Ressources

Following the recent article in The Ecologist by Lewis Evans of Survival International concerning a complaint to the OECD brought by Survival against the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), Forest Peoples Programme has received some queries regarding our view of the situation in Cameroon (where we have a substantial programme working alongside forest indigenous peoples). FPP has limited knowledge of the specific facts of the complaint made by Survival International and cannot corroborate its contents.

The Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) is pleased to present a new comprehensive study on the lack of tenure security faced by indigenous communities in Guyana’s Northwest District. ‘Our Land, Our Life: A participatory assessment of the land tenure situation of indigenous peoples in Guyana’ was published in collaboration with UK non-governmental organisation Forest Peoples Programme (FPP).

A publication bringing together the perspectives and experiences of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) on the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity has been officially launched at the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP13) in Cancun, Mexico.

The important link between cultural and biological diversity was highlighted as part of the “Múuch'tambal” Summit on Indigenous Experience: Traditional Knowledge, biological and cultural diversity at COP13 today.Among those speaking at the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP13) were indigenous peoples and local communities from around the world, including Mexico, Japan, Chile, and the Solomon Islands.

As the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence come to a close today, FPP reflects on the actions needed now to concretely and effectively address the role and position of women fighting for the collective rights of their peoples. In this context we are pleased to present a follow-up new report on the International Workshop on Indigenous Women’s Rights, Land and Resources.

Milka Chepkorir Kuto is a human rights activist and member of the Sengwer indigenous people, who live in the the Embobut and Kabolet Forest, Kenya. For the last three years, Milka has been focusing on indigenous women and their role in defending land rights. In occasion of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, we have spoken to Milka about her work and the importance of including women in the struggle to retain ownership and control over their lands. 

There is increasing concern from local, national and international civil society about the human rights implications of the EU’s €31 million Water Tower Protection and Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Project (WaTER) that is focused on an area of Kenya with deeply troubling human rights issues.

Arnobia Moreno lives in the indigenous Resguardo Cañamomo Lomaprieta, one of the oldest colonial reserves in Colombia. Over the years she has played a key role in involving women in the protection and conservation of their traditional land. As part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, Arnobia told us about the importance of the Collective of Indigenous Women, which she helped creating, and her work to obtain the restitution of the original territory of the indigenous communities living in the Resguardo.

Peoples from around the world have gathered at the thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP13) to discuss the theme ‘Mainstreaming Biodiversity’. The topic aims to encourage debate on how national decision-making does and can integrate conservation and sustainable use of biological resources into economic, development, planning and other sectors of governance.

The thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP13) is currently being held in Cancun, Mexico.Commitments have been made at COP13 to support Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’ (IPLCs) in their actions related to the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

Presentaciones del Pueblo Bribri del Territorio Indígena de Salitre, Pueblo Teribe del Territorio Indígena de Térraba, y sus asesores legales durante el Grupo de Trabajo con Costa Rica ante la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos sobre las  Medidas Cautelares (MC 321-12).Propuesto de los Beneficiarios Puntos de Acuerdo entre los Bribri el Estado y Teribe

Bangkok: Major palm oil producers and environmental NGOs announced today their agreement on a method to decide which forests must be conserved for companies to uphold their ‘no deforestation’ commitments. Forest Peoples Programme, which has been engaging closely in the process (links), welcomed the outcome.

London, 6th November 2016: On the 12th October, and just days before the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil’s (RSPO) complaints panel was supposed to issue a final judgment on the complaint filed against them by the community of Santa Clara de Uchunya, Plantaciones de Pucallpa (PdP) withdrew from the RSPO.

Londres, 6 de noviembre de 2016: El 12 de octubre, días antes que el Panel de Denuncias de la RSPO (Mesa redonda sobre producción sostenible de aceite de palma, según sus siglas en inglés) supuestamente publicara su decisión final en el proceso de solución de conflictos presentado en contra de la empresa Plantaciones de Pucallpa (PdP) por la comunidad de Santa Clara de Uchunya, dicha empresa se retiró de la RSPO.

A recent Position paper by the German Institute for Human Rights argues that the newly developed standards of the multilateral Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and of the World Bank fall short in many respects of the human rights commitments that the Federal Government has imposed on itself. If Germany wishes to achieve the objectives it has set for itself, it will have to conduct its own human rights assessment of projects, and close monitoring of project implementation will be equally necessary.

4 November, Kota Kinabalu: After a week of field investigations and searching discussions, the 6th Southeast Asian Conference on Human Rights and Agribusiness issued a resolution calling for moratoriums to halt the further hand out of concessions throughout the region. The meeting noted how land conflicts as a result of agribusiness expansion are proliferating and urged a pause in the hand out of licenses while community and indigenous peoples’ land rights are secured.

FPP has received disturbing reports alleging oppressive treatment of staff belonging to the civil society organisation Green Advocates by the Liberian Government, causing Green Advocates' staff and their families to fear for their personal safety and go into hiding. FPP calls on the Liberian Government and international community representatives to take urgent and credible action to guarantee the security and safety of all Green Advocates staff and their families.

A wide-ranging discussion on the rights of indigenous women in Africa was held last Sunday at the 59th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human Rights and Peoples Rights.  The panel, organised by the Commission’s Working Group on Indigenous Populations, looked at different aspects, including access to services, barriers to participation in decision-making and harmful traditional practices.

Palm oil giant Golden Veroleum (GVL) has bulldozed religious sites in southeast Liberia and has paid police armed with assault rifles to protect its plantations, a new Global Witness exposé has revealed. (1)

Since the 1960s, the Sengwer peoples of western Kenya have been experiencing forced evictions from their home in the name of conservation. Since 2014, these evictions have intensified.