Policymaker's Dialogue: Responding to Rollback

On 10 June 2021, Chatham House organized an online event with the Forest Peoples Programme and high-level stakeholders from indigenous peoples' alliances, donor governments and international financial institutions. The meeting discussed the implications of the rollback of forest protections and human rights that have been documented in a number of tropical forest countries, introduced in the name of economic recovery in response to the COVID 19 pandemic.

The meeting opened with a presentation of the key recommendations made in the report, “Rolling back social and environmental safeguards in the time of COVID-19”, published by the Forest Peoples Programme. This was followed by three break-out groups, to discuss possible responses from the international community in relation to: aid and cooperation; investment; and trade.

 

During COVID, there has been no space for indigenous populations to participate. Behind closed doors, the (Indonesian) Parliament is silently revising the laws on mineral and coal mining, such as the Omnibus Law on job creation – this is seriously impacting indigenous people.

 

The findings of the report were echoed and welcomed by the event participants, who offered their respective insights on the problems faced by indigenous peoples in tropical forest countries. There was agreement that the matter is urgent and the consequences are dire.

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