13 May, 2013
Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) supports the rights of peoples who live in forests and depend on them for their livelihoods. We work to create political space for forest peoples to secure their rights, control their lands and decide their own futures.
We are looking for a Project Officer to support our Africa programme work in Cameroon and the Congo basin. Successful applicants will speak and write fluently in French and English, and have a master’s degree (or higher) that is relevant to our work. S/he will join our work on the ground with forest peoples and their support organisations to help indigenous and local forest communities protect their forests and exercise their self-determination. The successful candidate must be committed to the principle of self-determination for indigenous peoples and local communities. S/he must be prepared to travel often and be competent in providing technical support to our project teams around the Congo basin region, including reporting on activities and events, and monitoring budgets.
Forest Peoples Programme
29 April, 2013
As multiple international agencies adopt and update their social and environmental policies, this special edition Forest Peoples Programme E-Newsletter reviews experiences of communities and civil society with the safeguard policies of various international financial institutions.
17 May, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 17 MAY 2013
As part of its project: "REDD financing, Human Rights and Economic Development for Sustainable Poverty Reduction of forest communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)", Forest Peoples Programme (FPP), and its local partners in the DRC: Actions pour les Droits, l'Environnement et la Vie (ADEV), Réseau pour la Conservation et la Réhabilitation des Ecosystèmes Forestiers (Réseau CREF), Cercle pour la Défense de l'Environnement (CEDEN), et Centre d'Accompagnement des Autochtones Pygmées et Minoritaires Vulnérables (CAMV), have published, in collaboration with the Organisation d’Accompagnement et d’Appui aux Pygmées (OSAPY), the first volume of a new book series titled Forêts Africaines - Tabernacle des Savoirs (FOATAS) (African Forests – Fountain of Knowledge). The principle theme of this first volume is: Indigenous Peoples and Free, Prior and Informed Consent.
OSAPY, CEDEN, ADEV, Réseau-CREF, CAMV, et FPP
17 May, 2013
Soutenir l'autodétermination des communautés forestières est fondamental dans l'approche de FPP dont les principes fondateurs sont enracinés dans les droits humains. Comme vous le constaterez en lisant ce recueil, le concept de consentement libre, préalable et informé (CLIP) est bien reconnu dans la jurisprudence internationale et doit être incorporé dans la législation des États à travers le monde lorsque ceux-ci entament le processus des réformes juridiques au niveau interne. Le CLIP constitue déjà un élément clé de nombreuses initiatives de certification pour les industries extractives et agro-alimentaires, ainsi que pour la conservation et les mesures d'atténuation du changement climatique.
Patrick Kipalu & Joelle Mukungu, Forest Peoples Programme - DRC
15 May, 2013
The considerable threats faced by the forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo continue to draw global attention because of the crucial role these large forests play in regulating the global climate. Estimates indicate that the forests of the Congo Basin as a whole capture and store about 10 to 30 billion tons of carbon, an increasingly significant ecosystem service in light of concerns about climate change. In recent years, projects aimed at the reduction of emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) have been developed to provide financial incentives based on performance to the owners of large areas of forests in order to reduce the loss of forests and promote the improvement of carbon stocks through conservation and tree planting.
CAMV, ADEV, Réseau Cref, CEDEN, FPP
2 May, 2013
Cette trousse d’information traite de la protection du droit à la terre, territoires et ressources naturelles en droit international et en droit régional africain. Elle vise à fournir aux ONG de l’information brève et accessible sur le cadre juridique relatif aux droits des peuples autochtones et des communautés locales en RDC en ce qui a trait à leurs terres, territoires et ressources naturelles. Elle présente également de l’information utile sur les mécanismes internationaux et régionaux qui peuvent être utilisés par les ONG et les peuples autochtones et les communautés locales avec lesquels elles travaillent pour revendiquer leurs droits et faire le plaidoyer afin que le gouvernement de la RDC respecte ses obligations juridiques internationales et régionales.
29 April, 2013
In 2011, the World Bank Group (WBG) adopted a Framework and Strategy for investment in the palm oil sector. The new approach was adopted on the instructions of former World Bank President Robert Zoellick, after a damning audit by International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) semi-independent Compliance Advisory Ombudsman (CAO) had shown that IFC staff were financing the palm oil giant, Wilmar, without due diligence and contrary to the IFC’s Performance Standards. Wilmar is the world’s largest palm oil trader, supplying no less than 45% of globally traded palm oil. The audit, carried out in response to a series of detailed complaints[1] from Forest Peoples Programme and partners, vindicated many of our concerns that Wilmar was expanding its operations in Indonesia in violation of legal requirements, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) standards and IFC norms and procedures. Almost immediately after the audit was triggered, IFC divested itself of its numerous other palm oil investments in Southeast Asia.
29 April, 2013
By Samuel Nnah Ndobe
The notion of indigenous people has sometimes been controversial in Africa. There are some opinions that consider all Africans as indigenous people liberated from colonial powers, while others simply stress that it is very difficult to determine who is indigenous in Africa. The setting up in 2001 by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) of a Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities and the Group’s report submitted to and adopted by the ACHPR in 2003 have brought a new perspective to this problem. In this report for the first time there was a unanimous acceptance of the existence of indigenous peoples in Africa and this kicked off discussions on how countries could begin to integrate the rights of these peoples into the human rights mainstream. The indigenous peoples of Central Africa include the mostly hunter gatherer peoples commonly called the “Pygmies” and a number of pastoralist peoples. These peoples still suffer discrimination experienced through the dispossession of their land and destruction of their livelihoods, cultures and identities, extreme poverty, lack of access to and participation in political decision-making and lack of access to education and health facilities.
29 April, 2013
Public indignation about the depredations of ill-regulated business has led to a growing recognition of the responsibilities of businesses to respect human rights, as well as the need for stronger regulations to improve the way products are made and ensure that environments and peoples’ rights are respected and protected. There is now greater awareness that what is urgently needed is strengthened environmental stewardship and land governance, reforms of land tenure, and improved enforcement of revised and just laws.
View from a Batwa community in Uganda - A typical scene of population density and land use patterns, September 2005
© FPP
View of Mount Elgon, in western Kenya, which is home to the Ogiek people
© Emmanuel Freudenthal