7 October, 2011
Indigenous leaders gathered in Manaus in mid-August for a conference organized by COICA (Confederation of the Indigenous Peoples’ Organizations of the Amazon Basin) to discuss traditional knowledge, forests and climate change, as well as the Rio+20 conference. Their final statement called for the recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ rights to their territories, respect for the principle of the ‘full life’[1] (‘vida plena’) and support for Indigenous approaches to climate mitigation in forests, (referred to in the statement as “Indigenous REDD+”). Communities were also advised to be alert to the bad practices of “carbon cowboys” and avoid entering into any contracts until international obligations on rights are fully implemented.
1 August, 2011
AIDESEP, 20th July 2011. AIDESEP has revealed that the recently established Peruvian NGO "Alliance for the Capture of Carbon as a Solution to Climate Change" has proposed 10 year 'agreements' with various Shipibo indigenous communities. The agreements focus on the potential for 'environmental services, REDD and carbon deals' and are offering '$100 per hectare and thousands of dollars each year' to these communities. In an alarming turn the communities are being asked to sign these agreements and hand over their land title papers to the NGO.
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Tebtebba
11 July, 2011
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8 July, 2011
Conservation organisations have been making great strides towards recognising that protected areas must respect the rights of indigenous peoples as enshrined in international law, including the right to give or withhold their free prior and informed consent to the establishment of new protected areas in their customary territories. Yet in practice conservation organisations often continue to exclude local people from using forest and other resources, and only consult them after they have drawn up management plans rather than jointly writing them.
7 July, 2011
San Martin and Madre de Dios are the two regions earmarked for the development of pilot REDD activities in Peru. Both regions are facing an avalanche of over 20 REDD projects oriented towards the voluntary carbon market. Many of these sub-national REDD+ projects are descending on the ancestral territories of indigenous peoples including the Shawi, Awajun and Kechwa in San Martin, and the Ese Eja, Yine, Shipibo, Amahuaca, Arakambut and Machiguenga in Madre de Dios. In Peru, approximately 20 million hectares of indigenous territories have no legal recognition which means that REDD may often pose a threat rather than an opportunity.
7 July, 2011
Forest Peoples Programme staff recently visited forest communities in Equateur province, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), who they have been supporting since 2009 with information-sharing and consultation meetings related to REDD and conflict prevention. During training and project monitoring visits FPP and our local partner CEDEN (Cercle pour la defense de l'environnement) held public meetings with around 2000 forest people from across the Lac Tumba conservation landscape.
Guyanese lady despairs at deforestation, 2007
© FPP
Indigenous leaders voice concerns to government representatives in Paraguay during a workshop organised by CAPI (FPP supported)
© © Tom Griffiths