This week in review … Indigenous groups in the Amazon report climate change impacts

Indigenous tribes say effects of climate change already felt in Amazon rainforest
Mongabay.com, 30 April 2013

CALIFORNIA, USA: Tribal groups in the Amazon rainforest are already being affected by shifts wrought by climate change, reports a paper published last week in the British journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. The paper, which is based on a collection of interviews conducted with indigenous leaders in the Brazilian Amazon, says that native populations are reporting shifts in precipitation patterns, humidity, river levels, temperature, and fire and agricultural cycles. These shifts, measured against celestial timing used by indigenous groups, are affecting traditional ways of life that date back thousands of years. “Indigenous groups who have lived in the Amazon for centuries, even millennia, are seeing signs that the climate is changing there,” said Steve Schwartzman, lead author of the study and director of tropical forest policy at Environmental Defense Fund. “Indigenous people are telling us rainfall and river levels have changed; the fires they’re dealing with are different now; and the climate systems they used to depend on for growing crops have become unpredictable.” In particular, indigenous interviewees mention concerns about drier conditions making it more difficult to control fires traditionally used for small-scale rotational agriculture. For generations, indigenous farmers set fires based on the position of stars in the sky – reflecting the time of year – with the expectation that the fires wouldn’t spread into humid forest areas. But drier conditions today mean that savanna fires can easily move into rainforests, damaging them and reducing their capacity to withstand drought and future burning. Read the article … Read the abstract of The natural and social history of the indigenous lands and protected areas corridor of the Xingu River basin, by Stephan Schwartzman et al …

 

This week in review … Consultation opens on WIN scoping paper

Help build an enduring World Indigenous Network (WIN): Community consultation is now open!
WIN Conference release, 5 May 2013

DARWIN, AUSTRALIA: The WIN International Reference Group and the WIN Secretariat have drafted a scoping paper which suggests a structure for the future of the WIN and asks a series of discussion questions. The scoping paper is open to community consultation for seven weeks – from 6 May to 21 June 2013. Participants can either share ideas through three themed discussion boards or make a more formal online submission. At the same time, the WIN website has a dedicated section for indigenous and local community land and sea managers to share their stories and projects. Further information, including link to the scoping paper … View the stories and projects webpage …

 

This week in review … “Protect the environment to protect human rights,” UN experts urge on Earth Day

“If we fail our environment, we fail to protect our human rights,” warn UN experts on Earth Day
OHCHR release, 22 April 2013

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND: “We continue to fail to protect and conserve our environment in many respects, often with dire consequences for the enjoyment of human rights, despite great progress in some areas,” today warned a group of United Nations independent experts on the occasion of Earth Day 2013. “When our rivers are being depleted and polluted, the livelihoods of many vulnerable groups are put in jeopardy,” explained UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier de Schutter, “including the ability for those groups to access sufficient and safe drinking water, grow food, and harvest from traditional fisheries.” “When mining and other extractive activities take place within indigenous territories without adequate environmental safeguards”, said UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, James Anaya, “a wide array of those communities’ human rights are usually violated or put at risk.” “These are but a few examples of the many challenges continuing to face the international community due to the deterioration of the environment,” the group of experts said. “Now it is time to take this occasion to recognize the fundamental link between a clean and healthy environment to the realization of a wide array of fundamental human rights,” they said. “It is also essential that the international community recognize the critical role that human rights law can play to ensure environmental protection.” Read the release …

 

Resource: Manual on tenure rights and access to forests

Tenure rights and access to forests: a training manual for research
Part I: A guide to key issues
A.M. Larson, CIFOR, 2012 | ISBN: 978-602-8693-84-4

The first part of this guide has been created with the purpose of summarizing the most important aspects of forest tenure rights and access to resources, because of the relevance of these issues for research on forests. It also provides guidance on the selection of methods and tools for obtaining appropriate tenure-related information in research. It addresses tenure, the content of rights, tenure security and theoretical and policy approaches to property; the nature of tenure rights, including customary and informal ones; and other actors and variables, including the role of the state, competing interests in forests and forestland, the role of collective action, and issues of power and differentiation inside the communities. Download the publication [pdf] …

 

Resource: UN-REDD report on indigenous land rights and REDD+ in Mesoamerica

Tenure of Indigenous Peoples Territories and REDD+ as a Forestry Management Incentive – the case of Mesoamerican countries
Adriana Herrera Garibay, FAO
UN-REDD, October 2012

Published by the UN Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (UN-REDD), this report draws on case studies from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama to demonstrate how land tenure rights are linked to incentive mechanisms for good forestry management. The report specifically examines REDD+ and payments for ecosystem services, highlighting successful examples of payments for ecosystem services in Costa Rica and community forestry in Guatemala. The report concludes that criteria for successful incentive mechanisms include: the provision of clear economic incentives; the ability to demonstrate community and livelihood benefits; ethnic belonging and associated agreement on resource use rules; and a strong sense of community or communal living. It further examines Mesoamerican advances in recognizing indigenous territorial rights and environmental policies, including development of land tenure institutions and legislation in the region, as well as opportunities and limitations for REDD+ processes in the indigenous forest territories of Mesoamerica. Among the conclusions, it is stated that efforts to implement free, prior and informed consent with indigenous peoples will not be entirely successful unless accompanied by measures to strengthen trust in and legitimacy of government actions within indigenous territories. In addition, the experiences of payments for ecosystem services and regularization and tenure over land and natural resources have shown the need to strengthen governance within the territories. Particular emphasis should be placed on communication processes for the entire population; the development of internal statutes or regulations to support local self-regulation practices for territorial management; and organizing land planning in a participatory way. Download the publication [pdf] …

 

Meeting review: FCPF reports on engagement of indigenous peoples

FCPF Reports on the Engagement of Indigenous Peoples
Climate Change Policy and Practice, 14 February 2013

WASHINGTON DC, US: The Carbon Fund of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) held a workshop with representatives of indigenous peoples and civil society in mid-February 2013, in order to gather their views and opinions on the work of the FCPF. Topics discussed included REDD+ readiness and the development of a methodological framework for the FCPF. The workshop built on previous dialogues held in Panama, Peru, Qatar, Tanzania and Thailand. It also built on the adoption of the Action Plan, the objective of which is to ensure that FCPF activities meet the requirements set out in the Cancun agreement on REDD+ with regard to the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples and the provision of information on safeguards and monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV). The Action Plan also promotes capacity building and the allocation of adequate and dedicated resources for indigenous peoples. Over the course of the above dialogues, REDD+ discussions with indigenous peoples have evolved from concern over land rights to the full engagement of indigenous peoples in planning and decision-making within the FCPF. In support of further engagement of indigenous peoples, the World Bank, as trustee of the FCPF, has appointed a Senior Advisor for Indigenous Peoples and Ethnic Minorities, Luis Felipe Duchicela. It has also begun an indigenous peoples’ consultation process on World Bank safeguard policies and is considering the development of an Indigenous Peoples Advisory Council. Read the article … Read the World Bank blog post …

 

This week in review … UN-REDD Programme launches FPIC guidelines, report on REDD+ safeguards

Guidelines on Free, Prior and Informed Consent
UN-REDD Programme, February 2013

These guidelines outline a normative, policy and operational framework for seeking and obtaining free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) in the context of REDD+. They are the result of a series of regional and international consultations with indigenous peoples, forest-dependent communities, practitioners and experts, and further analysis, pilot-testing and consensus-building. The document is defined as a “working final” version, meaning that there will be periodic updates to this version, based on the application of the guidelines, increased informa­tion and experience related to the application of FPIC more generally, and continued input and feedback from governments, indigenous peoples and forest-dependent communities, practitioners and experts. The guidelines address: a definition of the elements of FPIC; the UN-REDD programme policy on applying FPIC including what is required of partner countries, when is FPIC required and at what level it is applied, who seeks and who gives consent, and what should be the outcome of the FPIC process; the operational framework for seeking FPIC; and national-level grievance mechanisms. A list of annexes address, among other issues, indicative steps for a REDD+ process to respect the principle of FPIC, the role of facilitators, and tools and resources. The guidelines are accompanied by a “legal companion” providing details on international law and jurisprudence related to FPIC.

It is noted that international law has now recognized that FPIC is a legal norm imposing clearing affirmative duties and obligations on States. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) includes seven provisions expressly recognizing the duty of States to secure FPIC from indigenous peoples in circumstances ranging from population relocations, the taking of cultural, intellectual, religious and spiritual property, any damages, occupation and uses of their lands, territories and resources, before “adopting and implementing legislative or administrative measures,” and prior to the approval of any project affecting their lands or territories and other resources, particularly in connection with the development, utilization or exploitation of mineral, water or other resources. The UNDRIP elaborates on the application to indigenous peoples of human rights already affirmed extensively in treaties ratified by the majority of States. As such, to the extent that the duties and obligations as expressed in UNDRIP as already binding on States, they merely need to look to the Declaration to assist them in understanding how such rights might be protected for indigenous peoples as collectives, as well as their individual members. In addition, international courts and human rights bodies in Africa and the Americas have made it clear that regional human rights instruments recognize States’ duties and obligations to secure FPIC.

Putting REDD+ Safeguards and Safeguard Information Systems Into Practice
UN-REDD Programme, February 2013

The UN-REDD programme has also released a report titled “Putting REDD+ Safeguards and Safeguard Information Systems Into Practice,” which highlights policy considerations related to country-level safeguard systems in line with the UNFCCC Cancun Agreement. The report provides a framework and information on instruments to assist countries in the development of effective and efficient REDD+ safeguards. It considers a number of steps in the development of safeguard systems for REDD+ including: defining social and environmental objectives; assessing potential benefits and risks from REDD+; assessing current safeguard systems; drafting a strategic plan or policy; and establishing a governance system.

Download the guidelines on FPIC [pdf] … Download the legal companion to the UN-REDD Programme guidelines on FPIC: international law and jurisprudence affirming the requirement of FPIC [pdf] … Download the report on country-level safeguard systems [pdf] …

 

Funding opportunity: WIN Conference

Financial assistance available to attend the WIN Conference, Darwin, Australia from 26-31 May 2013
World Indigenous Network, 2013

Financial assistance for indigenous land and sea managers within Australia is now open. The deadline for applications is 15 March 2013. Indigenous and Local Community land and sea managers, rangers, mentors and community elders may be eligible to apply. Financial assistance includes travel to Darwin, Conference registration, accommodation and a living allowance. Further information … Read the eligibility criteria, including link to application form …