Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates, Indigenous brothers and sisters,

The International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity would like to take this opportunity to thank those Parties who have worked so hard with us to include texts that are important to Indigenous Peoples.  We recognize that this is a process of exchange of knowledge, friendship and trust and we want to assure you that Indigenous Peoples are deeply appreciative of this support. 

Indigenous Peoples are participating in this Working Group because we believe that the experiences of Indigenous Peoples in conservation and our efforts to establish, on the ground, the new paradigm agreed upon in Durban, are critical to this process. However, despite important initiatives by us and others, we see little progress in putting the new paradigm into practice. Therefore we still have grave concerns about the continued dispossession of our lands, territories and resources; and the loss of our cultures and livelihoods, as a result of the management of existing, and the establishment of new, protected areas.  

In our work on protected areas in this Convention, we enjoyed effective participation in the discussions at COP7, and in particular in the formulation of the Programme of Work.  However, we regret that the disregard for our interventions at this meeting during most of this week, has prevented us from contributing effectively to the documents.  Being often relegated to speak after all the Parties, UN agencies and NGOs, we could not raise issues critical to us in a timely manner and so were prevented from receiving reactions and support to our recommendations.  We hope this serious procedural problem can be rectified in the next meeting of this Working Group.

Nevertheless, the IIFB is pleased with a number of achievements, which capture the concerns of Indigenous Peoples and could contribute to the implementation of the Programme of Work.  For example, the language on the need for the GEF to review its policies and practice in relation to Indigenous Peoples and protected areas is critical for us.  Likewise, we are glad that the Working Group has recalled that all activities relating to the Programme of Work must be carried out with the full and effective participation of, and the full respect for the rights of, Indigenous and local communities.

The adoption by the Working Group of language, that recognizes that economic activities that have direct links to conservation areas must be socially and environmentally sustainable, is important. The continued impacts of extractive industries, particularly mining, gas and oil, logging, and bio-prospecting continue to have devastating impacts on our cultures, livelihoods and in our ecosystems. In no way can such activities be characterized as sustainable. Furthermore, we remind Parties, that under the Commission on Sustainable Development, countries have recognized that sustainability encompasses governance, equity and rights issues, including the rights of Indigenous Peoples. We believe that the work on conservation and sustainable use under this Convention, including its work on Protected Areas, can become an important tool in helping to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

Mr. Chairman, while we welcome some aspects of the recommendations of this Working Group, we remain concerned that some of the background notes prepared by the Executive Secretary prior to this meeting contain serious omissions.  For example, the paper on Financial Resources promotes controversial funding mechanisms that raise many problematic issues for Indigenous Peoples, including extractive industries, bioprospecting, carbon sequestration, debt-for-nature swaps, tourism and privatization.  Furthermore, the matrix on pros and cons fails to identify a whole series of potential difficulties with certain financing options.

One of the most important recommendations of this meeting relates to need for Indigenous Peoples to develop their own toolkits.  This will require the appropriate allocation of resources so that this recommendation can be implemented as soon as possible.  We thank countries that have expressed their willingness to support this effort and we urge other Parties to join them in making sure this initiative becomes a reality.  In particular, we request timely support for technical workshops organized by Indigenous Peoples. This to ensure an effective process to gather inputs from Indigenous Peoples to further develop existing and elaborate new toolkits.

The IIFB would like to stress that the continued depletion of marine resources have seriously impacted on livelihoods and the food security of Indigenous and local communities.  We are disappointed that our interventions on traditional knowledge; free, prior and informed consent, and effective participation on the identification, designation and management of marine protected areas beyond national jurisdiction have not been taken seriously by many Parties.

We are happy to see that the review of implementation of the Programme of Work will enable the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples in this important assessment and reporting process.  However, Annex 2 of the notes of the Executive Secretary needs to reflect the important recommendations of this Group on this agenda item. 

In closing, Mr. Chairman, recalling our opening statement, we trust that the preparation of the background documents for the next and future meetings will be developed and reviewed with the effective participation of Indigenous Peoples, and so better addressing our needs and aspirations.

We look forward to working with you on this important endeavour.

Thank you.