| Accreditation to: |
Indigenous Forum
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| Affiliation with other organizations: |
Active member of: Indigenous Council of Central America (CICA), Meso-American Indigenous Council (CIMA), Tebtebba, Coordinating Body for the Indigenous Peoples' Organisations of the Amazon Basin (COICA), Conservation Initiative on Human Rights (CIHR), and Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC). |
Statements or documents submitted
to the UN Forum on Indigenous Issues:
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4th Session, 2005 Conservation International (CI) believes that conservation should protect biodiversity, benefit people and maintain ecological processes that are fundamental for sustainability and economic development. We believe that the Earth’s natural heritage should be maintained so that future generations prosper culturally, spiritually and economically. The conservation of biodiversity is important for the evolution and maintenance of systems necessary for life and human development. Its loss affects the quality of life of all humans and all life on earth. The economies, identities, cultural and spiritual values and traditional knowledge as well as forms of social organization of indigenous and traditional peoples are directly aligned with the maintenance of biodiversity and the ecosystems where they live. Many of the resources have unique and important meanings for indigenous and traditional cultures. Supporting and working with indigenous and traditional peoples in the protection of their lands and resources contributes to the improvement of the quality of life, conserves cultural patrimony and their unique cultures for future generations. Many of the causes of poverty among indigenous and traditional peoples differ significantly from other marginal sectors and are often directly related to the loss of their lands, access to traditional sources of water and natural resources, disintegration of traditional economies, loss of traditional knowledge and discrimination and marginalization rooted in their traditional language and social and cultural organizations. Under the framework of the Millennium Assessment Goals, CI recognizes an opportunity to work and develop a common agenda with indigenous and traditional peoples to achieve results related to the conservation of biodiversity, the recognition of indigenous rights and the improvement of the quality of life. Based on our principles, CI has committed to strengthen capacities of and work jointly with indigenous and traditional people to conserve biodiversity and support sustainable livelihood objectives and strategies. Through CI’s Indigenous and Traditional Peoples Initiative, we are establishing alliances with indigenous and traditional peoples, working with indigenous and traditional leaders, organizations and partners like the Equator Initiative to better understand indigenous and traditional peoples' perspectives and aspirations for the conservation of the biodiversity and sustainable development in the countries of the tropical zones. CI recognizes that there is a long road to walk in order to construct common agendas and to assure that conservation activities support the needs and aspirations of indigenous and traditional peoples. CI is open to improve its form of work with indigenous and traditional peoples and has begun a process of open dialogue between decision-makers, conservationists and indigenous and traditional representatives to guide our actions and construct common agendas. We believe that the UNPFI has a fundamental role in supporting the construction of this agenda and should guide conservation groups in their work with indigenous and traditional peoples. Therefore we recommend the following: 1.That the Permanent Forum advises conservation orgs to improve their work with indigenous and traditional peoples, based on the respect and recognition of the rights of the Indigenous peoples. 2.That the Permanent Forum, through the Secretariat, promotes dialogue and collaboration between governments, indigenous and traditional peoples and conservation orgs to implement the Protected areas POW in accordance with COP 7. 3.That the Permanent Forum, through the Secretariat, develops a system of information sharing with conservation orgs with the objective of providing access to indigenous and traditional peoples with scientific and technical information from those orgs.
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| Purpose of the organization: |
Building upon a strong foundation of science, partnership and field demonstration, CI empowers societies to responsibly and sustainably care for nature for the well-being of humanity. |
| Confirmation of the activities of the organization at the regional, national or international level: |
Indigenous Peoples and Conservation Dialogues - Andes, April 2005; Chiapas, August 2005; Guatemala, December 2005; Belize, August 2006 Activities with CI Field Programs and Partners: •Guyana: Supported management planning for 625,000 hectares protected by first indigenous-owned conservation area •Southwest China: Shared learning from traditions to science & legal research and publication on existing rights of communities •Collaborated with global indigenous organization on ITP symposium at the IUCN Latin American Parks Congress and development of a new category of Indigenous Protected Areas •Guatemala indigenous proposal for Communal Lands legislation and national roundtable on climate change and indigenous issues Indigenous Advisory Group(IAG): Formed in November 2009 •Build upon and strengthen existing collaborations between indigenous peoples and NGOs on REDD at the local, national and global scale •Bring direct advice and feedback from indigenous experts into the climate change strategies of conservation and development NGOs, including CI •Promote understanding of needs, priorities, concerns and programs of indigenous peoples related to REDD •IAG members: 1) Paulo Celso de Oliveira, a Pankararu; practices law in Brasilia. First indigenous lawyer in Brazil, works to defend the rights of indigenous peoples. 2)Mina Susana Setra, a Dayak from Indonesia, represents her country – and her people – as Director for Foreign Affairs for the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago. 3) David James, a member of the Arekuna community, former schoolteacher and the only indigenous lawyer in Guyana. 4) Ramiro Batzin, president of the indigenous organization Sotz’il, and as a representative of the Mayan peoples on a national mesa (roundtable) in Guatemala. 5)Rogeliano Solis of the Kuna Yala people of Panama teaches Natural Sciences and advises on issues of importance to the environment and people’s lives. 6) Kanyinke Sena of Kenya, with the Yiaku People’s Association, Indigenous Peoples Coordinating Committee of Africa and a member of the UNPFII. Indigenous Leaders Conservation Fellowship launched at UNPFII in April 2010 in collaboration with the CBD - sponsored by CI to create opportunities for leaders and scholars from indigenous and traditional peoples' communities and organisations to explore solutions to the impacts of climate change and the threats to ecosystems and biodiversity that are affecting their lands, communities, and livelihoods. The programme will focus on supporting the Fellows' research and demonstration of the contribution of traditional knowledge in adapting to climate change and maintaining healthy ecosystems, and how that knowledge can work with science and new technologies to influence policy and action. Specific research topics are linked to applicants from specific countries. This year-long fellowship will be offered to four candidates. Two fellowships will be awarded within the topic of biodiversity, and two within the topic of climate change. The Fellows will design research projects and produce reports about the potential contributions of their communities/organisations to biodiversity conservation plans and policies and strategies for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Each research project must incorporate the contribution of traditional knowledge and practices. To accomplish this research project, each fellow will work directly with her/his own community or local indigenous /traditional organisation. 2008 organized workshop: Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change: Mobilizing Collaborative Action A Workshop at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Seventh Session, April 25, 2008, The Permanent Mission of Germany to the UN REDD+ Capacity-Building Activities Community/IP/Training of Trainer workshops (Morocco 11/2008, Guatemala 2/2009, DRC 4/2009, Suriname 8/2009, Guyana 11/2009, 4/2010) |
Forests
| Major group affiliation: |
Non-governmental Orgnizations
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Statements or documents submitted
to the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF):
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2009 - Conservation International One of the most important messages from the Paramaribo Dialogue was the need to focus special attention on the High Forest Cover Low Deforestation Rate (HFLD) Countries, represented at the Conference by the host country Suriname and neighboring Guyana. Although REDD has advanced on many fronts over the past year since the Bali UNFCCC Conference, it has not included HFLD countries in any significant way. Together, the 12-13 HFLD countries account for at least 30% of the world’s remaining tropical rain forest (and nearly 50% if one includes the HFLD states of Amazonian Brazil such as Amazonas and Amapa and the Province of Papua in Indonesia), they have been off the table in current REDD discussions because of their very low historic deforestation rates (e.g., <0.1% in Suriname). This is unfortunate, since these forests are central to any global efforts to use tropical forest conservation to mitigate global greenhouse gas emissions. In essence, the current system penalizes these countries that have done a good job n protecting their forests and creates potential perverse incentives that could encourage them to deforest. What is more, as national level REDD projects prevent further deforestation in High Deforestation Rate countries, pressure from the agents of destruction that have resulted in major forest loss elsewhere are likely to shift quickly to the HFLD countries if their forests have not been secured. The point that HFLD countries need to be fully integrated into any global dialogue on sustainable forest management, and especially the role of forests in global climate mitigation, was made very strongly by both the President of Suriname and the President of Guyana in the opening session of the Paramaribo Dialogue. However, since REDD as it is currently construed is not likely to provide for HFLD countries, it is essential that new mechanisms specific to the HFLD countries be developed and tested as soon as possible. These could include a combination of Carbon Stock and PES, or a “bolt-on” of HFLD credits to REDD credits in other countries through a specific predetermined ratio. The Paramaribo Dialogue urges donors to pay particular attention to the unique situation and the needs of the HFLD countries and to provide financing to develop mechanisms to compensate them at a scale commensurate with their key role in the global forest and climate mitigation picture. |
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