and Social Council was also called on to
advise Member States to regulate and monitor the
activities of their respective transnationals.
MINA SUSANNA SETRA spoke for Aliansi Masyarakat Adat
Nusantar, Chin Human Rights, PACOS, Cordillera Peoples
Alliance, NGO Forum Cambodia, Kalumaran-Alliance of
Indigenous Peoples of Mindanao and Shimin Gauko
Centre. She said a rights-based approach should be
taken in addressing global climate change. All
policies should respect the rights of indigenous
peoples. Governments should enforce the principle of
gaining free prior consent. Global approaches should
be applied in a way that addressed the local
situation. Initiatives should adopt local standards.
The United Nations should insure that prerequisites
were met. The Indonesian Government should change its
plantation law to recognize indigenous peoples' rights
to land and resources. The Government should also
respect the laws that applied to coastal areas and
small islands. It should also provide funds for
implementing measures for countering climate change.
EDITH BASTIDAS, speaking on behalf of CALPI, USP,
Accion Ecologica, CEDIS, CJIRA, Uk'Ux B'e, Kus, Kura
and Jentzera, said that indigenous peoples had a
fundamental role in the preservation of ecosystems in
which they lived. She called on Governments to uphold
the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
In any debate to address climate change, including in
drawing up a mitigation strategy, the underlying legal
framework should respect the provisions of
international legal documents, such as the
Declaration. In addition, she demanded the full and
effective participation of indigenous peoples in
developing those strategies.
She said Governments whose countries were the main
consumers of fossil fuels must meet their Kyoto
targets. It was proposed that the Forum act in
coordination with experts from the Human Rights
Council, as well as the Special Rapporteur on human
rights, to study the threat posed by climate change to
indigenous peoples. Further, the Forum should promote
the involvement of indigenous peoples in strengthening
the use of traditional knowledge pertaining to
biodiversity and the environment. The Forum was urged
to provide information on climate change and to
collect data on the specific experiences of indigenous
peoples with regard to it. She praised the Bolivian
Government for recognizing the rights of indigenous
peoples in its Constitution, and urged other States to
embark on similar initiatives of their own.
MALIA NOBREGA, in a joint statement on behalf of the
Hawaii and Pacific Northwest Indigenous World
Association, said recent studies confirmed that rising
carbon emissions would decimate the Earth's coral
reefs by the year 2050. The rise in temperature and
variations in the temperature of the ocean's water was
giving way to phenomena that created dead zones in the
largest ecosystems. Coral bleaching was one result,
where algae were expelled and deprived the coral of
its food source. Storms had also doubled in the
period from 1977 to 1998, with a subsequent severe
increase in hurricane-induced tree mortality.
Decreased rainfall was creating a water crisis and
rising sea levels were also causing changes that
threatened indigenous food sources. The Forum should
actively participate in processes to reverse such
conditions. The Forum should also consult with human
rights bodies to ensure that standards and policies
were being adhered to.
GUNN-BRITT RETTER, Netherlands Centre for Indigenous
Peoples, speaking on behalf of the Indigenous Women's
Biodiversity Network, began by thanking the
Haudenoshonee, the traditional occupants of the land
upon which the United Nations Headquarters was
located, for their hospitality. She went on to say
that indigenous women been especially involved in the
work of the Convention on Biological Diversity. They
also played a vital role in maintaining and
transmitting traditional knowledge from one generation
to another. Their specialized experience made them
midwives, spiritual leaders, healers, herbalists and
botanists within their communities and beyond. Their
use and control of medicinal plants must be protected
from misappropriation and commercialization. In the
same vein, the right of indigenous peoples to keep,
collect and exchange natural seeds must be protected,
as a method of ensuring food security for their
peoples.
She noted that gender inequality rendered climate
change, and its attendant social, political, economic
and environmental effects, especially devastating for
indigenous women. Their full and effective
participation at every stage of the conservation
movement and climate change dialogue was, therefore,
important, and indeed, women stood ready to take on
that role. The Forum should kick-start the increased
participation of women by recognizing their expertise
and helping to build their capacity. Besides that,
the Forum should take a more active part in upcoming
Climate Change Convention processes to create
visibility and raise awareness of indigenous issues in
general.
LAURA CALMWIND spoke for Kitchenahmay Koosib,
Inninuwug, Indigenous Network on Economics and Trade,
Western Shoshone Defence Project, Treaty 6 in Canada,
Indigenous Environment Network, BC First Nations
Summit, Chiefs of Ontario, Mohawk Nation at Kahnawake
and Assembly of First Nations. She said a range of
participatory measures were needed to ensure that
indigenous peoples had a say in addressing climate
change. Indigenous peoples must be included at all
costs and they must not be allowed to be pressured by
either Governments or corporations to give up their
traditional lands or practices. They must not be
subjected to exclusion, but rather their traditional
practices must be included in policies. Intercultural
dialogue must be encouraged. Donors must focus both
on avoiding harm and aspiring to do good in the use of
funds. Original errors must not be allowed to be
repeated through funding. Governments must follow
through on commitments made when the United Nations
had adopted the Declaration. They must consult with
indigenous peoples.
CHERYL MALONIE, speaking on behalf of the Mi'k maq
Grand Council, Mi'k maq of Canada and the United
States and the Native Women's Association in Canada,
requested that the Forum invite the Special Rapporteur
on indigenous people and Special Rapporteur on human
rights to investigate the violation of indigenous
peoples' rights in relation to mobility and
sustenance, among others. The Forum should also call
on States to allow their participation in developing
mitigation strategies, especially with regard to water
rights and land management.
She said the ability to be mobile and to migrate --
integral to Mi'k Maq life -- was being threatened by
climate change. Restricting that behaviour was
inconsistent with several articles of the Declaration
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Mi'k maq had
pursued the right to move freely, and to have access
to resources in their traditional territory, from the
time of King George III. Over 30 years in litigation
had resulted in the Supreme Court of Canada Marshall
decision, which recognized treaties governing the
right to hunt and fish. Unfortunately, it was not
being implemented. She sought help from the Forum to
help preserve the ways of the Mi'k maq people.
JOSEPH INTONGWA, speaking on behalf of the Congo
Basin, Conseil National de Concertation des Jeunes
Autochtones de la RDC, said that the forests in the
Congo Basin were serving as the world's carbon sink,
which naturally mitigated the effects of climate
change. Techniques and practices used by inhabitants
of the Congo Basin were globally recognized as good
sustainable practice. He was greatly concerned by
decisions currently being taken about the Congo
forests, adding that the indigenous peoples of the
Congo Basin wanted to be included in those decisions.
They also wanted to be compensated for the activities
they had taken so far to protect forest resources, as
stipulated by the Declaration. Indigenous peoples
needed to be at the centre of discussions on climate
change.
BEV MANTON, the Australian Aboriginal Caucus, said
climate change posed a threat to all indigenous
peoples. Urgent attention must be given to reversing
ecological deterioration. The response to climate
change must include justice. Indigenous peoples must
be allowed to carry out their traditional practices.
Animals and foods that constituted their diet were
becoming extinct. Australia's indigenous peoples
controlled much of the land in remote areas and they
must be allowed to have a say in policies that
affected them. All efforts should seek to maximize
opportunities for using traditional knowledge, which
must be respected. Measures must also be taken to
ensure that indigenous peoples were included in
processes that affected them and their lands. The
Declaration contained many recommendations. The Forum
should urge States to adopt them.
OREN LYONS, Chief of the Haudenosaonee, Six Nations,
noted that it was Earth Day. He went on to say that,
31 years ago, more than 100 indigenous delegates
journeyed to Geneva to brief the United Nations on the
state of indigenous peoples. Though they were
survivors of a horrendous genocide, they had chosen
not to speak for themselves, but rather in defence of
the natural world. They had warned against
exploitation by industrial States. In their opening
address, they had spoken of the natural world,
represented by the eagle, which, it was to be noted,
had no seat at the Palais des Nations.
He said humans were bound by the laws of nature. In
1978, an Indigenous runner from Greenland again
informed United Nations that ice was melting in the
north. Twenty-two years later, at the Millennium
Summit, he himself brought the same message to the
United Nations. Today, the same message was being
delivered, but with positive options. However, time
was an urgent factor and there was a short time left
to arrest global warming. How the human species would
fare was totally in its hands. Business as usual
could not proceed. Old values of commerce and
consumerism must change to one of conservation,
cooperation and sharing. The United States Government
must join the industrialized world to place a carbon
cap on its activities; since it owned one quarter of
world's carbon footprint, it must be a leader for
common sense and positive change. It was up to
States, and not individuals, to make the required
changes -- to rein in and regulate corporate power.
"Our fate is in our hands," he said, adding that no
matter what happened, "we will have no one to blame
but ourselves".
EGIL OLLI, President of the Saami Parliamentary
Council, Norway, said he realized that his status as
an indigenous parliamentarian defied categorization by
the United Nations, since it was neither a government
body nor a non-governmental organization. Thus, he
appreciated being able to address the Forum, despite
that.
He noted that the threat imposed by climate change
called for collective action through binding
international agreements. He was particularly
concerned that milder temperatures in some places
would make non-renewable energy sources more
accessible. Also worrying was that Governments did
not recognize the need to share in the economic
benefits stemming from use of indigenous territories,
despite obligations in the Declaration of Indigenous
Peoples' Rights and in International Labour
Organization convention 169 to recognize indigenous
peoples' rights to their lands and resources. The
Saami Parliamentary Council welcomed the adoption of
the Declaration and expected active implementation on
the part of States. That should reflect respect for
the right to self-determination and to finance
activities set by State budgets. The rights to land
and resources must be honoured and free prior informed
consent must exist in all use of those lands and
resources. He noted that, compared to other
indigenous peoples, the indigenous peoples in Norway
were in a better position, as new legislation would
make possible the resolution of land-rights issues in
the north. The dialogue taking place in Norway could
perhaps serve as an example for others.
DEB PRASA GURUNG, Minister for Local Development of
Nepal, said climate change had affected the indigenous
peoples of his country. The indigenous had been
subject to discrimination in the past by the military
and by the social elite, but the Government was
changing that course at the behest of the people.
Laws were being enacted to protect the people's
rights, including the rights of those marginalized.
However, climate change was threatening the livelihood
of indigenous peoples in the Himalayas. As a party to
the Kyoto Protocol, his country had set up a task
force on the matter.
LOURDES TIBÁN, of the Ministry of Indigenous Issues of
Ecuador, said her Government would be developing a
Yasuny-ITT project that would impact on the
environment, but would also bring development to
thousands of people. The world community would be
asked to contribute $5 per barrel towards the cause of
preserving biodiversity. Those with the most money
had not yet responded, but it must be understood that
the indigenous peoples interpreted climate change in a
different manner than others. The Governments with
indigenous peoples in their populations must consider
it their responsibility to insure that indigenous
peoples were included in decisions that affected them.
That meant Governments must build societies that were
more sustainable, equitable and inclusive.
FRED CARON, Assistant Deputy Minister, Indian and
Northern Affairs, Canada, said the Government was
determined to improve the quality of life for
indigenous peoples, with their active involvement. A
Truth and Reconciliation Commission had also been
established. The ministry had submitted a draft bill
on the special claims, by which it would establish an
independent tribunal to deal with such claims. In
2006, the Government had made public a plan to manage
access to drinking water for indigenous peoples.
The First Nation, Inuit and Metis communities of
Canada faced unique challenges due to climate change,
which was very evident in the north. Specific impacts
included: rapid sea-ice loss; reduced habitat for
migratory animals; threats to forest, human health and
food security; destruction of physical infrastructure
due to melting permafrost; and others. Such factors
were compounded by other acts that undermined
traditional livelihoods, such as import bans on seal
products by European nations.
He said Canada was funding research on indigenous
communities with increasing participation of those
communities in their design and implementation. A
panel of elders had been established on climate change
to bring traditional knowledge to the table. The
Government was seeking to reduce 2006 greenhouse gas
levels by 20 per cent. It was also helping remote
communities to improve energy efficiency and reduce
diesel dependence. It was also working through the
Arctic Council, the only multilateral forum devoted to
Arctic issues, to work on climate change issues.
VALENTIN TICONA, Vice-Minister of Communitarian
Justice, Bolivia, said when lawmakers were preparing
the country's new Constitution, it became apparent
that some people opposed the inclusion of provisions
protecting the rights of indigenous peoples.
Nonetheless, those provisions were successfully
incorporated. The new Constitution talked of
establishing a "pluri-national State," in which
indigenous peoples would have equal access to health
services and education, and where "peasant justice"
stood on equal terms with mainstream justice systems.
Indigenous languages were acknowledged as national
languages. The indigenous identity had been elevated
on par with that of other communities, in effect,
"decolonizing the colonial State" instituted by
previous Governments.
He then noted that some countries had not ratified the
Declaration, and urged members of the indigenous
movement to persevere in their efforts to universalize
its tenets. The Declaration amounted to nothing less
than a model for living.
JUAN ANTONIO YÁÑEZ-BARNUEVO ( Spain) said his
Government considered it essential to actively support
the participation of indigenous delegates in regional
and global meetings. Further, cooperation measures
had been strengthened on issues of importance to
indigenous peoples, including situations of voluntary
isolation, empowerment and health plans. On the
global level, Spain was party to the International
Labour Organization (ILO) Convention on indigenous
peoples. A report was being drafted on those
cooperative measures in implementing Convention
articles.
He said the Forum had carried out a crucial role in
consolidating his country's cooperation policy on
indigenous peoples. A three-day preparatory session
for the Forum's current session had been held in
Madrid.
Forum member XIAOMEI QIN from China said indigenous
peoples were vulnerable because of their diverse
cultures, traditions and practices. Governments must
ensure that policies were developed and implemented in
a manner that respected their rights. Governments
should also take measures to change policies from
"doing no harm" to "actively encouraging" the
participation of peoples in their own affairs. They
should ensure the participation of indigenous peoples
in the management of their lands and should ensure
that their right to informed consent was respected.
Governments must also protect the environment of
indigenous peoples from being encroached upon by
enacting legislation and administering punishment.
International mechanisms should be established to
ensure compliance by all countries, and developed
countries must assume responsibility for the effects
of climate change. They should provide financial and
technological support to counter the effects on
indigenous peoples.
PIRAGIBE DOS SANTOS TARRAGO, ( Brazil), reiterated the
call for a well-informed discussion on the impact of
climate change on indigenous peoples. He understood
that deforestation accounted for 17 per cent of
greenhouse gas levels. The Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change estimated that nearly a third of the
Amazon would become a savannah if there was no
progress in tackling climate change. Therefore, those
most responsible for increasing greenhouse gas
emissions must take some form of action to change that
pattern. For its part, Brazil had placed 12 per cent
of its territory, amounting to nearly a quarter of the
Amazonian forest, under protection. Some 600
indigenous communities lived in those territories. It
was mandatory in Brazil to use the resources from
those protected forests in accordance with the
tradition of its inhabitants.
He said efforts to combat deforestation had led to a
20 per cent drop of greenhouse gas emissions from
Brazil in 2007 compared to 2005-2006. In the last
quarter of 2007, there was some growth in
deforestation as a response to higher commodity
prices. As a result, the Government had had to
suspend the release of licenses for commercial
activities in certain protected areas of the forest.
New rules meant that landowners must submit data on
activity on their property. Goods produced from raw
materials gotten from illegally deforested areas could
not be sold, and fines were imposed on producers and
everybody participating in the production chain.
In terms of biofuel production and its supposed
negative impact, he assured the Forum that the low
fertility of soil in the Amazon basin meant that it
was not possible to grow sugar cane there. Currently,
about half the land normally used for sugar cane
planting was being used for biofuel, or less than 10
per cent of cultivable land. Meanwhile, space
technology was being used to ensure that soy bean
plantations did not threaten "forest sustainability"
An international conference in November 2009 in Brazil
would be held on this topic. He also noted that,
incidentally, agricultural subsidies in some countries
were harming farmers' profits in developing countries.
JOSEF TUUSI MOTZFELDT, Member of Parliament, Denmark,
speaking also on behalf of Greenland, said the Forum
had established itself as an authority on indigenous
issues within the United Nations system, and he
expressed his pleasure in lending support to it. It
had an important role in disseminating information on
climate change and its effects on indigenous peoples.
He noted the urgent need to build the world's capacity
to adapt to climate change. To that end, sharing
experiences and best practices was key. Denmark had
engaged with several others to monitor and assess the
impact on people, flora and fauna. When it takes up
the Chair of the Arctic Council in 2009, Denmark would
establish a research centre in Greenland. Among
topics of interest was the opening of the Arctic Ocean
for trade, and its potential impact on vulnerable
ecosystems and local communities. There was also the
question of exploitation of natural resources to
consider. Greenland had invited the representatives
of the four coastal States -- Canada, Norway, Russian
Federation and United States -- to hold a discussion
on stewardship. He also noted that Denmark would host
the Climate Change Convention Conference of Parties in
2009. Greenland would promote indigenous peoples'
involvement in the
A Forum member, Mr. BALKASSM of Morocco, asked Nepal's
representative if the Government had a strategy to
implement the Declaration with the participation of
indigenous peoples. The same question was put to the
speaker from Ecuador. He also asked the Canadian
speaker if his country's vote against the Declaration
had negatively influenced efforts in support of
indigenous peoples. Had funds earmarked for
indigenous peoples issues increased or decreased?
Turning to Bolivia, he remarked that African
constitutions also contained provisions turning
indigenous languages into national languages. What
measures had Bolivia taken to turn them into living
languages to be used, say, in schools? Directing a
question to the speaker from Spain, he asked whether
indigenous peoples in the Canary Islands -- who were
largely in isolation -- enjoyed a good relationship
with indigenous peoples elsewhere.
WILSON REYES, Director of the National Corporation on
Indigenous Development (CONADI) of the Ministry of
Planning of Chile, said Chile had nine indigenous
peoples: Aymaras, Quechuas, Atacamenos, Collas
Diaguitas, Rapa Nui, Mapuches, Kawashskar and Yaganes.
Almost 1 million people, less than 7 per cent of
Chile's population, identified themselves as
indigenous in the most recent national census. The
Government was taking specific steps to honour its
international commitments and to ensure that Chile's
indigenous peoples were able to exercise their rights.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet had held a
National Dialogue with Indigenous Peoples and more
than 120 organizations representing indigenous people
participated. As part of an increasingly broad policy
for land restitution, in 2006 and 2007 President
Bachelet returned roughly 23,000 hectares of land to
more than 2,200 indigenous families. The issue
concerned an outstanding debt owed to indigenous
peoples that was gradually being repaid.
After almost two decades of legislative effort, Chile
had recently adopted Convention 169 of the
International Labour Organization, he continued. In
doing so, Chile was recognizing the rights of
indigenous peoples to participate and be consulted,
their right to land and territory and their rights in
other areas such as justice, legal pluralism and
bilingual, intercultural education. The Convention's
adoption and the constitutional reform recognizing
indigenous peoples that was currently under
consideration in the Parliament were the two most
important political demands of the country's
indigenous organizations during the past 20 years. A
new Marine Coastline Act created the category of
"First Peoples' Marine Coastal Space", which
recognized and protected the indigenous communities'
ancestral use of beaches and coasts. In a few weeks,
President Bachelet would send Parliament draft
legislation on a Statute of Government and
Administration for Easter Island that would create the
post of Island Governor and a Development Council
comprised chiefly of indigenous peoples. The bill
also recognized the Rapa Nui Council of Elders and
created the Rapa Nui Land Commission.
SHIRLEY McPHERSON, Chair of the Australian Indigenous
Land Corporation, Australia, said her country was
making adaptations to address climate change. As a
developed country, Australia would also make climate
change central in its development aid. Addressing
issues related to deforestation would be a priority.
By the end of the year, 400 indigenous rangers would
be employed in activities such as protecting the
welfare of feral animals. Indigenous experts were
also called into newly opening positions such as
shoreline protection.
Continuing the dialogue with Governments, Forum member
ELISA CANQUI MOLLO from Bolivia asked whether
indigenous peoples were involved in the ILO council in
Chile. Expert BARTOLOMÉ CLAVERO SALVADOR from Spain
said he wanted to know the answer to the same
question. In addition, he wished to hear the views of
the Chilean representative in response to the
information that indigenous peoples were forced to
leave their lands due to the policies of the current
Government, which totally trampled the rights of the
Mapuchi people, who did not even have water rights.
Mr. REYES ( Chile) said the Government had wanted to
include indigenous peoples, but there were not enough
votes in Parliament. A note had been issued to the
ILO in Geneva and a decision was awaited. All such
questions were well placed and the concerns expressed
were being addressed.
Forum member LILIANE MUZANGA MBELA from the Democratic
Republic of the Congo said climate change could be
regulated only if it was done for the benefit of the
indigenous peoples, which required Governments to
become knowledgeable about indigenous peoples.
Africans had done much to benefit their indigenous
peoples, based on the Declaration.
Forum member PAVEL SULYANDZIGA from the Russian
Federation said a lot of cooperative work on
indigenous issues was being carried out between his
country and Canada. The Council of Europe had raised
very good questions about policies for indigenous
peoples, but the information provided had remained on
paper. Eight years had passed without action being
taken on the recommendations.
IYA TIDJANI ( Cameroon) noted that indigenous peoples
were the innocent victims of climate change. Several
ministries in his country had special mandates to
improve their living conditions and to grant them
their due place in society. It was an effort
requiring ongoing evaluation. Their knowledge on
climate change issues was huge, gathered through
centuries of experience. He voiced support for the
suggestion to draw up a good practices document based
on their knowledge, and would support any proposals
they put forward to the Economic and Social Council
regarding climate change.
MICHAEL DODSON, a Forum member from Australia,
directed a question to the Australian Government on
the land ranger and sea ranger programme in his
country. He expressed concern over the recent
abolishment of such programmes in Australia's Northern
Territories, resulting in the loss of 7,000 jobs, and
asked if there were any plans to evaluate the impact
of the lost jobs.
HILARIO DAVIDE, JR. (Philippines) said the Philippines
was adversely affected by climate change and it had
experienced increased tropical cyclones and rising sea
levels, deaths and incalculable damage to agriculture,
coastal and marine ecosystems and forests. Natural
disasters caused by climate change exacerbated the
situation for thousands of indigenous peoples living
in remote mountain areas and on islands, increasing
their vulnerability to disease and affecting their
physical, social and psychological well-being. The
Philippines was taking steps to reverse that trend.
It was among the first countries to ratify the Climate
Change Convention and its Kyoto Protocol, and was
committed to their full implementation. The
Philippines had been empowering its people, especially
indigenous people, to adapt to climate change. The
country's indigenous people protected the ecosystem,
particularly the remaining carbon sinks and the
national forests, which were crucial to preventing
climate change.
The Philippines was categorized as a middle-income
country in the South-East Asian region, but it was
excluded from the top 30 carbon dioxide emitters, he
said. It intended to remain excluded from that list,
and the country's indigenous people would be key
actors in that process. The Philippines was
considered among the top 17 most biodiverse nations in
the world. Indigenous peoples played a major role in
protecting and preserving the country's rich and vast
biodiverse areas, since they lived in or near those
areas. The federal Government, in cooperation with
local government units and non-governmental
organizations, was teaching local communities,
including indigenous communities, how to protect and
preserve the Philippines' many biodiversity hotspots.
The Government's 10-point priority agenda aimed to
fully mainstream indigenous peoples into the
development process, while empowering them as active
agents of development. The nation's system of
Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and
Protection Plans secured land tenure for indigenous
communities within the framework for sustainable
development. The National Commission on Indigenous
Persons also provided livelihood projects that were
reinforced by capacity-building, such as
entrepreneurial training, agro-industrial technology
transfer, technical and financial cooperative
assistance and social infrastructure support services.
LIBORIO GURULLA, Governor of the Amazon State,
Venezuela, said the problem lay in the misuse of
natural resources, and so education on the
preservation and conservation of the world's
biodiversity must be undertaken as a matter of
importance. Also, just as a harmonious relationship
between people and the environment was important, a
good relationship between peoples must also be
encouraged. In Venezuela, a bill to protect ancestral
languages would soon be tabled, so that people could
use their own languages as part of national life, in
the spirit of togetherness.
He said the Venezuelan Constitution guaranteed the
protection of indigenous knowledge in relation to
natural resources, prohibiting the patenting of such
knowledge for commercial purposes. States were
appealed to uphold their commitments to safeguard
indigenous peoples' use of biodiversity, as provided
in the Convention on Biodiversity. He then proposed
that the Forum raise the world's awareness regarding
their responsibility towards climate change. That
might mean halting activities that damaged the
environment, and protecting the livelihood of
indigenous peoples in the process.
GEORGE TALBOT ( Guyana) said that, as Guyana's
coastline was below sea-level and 90 per cent of its
population resided there, climate change and rising
sea levels were a real threat to Guyana's survival.
Even though Guyana's carbon dioxide removal levels
exceeded emission levels, the Guyanese Government
recognized climate change as a challenge affecting
everyone. Every citizen had a role to play in
reducing its negative impact, including Guyana's
indigenous people, the Amerindians. By virtue of
their habitation, lifestyle and irrevocable titled
ownership of lands in the country's interior and
forested regions, Amerindians were both stewards and
partners in the conservation and sustainable use of
forest resources and the environment as a whole.
Successive Governments cognizant of the importance of
preserving the environment had also sought to
sustainably use available natural resources to support
Guyana's development, he said. That had led to clear
policies and plans in forestry, fisheries and mining.
There were also ongoing processes, in consultation
with Amerindian communities, to create national
protected areas in the interest of environmental
conservation. The Iwokrama International Centre for
Rain Forest Conservation and Development oversaw
scientific research, education and simultaneous
conservation and the sustainable use of resources of
approximately 1 million acres of pristine rainforest.
The Centre, a joint programme of the Guyanese
Government and the Commonwealth, promoted sustainable
livelihoods through strong partnerships with
neighbouring indigenous communities. The Act
establishing the Centre provided for the protection of
Amerindian rights, as well as for them to consult and
participate in the Centre's activities and to serve on
the Centre's International Board of Trustees.
HENRY MAC-DONALD ( Suriname) said he agreed with the
observation that indigenous peoples were often the
most marginalized and would be disproportionately
affected by climate change. Yet, long before the
political and scientific community had reached
consensus on the effects of climate change, indigenous
peoples had already learned how to cope with changing
weather patterns. They should be looked upon as
agents of change.
He said Suriname had been hit by a flood in 2006,
where half the country was inundated and the entire
habitat of indigenous communities in the affected
areas was damaged. The international community should
not ignore the fact that current production and
consumption patterns were jeopardizing people's lives
all over the world. The Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples, which was an important political
document in its own right, should be seen as a
reference document on international indigenous
peoples' issues.
* *** *
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iS iT WiN-abled ?
iF NoT, how soon will iT be WiN-abled ?
:)