Covid-19 pandemic heightens risks for forest peoples already in threatening situations

Every community around the world is feeling the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, and the associated lockdown, in different ways, and forest peoples continue to be among the most vulnerable populations.

For example, in Southeast Asia where dry season approaches, concerns are growing that forest fires may be left unchecked as the police and military are deployed elsewhere – leaving indigenous and forest communities to tackle blazes alone. Deregulation that has taken place since COVID-19 began to spread is making it easier for corporations and land-grabbers to set the forest alight.

Elsewhere, we are hearing about abuses of power by governments and police, who are enforcing curfews and dismissing the rights of traditional landowners in support of the interests of industrial agriculture and extractive industries. As well as the environmental and human rights abuses this implies, the influx of police and workers into indigenous territories at this time creates unjustifiable health risks for those most vulnerable to the disease.

Additionally, there are indigenous peoples and local communities who are caught at the intersection of conflict and disease. Many of these people have also been displaced from their homes, and are having to reconcile orders to shelter in place – wherever that may be – with the growing power and influence of armed groups.

Armed conflict & displacement

Communities who have already displaced due to violence are highly vulnerable to COVID-19, and check points set up by armed groups can prevent vital food and medical supplies from reaching those most in need. In the Philippines, pupils and teachers who had moved to Manila three years ago to escape the conflict in their home province of Mindanao are now trapped by the lockdown. According to the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), there are 68 indigenous students and teachers among them, some as young as 11, and the cramped living conditions in the city are making social distancing impossible.

As Colombia focuses on restricting the spread of coronavirus, there have been calls for illegal armed groups to lay down their weapons. But while the National Liberation Army (ELN) has declared a month-long ceasefire as a “humanitarian gesture”, other groups have not followed suit – and some have been threatening civilians in the name of “preserving lives.” Across much of Colombia, these groups have long acted as the de facto law enforcers in the absence of police and other governance. With the introduction of lockdown measures, Human Rights Watch has reported that guerrilla groups have been enforcing curfews, the closure of businesses and extreme social distancing, threatening that “those who do not comply will be military targets.” These guerrilla groups act in places where the state presence is minimal and/or dysfunctional, and indigenous, peasant and Afro-descendant communities are disproportionately affected.

The United Nations has expressed concern that the pandemic could impede the Colombian Peace Agreement that was struck with the FARC in 2016, as reintegration processes are stalling during the lockdown, and violence against both social leaders and former FARC members is on the rise.

Abuses of power

During times of crisis, abuses of power can escalate as existing power imbalances are intensified and the focus on the crisis means perpetrators can effectively act with impunity. Governments and unscrupulous businesses can use COVID-19 as an excuse for harassing or arresting community members, or take advantage of the lack of scrutiny to take over land and commit human rights abuses.

In late March, two land rights defenders in Uganda were arrested for criminal trespass on their own property. Soldiers drove a tractor through the men’s maize field before beating and detaining them. A third farmer was detained without charge after complaining about animals destroying his crops. All three men were released on 3 April, but the incidents have exposed the harassment and criminalisation of land defenders during lockdown, which may worsen as the pandemic has caused “the absence of criminal justice systems and manpower.”

A standoff between indigenous Ifugao communities and a gold mining company in Nueva Vizcaya, in the Philippines, has been escalated since the coronavirus lockdown began. For ten months, Mongabay reports, community members have blocked vehicles from entering the mining site since OceanGold Philippines Inc (OGPI)’s mining licence expired last June. Two weeks ago, regional police forces broke up the barricade, comprised of Ifugao and local peasant communities, despite it having been supported by the provincial government in light of the lapsed licence. Soaring gold prices during the pandemic have created greater incentives for mining companies to continue their operations, yet continuing operations in mines close to villages and indigenous territories risks spreading the disease amongst some of the Philippines’ most vulnerable people. Sending in dozens of police to accompany vehicles and break up barricades heightens this risk further.

Fires & deforestation

May is the start of the dry season in Indonesia – and with it comes fires, which have increased in severity in recent years. In fire-prone regions, several of which have reported cases of COVID-19 (via Kompas, Indonesia), there are concerns that the dangerous levels of air pollution caused by the burning forests and peatlands will exacerbate the impacts of this respiratory disease. Researchers at Aarhus University demonstrated the links between poor air quality and higher mortality rates from the coronavirus in Italy (Journal of Environmental Pollution). Although it’s predicted that the 2020 dry season could be less arid than some, the fire risk is great as COVID-19 has “overshadowed the preparation for the prevention and control of forest and land fires.” This is compounded by police and military being deployed in cities to control the virus spread, and the difficulties of accessing the forest for conservationists and rangers. In the forests of Indonesia and neighbouring Malaysia, indigenous and other forest-dependent communities are therefore under greater pressure to protect these habitats. However, the Environmental Investigation Agency has stressed that this will put them at greater risk from violence at the hands of forestry companies and industrial agribusinesses, as well as illegal actors, as “unscrupulous people will always take advantage when they can.”

In northern Thailand, indigenous peoples and local communities are struggling to simultaneously tackle coronavirus and forest fires. Lockdowns have caused food scarcities in the region, and now the lack of firefighting equipment and protective gear is threatening these communities too. The Convenor of the Network of Indigenous Peoples in Thailand, Sakda Saenmi, said, “COVID-19 has certainly complicated the fight against the outbreak of forest fires as people have to cooperate and work together. No family or village in isolation can put out forest fire on their own.” Further complicating the issue is the fact that many of the fire hotspots are located in national parks, which are typically off limits to community members. But their villages, situated close to the parks’ borders, are under threat.

While COVID-19 is making it harder to fight the fires, it may also be making it easier to start them. In Colombia, 4,691 fires were registered in March 2019. By March 2020, the month in which the coronavirus lockdown began, there were almost 13,000 fires. Corpoamazonia, the Corporation for Sustainable Development in the Southern Amazon, claims that deforestation “mafias” are exploiting the lockdown to burn the forest. Some of these fires have decimated indigenous reserves, home to some of the most vulnerable people in Colombia, who are already living with the threat of armed groups, narcotraffickers and agribusinesses.

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This is FPP's second update focussing on the impacts of COVID-19 on forest peoples. Our previous coverage highlighted local responses to these impacts, including awareness campaigns, the publication of informative posters, podcasts and songs in local languages, and the revival of traditional practices that have historically kept indigenous communities safe from these kinds of threats.

We will continue with this series of newsletters offering different perspectives of the pandemic, including one update dedicated to gender issues, and another highlighting stories from the ground, from our partners and forest communities.

Read more

• The Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) has published this flash update on the impacts of COVID-19 on indigenous peoples across the continent, with a follow up piece focusing on lessons learned.
•  Servindi discusses how to protect rights without leaving the community, at a time when social mobilisation and meetings with authorities are impossible.
• The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre has a dedicated section on Human rights defenders & civic freedoms in the context of the pandemic, with links and FAQs. Another section focuses on the implications for surveillance, censorship and privacy.
• The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment has made a statement on the possible exploitation of the pandemic: COVID-19: “Not an excuse” to roll back environmental protection and enforcement.
• UNSG has this policy brief on COVID-19 and human rights, including the specific risks to indigenous peoples.