29 April, 2013
Despite the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) being a signatory of the Green Protocol, which ties favourable lending rates and terms to the adoption of social and environmental standards, and the Bank’s initiative to develop a specific policy for the cattle sector, the Bank’s environmental policy is still very vague and lacks transparency and concrete criteria.
23 July, 2012
While governments failed to adopt binding commitments on sustainable development, indigenous peoples from all over the world delivered strong messages against dominant development models and for respect of human rights, self-determination, traditional knowledge and culture.
23 July, 2012
Forest Peoples Programme and a delegation of indigenous peoples’ leaders from Guyana, Suriname, Peru, Panama and Kenya attended the Rio+20 Indigenous Peoples’ International Conference on Self- Sustainable Development and Self-Determination from 17-19 June and the formal Rio+20 intergovernmental meeting from 20-22 June 2012. Delegates also took part in the Kari-Oca II meeting and the Peoples’ Summit and were involved in the Global Day of Action on 20 June.
After a hectic week of press conferences, public presentations, marches and attendance at official meetings and side events, FPP asked delegates to comment on the Rio+20 experience and related issues. Some excerpts from these interviews are presented below.
23 July, 2012
The outcomes of governments’ negotiations at Rio+20 do contain some useful elements, especially the recognition of the importance of diverse economies and development policies. However, although human rights have been reaffirmed in the governments’ ‘vision’ for the future, the topic was not incorporated into many of the results. In general, there are few clear policies or commitments with respect to indigenous peoples. The lack of recognition is evident, for example, in the text on forests, which does not mention our peoples that sustain the majority of the world’s remaining natural forests within our ancestral territories through our customary practices and values. In my view, the results from Rio+20 do not constitute a significant breakthrough because they leave out key rights issues, such as the right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC).
Participants of the Rio+20 International Conference of Indigenous Peoples on Self-Determination and Sustainable Development 19 June, 2012, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
22 June, 2012
Read the indigenous peoples' Declaration here:
Indigenous Peoples from all regions of the world met at the “Indigenous Peoples International Conference on Sustainable Development and Self Determination,” from June 17th – 19th 2012 at the Museu da República in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
20 June, 2012
PRESS INFORMATION - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
19 June, 2012
Draft Rio+20 proposed outcomes document a mixed bag: UNDRIP is acknowledged and some positive elements are likely to be secured on traditional knowledge, but other outcomes lack vital and much needed commitments on FPIC and other rights, while the text on forests ignores indigenous peoples and suffers from weak and possibly harmful language.
14 June, 2012
“Standing Together for our Food Sovereignty, Traditional Cultures and Ways of Life”
For more information on this conference please click here.
20 February, 2012
From 8–11 February 2012, indigenous peoples’ representatives, civil society, NGO and state representatives gathered in Geneva to discuss the draft UN-REDD Programme Social and Environmental Principles and Criteria and the draft UN-REDD Programme Guidelines on Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). Forest Peoples Programme (FPP), along with a number of NGO, state, and indigenous organisations (including FPP’s local partners from Paraguay, Indonesia and Panama), submitted written comments to both documents in advance. At the meeting in Geneva they then provided significant feedback to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) representatives facilitating the event and taking the lead in drafting and revising the documents.
Forest Peoples Programme found the dialogues and exchanges to be very rich; reflective of an increasing understanding of indigenous peoples’ rights and the nature of human rights-based development. FPP also found the UNDP staff responsive to the suggestions for improvement as well as to the criticisms of content.
Marcus Colchester
6 March, 2006
Based on a review of the situation in Bolivia, Cameroon, Canada, Honduras, Indonesia, and Nicaragua, this report explores how the newly popular policy of forest law enforcement (FLEG) can be made an opportunity rather than a threat to forest peoples.
CIFOR
