Showing posts with label UNESCO. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UNESCO. Show all posts

Sunday, May 01, 2016

Inspiring speech by Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim at the Signing of the Paris Climate Change Agreement




PARIS, 22 April 2016 - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon invited all world leaders to a signing ceremony on 22 April at UN Headquarters for the historic climate agreement that was reached in Paris in December last year. At the request of the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, UN-NGLS led a process for civil society to apply to attend or speak during the opening session of the signing ceremony, involving facilitation of a civil society Selection Committee, who reviewed more than 200 applications received. Ultimately, Ms. Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim from the Association des Femmes Peules Autochtones du Tchad (AFPAT) in Chad was selected as the civil society speaker for the opening ceremony of the event.

Hindou is a member of the Executive committee of the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC), for which she is a representative of the Congo Basin Region, with a background in indigenous peoples' rights and environment protection with the three Rio Conventions (Biodiversity, Climate Change and Desertification) with multiple responsibilities.

She has organized a series of international workshops on scientific and traditional knowledge systems in partnership with UNESCO, IPACC, CTA, CI and the government of Chad.

Below is the last of a series of three film productions concerning Hindou's the activities centred on merging traditional and scientific knowledge systems and related participatory three-dimensional mapping (P3DM) activities in Chad.

Three-way dialogue on climate change from CTA on Vimeo.

Among the many bus stations of N’djamena the capital city of Chad, travellers coming from the countryside know where to unpack their concerns. The path of Aladji Ibrahim leads to AFPAT, an organisation which represents the rights of Indigenous Peoples, in this case the Bororo herders. Here is where the story starts, a deeply touching one. A story centred around climate change adaptation, where the manufacturing and use of a 3 dimensional model helps bridging the gap between traditions and modernism, local producers and government officials, village elders and scientists, local communities and public powerhouses. Last but not least this film documents how participatory three-dimensional mapping (P3DM) can facilitate the management and mitigation of conflicts over shared natural resources. It shows also that P3DM can support the promotion of human rights and represent a formidable medium for facilitating dialogue among development partners.

French version of the film.

Other film productions part of the series:

Dangers in the bush, map of good faith: https://vimeo.com/53836701
Climate Governance: A matter of survival for nomadic pastoralists: https://vimeo.com/37458698

Further reading:

__________ 2012. Influencing regional policy processes in Climate Change Adaptation through the interaction of African pastoralist traditional knowledge and meteorological science; A Contribution to the Nairobi Work Programme on Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation. IPACC. 22 pg, September 2012

Sunday, August 30, 2015

The power of media: Did the documentary film "Virunga" trigger a plunge in the share price of the oil exploration firm SOCO International?

Virunga is a extraordinary documentary film which focuses on the conservation work of rangers within the Virunga National Park in the  Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the activity of a British company, Soco International, which began exploring for oil within the UNESCO World Heritage site in April 2014. SOCO is an international oil and gas exploration and production company, headquartered in London. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 17, 2014. Since airing on Netflix it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

The allegations brought against Soco International by the documentary, and supported by local NGOs and civil society organizations working in and around Virunga National park, put increased pressure on the company to put an end to its exploration for oil within the protected World Heritage Site.

On June 11, 2014, Soco International and the WWF announced a joint statement in which the oil company committed "not to undertake or commission any exploratory or other drilling within Virunga National Park unless UNESCO and the DRC government agree that such activities are not incompatible with its World Heritage status". This was widely cited as a victory for WWF, which had long been campaigning for Soco to leave the region, and credit was also given to the filmmakers. However, strong concerns about the credibility of this agreement were raised by the filmmakers, alongside other NGOs such as Global Witness and Human Rights Watch, and local civil society organisations.

World Wildlife Fund executives now acknowledge that the battle over Virunga is hardly over. SOCO has yet to relinquish its operating permits or commit to an unconditional withdrawal…”They’re leaving the door open,” said Zach Abraham, director of the World Wildlife Fund’s global campaigns. (Source: adapted from Wikipedia)

On March 13, 2015, BBC reported that the Democratic Republic of Congo says it wants to redraw the boundaries of Virunga National Park, to allow for oil exploration.

On June 10, 2015 BBC reported that 'Soco paid Congo major' accused of Virunga oil intimidation.

Since the launch of the film on April 17, 2014, SOCO's share price has plunged by 63.33%. This slump can be attributed only partially to the drop in oil prices as shares from BP and Shell dropped by 14.3% and 25.9% respectively over the same period.


Call for action:
You can view the documentary film on Netflix.
You can interact with the producers via http://virungamovie.com/ and take action.
Save Virunga: http://savevirunga.com/
Watch trailer:


Heads up to Orlando von Einsiede, the film director, the French investigative journalist, Mélanie Gouby and to the team behind this great production!

Monday, October 13, 2014

Farmers and Indigenous Peoples in Palawan denounce controversial oil palm business

A web-press release by CALG (Coalition against Land Grabbing)

What development, for whom and what purposes, how and where, and with what implications? These are only some of the many questions raised by the people affected by oil palm development in Palawan's UNESCO declared Man and Biosphere Reserve, the most valuable ecological sanctuary in the entire Philippines.  

On 29 September, a delegation composed of farmers’ and indigenous peoples’ has handed over to Palawan Vice-Governor Dennis Socrates, a petition signed by more than 4,200 individuals calling for a moratorium on oil palm expansion province-wide.

The group belonging to the newly established Coalition against Land Grabbing (CALG) said that, in addressing  rural poverty, the Government of Palawan should focus on concrete and sustainable plans to improve production on farmers’ land, rather than pushing for massive oil palm plantations.   As oil palm expansion continues unabated, the household economy of small farmers and indigenous peoples is now breaking apart.  “We are being strangled by huge debts with both Agumil Philippines, Inc (the major oil palm company) and the LandBank  (the key financer) and our land titles are being withhold by the bank  as a collateral” says Welly Mandi (CALG’s secretary).

“The expansion of oil palm plantations in Palawan is a blatant example of companies defying international law, state laws and the rights of communities through the connivance of unscrupulous and short-sighted government officials” says Marivic Bero (CALG’s Secretary General).  One can only speculate why the Government of Palawan remains passive while huge expanses of land, forest and fertile grounds of the “last Philippine Frontier” have been given  away for agribusinesses. But, at least, we know the official explanation: oil palms are only planted on ‘idle’ and ‘abandoned’ land to enhance the province’s economy while increasing job opportunities and transforming unused areas in productive plantations.

But are such lands really ‘idle’ and ‘abandoned’?  A recent study carried out by ALDAW (Ancestral Land/Domain Watch) with the support of the Non-Timber Forest-Exchange Programme  and the Broederlijk Delen, has clearly proven the contrary. The study argues that most of these so called 'idle' and 'unproductive' lands include areas that have been used since time immemorial by IPs societies.   “The removal of natural vegetation and of previous agricultural improvements by oil palm plantations is leading to the total collapse of traditional livelihoods, thus fostering communities’ impoverishment and increasing malnutrition” says Dr. Dario Novellino, an anthropologist of the Centre for Biocultural Diversity of the University of Kent (UK) who has lived in Palawan over a period of almost 30 years.
He sustains that what the Government has failed to consider is that most of the so called ‘idle’ and ‘underdeveloped’ lands include areas that are being utilized by the rural and indigenous populations for different purposes (gathering of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), medicinal plants, swidden cultivation, etc.  He believes that a direct relationship exists between oil palm expansion, the impoverishment of people’s diet, the progressive deterioration of traditional livelihood and the interruption of cultural transmission related to particular aspects of people’s local knowledge.

ALDAW - NTFP-EP supported reesearch  shows that the disappearance of useful plant species due to oil palm expansion is extremely alarming.  For instance, in one particular area of Barangay Iraan (Municipality of Rizal), local indigenous informants claim that, because of oil palm development, at least 145 species have completely disappeared from the areas where these were traditionally gathered.  The study also indicates that, in some oil palm impacted communities, the most common plant species used in basketry have dramatically declined. Overall, if massive land conversion for oil palm plantation will be allowed to continue, this may cause the additional exhaustion of plant material and fibers which are essential to sustain people’s cultural practices, artistic expressions and daily needs.
The research suggests that the depletion of useful wild palms is directly connected to land conversion into oil palm plantations.  Palms yield multiple types of products and provide both food and cash income.  Palawan indigenous communities exploit wild plants for their edible cabbages (the tender meristematic region found in the growing tip and enclosed by leaf bases). Calamus spp. and Daemonorops spp. yield very little, but Arenga spp. and Oncosperma spp. might provide buds up to two-three kilograms. Certain palms such as bätuq (Caryota mitis), bätbat (Arenga undulatifolia), busniq (Arenga brevipes),and nangäq have been traditionally exploited for their edible starch.  Dr. Novellino argues that palm food in Palawan may still play an important role in view of the dramatic changes that people is experiencing in their livelihood (e.g. increasing crops’ failure due to attack of pests and unpredictable weather patterns).  He suggests that “there are evidences that during various El Nino events, several Palawan communities have been able to counter famine and crop failures through increasing collection of starch from both wild and cultivated species”.  It may then be anticipated that the alarming decline of starch palms caused by oil palm expansion could further deprive entire Palawan communities from an important emergency food (palm starch), thus leaving them with no food options during periods of food shortage and crops failure.

Surprisingly as it is,  oil palm expansion and massive land conversion in Palawan is taking place with no serious monitoring being done by the concerned authorities and in the absence of existing maps. This makes it is impossible to systematically determine the ownership, elevation, land classification, etc. of the areas in which oil palms are being planted. “Pushing for oil palm expansion, without a single map being produced, is an indication of the lack of commitment and concerns by both government agencies and oil palm companies” says Motalib Kemil, the Chairman of the newly established Palawan-based Coalition against Land Grabbing (CALG). So far, oil palm plantation have covered an area of about 6,000 ha. across six Municipalities in Southern Palawan and their aim is to expand to a total target area ranging between 15,000 to 20,000 hectares.

Staring from 2010 ALDAW has  used geotagging technologies to determine the impact of deforestation caused by agribusiness enterprises such as Agumil, PPVOMI, Sant Andres and CAVDEAL, a road construction company which has recently included oil palm plantations in their business.  AGPI  is 75 percent Filipino-owned and 25 percent Malaysian and works hand in hand with its sister company, the Palawan Palm and Vegetable Oil Mills Inc. (PPVOMI) that is 60 percent Singaporean and 40 percent Filipino-owned.

ALDAW geo-referenced photographs have provided clear evidence of large forest clearing perpetrated by oil palm companies (see photo 5). On 23 January 2014, in the course of joint field visit carried by ALDAW and the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) it has been ascertained that natural forest found within 19,21 ha of Alienable and Disposable Land and  within 2,69 ha of timberland has been clear cut, allegedly by Agumil in Barangay Sandoval, Municipality of Bataraza.

GPS surveys carried out by CENRO itself  have further established that oil palm plantations have encroached on virgin forest found on Alienable and Disposable Land (94.2930 ha) and on Timberland (185.2398 ha) in the Municipalities of Quezon and Rizal. Forest conversion into oil palm plantations has also occurred in other municipalities.  Interestingly enough, Agumil Philippines Inc and its sister company PPVOMI have never received  ‘tree cutting permits’  from the DENR  and thus their operations have flagrantly violated the DENR forestry code and, in particular Executive Order no.23 (the nationwide ban on the cutting of trees in natural and residual forest).

“All of this has allowed to happen because widespread [...], lack of coordination between agencies of government, failure and incompetence of government officials to ensure laws compliance, lack of accountability and transparency of agribusiness enterprises” says Marivic Bero, CALG’s Secretary General.  It would appear that Agumil and other oil palm enterprises have  bypassed, with impunity, the Strategic Environment Plan (SEP), the very law which should ensured sustainable development and environmental protection in Palawan.  This law further mandates that no development project should take place unless the proponents secure the so called SEP clearance, being issued by the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD). Furthermore, according to a Memorandum of Agreement between PCSD and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) signed on December 29, 1994, the latter shall not issue an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) without the project promoter having secured a SEP clearance first.  However, as far as concerning oil palm development, evidence indicates that DENR did in fact issue several ECCs to PPVOMI  prior to SEP clearances.  The latter, instead, were never secured by PPVOMI except for a SEP clearance issued for its nursery and oil mill area (about 13 hectares only). Surprisingly, there are no SEP clearances released for the remaining thousands of hectares being converted into oil palm plantations. In so doing, the DENR has overstepped the bounds of the law that it mandates to uphold, placing Palawan’s natural and cultural heritage at great risk.

“A major problem we face” says John Mart Salunday (ALDAW activist) “is that oil palm development schemes have been highly supported by the provincial government.  As a result no government agency or department dares to openly contradict and challenge the decisions made at the level of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Government)”.  It must be pointed out that the Governor himself (a well-known supporter of agro-industry) is a member of the same family which logged Northern Palawan forest in the eighties and he is also chairing the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD).  Clearly as it appears, the absence of a credible and committed political class in Palawan (and in the Philippines as a whole)  is one of the root causes of environmental destruction and of the ongoing socio-economic marginalization experienced by  indigenous peoples and the rural masses.

Oil palm development in the Philippines is bound to  become a major issue.  The country, in fact, aspire to become one of the key exporters of oil palm kernels and palm oil in Southeast Asia, after Malaysia and Indonesia. Indeed, this is not such a remote possibility, considering that, recently, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje has proposed the conversion of some 8 million hectares of ‘idle’, denuded and unproductive lands across the country into oil palm plantations.

The present trend suggests that more land conversion into oil palm plantations will lead to decreasing households food self-sufficiency and increasing malnutrition.  In this respect, Sofronio Espanola Municipality provides a clear example.  This Municipality has the highest percentage of land (over 45%) covered by oil palm plantations. Nevertheless it is a 4th class municipality and it is also one of the 100 poorest municipalities in the country. However, “if public-private partnership had been based on fairness and transparency, it could have play an important role in supporting our farmers in Palawan who have no capital to develop their land” says CALG’s secretary Welly Mande. Instead, local food  security is being sacrificed in the name of oil palm development.   “If the government is serious about ensuring the welfare of its constituents” adds Mande “ it should enhance the capability of small holding farmers to compete and produce enough food, rather than becoming indebted with the Agumil company and  Landbank”.

A cursory look at the so called Production Technical Marketing Agreement (PTMA) entered between farmers’ cooperatives and the Agumil shows the enormous  asymmetry of power between the former and the company.  For instance PTMA Section 1.14 recites that: If the cooperatives mismanage the operation they shall “…hand over the management to AGPI…".  A former cooperative chairman explains that 'mismanagement' must  be interpreted here as the inability of farmers to produce the required quantity of fresh fruit bunches per hectare, e.g. as the failure to meet  the company's own production expectations and projections. In short ‘underproduction’ and partial crop failure are regarded by Agumil as sufficient reasons for taking over the management of the land and for taking away from cooperatives all decision-making power.

When agri-business enterprises enter indigenous territories, local communities have no capacity to deal with such forces which are powerful and invasive.  Many indigenous communities, due to lack of background knowledge, tend to believe in the corporations’ promises of a prosperous future (e.g. free medical assistance, livelihood projects,  big and quick profits. etc) and they simply sign what they should never sign.  However, in recent months, indigenous peoples and farmers in Palawan have learned about the dark side of oil palm development (also with reference to Malaysia and Indonesia) through advocacy videos being shown to them by members of the Ancestral Land/Domain Watch (ALDAW).  “Thanks to the support of our partner, Rainforest Rescue, we have been able to travel for months from one community to the other sharing with people videos on the adverse impact of oil palm development”  says an  ALDAW activist, “the people we have mobilized have become aware of the risks, and we hope they will refrain from entering into future memorandum of agreements with oil palm firms”.

For more information:

ALDAW Network aldaw.indigenousnetwork@gmail.com and the Coalition against Land Grabbing (CALG) calgpalawan@gmail.com


Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Results of High Level Round Table on Pastoralism, Traditional Knowledge, Meteorology and Implementation of Policies of Climate Adaptation

N’DJAMENA, 9 November 2011 - Following the two-day conference on adaptation, a high level panel of two Chadian Ministers and representatives of national and international expert technical agencies contributed to a round table dialogue on adaptation and pastoralism.

The high level panel listened to a report back from African pastoralists on their recommendations and observations, and then took the floor to share their perspectives on key questions related to indigenous pastoralists, traditional knowledge, meteorology and platforms of adaptation policy and implementation. The session was chaired by Mme Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, member of the IPACC Executive Committee and Director of AFPAT. Mme Oumarou Ibrahim welcomed contributions from the respective Ministers and members of the high level round table in response to the indigenous peoples’ restitution of the two day workshop.

His Excellency, the national Minister of Urban and Rural Hydrology, General Mahamat Ali Abdallah Nassour:

The Honourable Minister noted the current challenges
  • Pastoralist populations are increasing, with a steady southward migration of communities in Chad. And yet grazing lands are progressively shrinking, degrading or being used for other types of land use. How do we find a balance for sustainability in a changing and unstable context? 
  • Pastoralists have a substantial body of traditional knowledge that needs to be taken into consideration in the process of developing adaptation policies. How do we ensure a closer collaboration between pastoralists and scientists?
  • There are increasing conflicts among farmers and pastoralists. How do we ensure a peaceful cohabitation?

The opportunities for government to respond to the challenges include:
  • Adaptation requires recognition of the facts of climate change and vulnerability, and should draw on both science and traditional knowledge to find appropriate responses;
  • Scientific interaction with pastoralists is important for Chad. We are facing policy challenges in a wide range of domains, including the environment, land use, water management, and changes to the overall climate. This nexus creates increased risks of conflict, which we must avoid through effective policy making and full participation of the concerned communities, notably pastoralists;
  • Africa needs to develop adequate policies and deployment of financial resources to overcome the constraints (i.e. conflicts over scarce resources) and ensure a robust and inclusive planning and evaluation process;
  • Atmospheric sciences allow forecasting of weather and seasonal pattern. Efforts need to be made in timely sharing these information with those concerned;
  • Financing is an important element in building the national adaptation platforms. International solidarity, whether in expertise or financing remains very valuable for Least Developed Countries. Part of the challenge for Chad is to accurately cost the adaptation process, identify what national resources are currently available, and what type of gap needs to be addressed.

His Excellency, the national Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, the Honourable Dr Djime Adoum
  • Traditional knowledge must be included in science because it is itself a form of science;
  • Strongly acknowledges the value of traditional knowledge (e.g. local breeds and traditional varieties of crops are emerging as more resistant and less demanding in terms of husbandry);
  • Most food production systems, farming, pastoralism and fishing in the country are still run at subsistence levels – this reality needs to shape policy making;
  • The introduction of improved, new or hybrid varieties require additional inputs, such as more water or fertilisers, which has cost implications for communities;
  • Traditional varieties and breeds may yield less, but usually they will reliably yield some useful output even under high stress conditions. Under similar high stress conditions modern varieties / breeds may fail leaving no material benefits. The balance of new varieties and traditional varieties needs careful consideration to ensure food security;
  • By having an inclusive approach to national adaptation policy making we create a blue print for adaptive and successful implementation – we can address real challenges that the communities and scientists have jointly identified;
  • Innovative ICTs will be used to capture and document local knowledge in the framework of the project;
  • There is a difference between a drought and a famine. Famine is not always the result of droughts; it is the product of insufficient planning and preparation. 
  • National budgetary procedures need to take into consideration the inter-sectoral impact of climate change, and ensure early planning for adaptation. It is not wise to wait until a crisis unfolds before looking for resources to address it;
  • A new framework for establishing a comprehensive Management Information System (MIS) will be discussed at the Ministry before the end of the year and deployed within 2012. The system will cover different knowledge systems including traditional knowledge.
Further contributions were provided by:
  • Dr Jose Camacho, Scientific Officer, Agricultural Meteorology Division, Climate Prediction and Adaptation Branch (CLPA), Climate and Water Department (CLW)World Meteorological Organisation;
  • Dr Baba El-Hadj Mallah, Director General, Centre National d’Appui à la Recherche et Conseil (CNAR), Ministere de l’Enseignement Superieur;
  • Dr Peggy Oti-Boateng, Senior Research Fellow of the Technology, Specialist for Basic and Engineering Sciences, UNESCO (Nairobi, Kenya);
  • Mr Giacomo Rambaldi, Senior Programme Coordinator, Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA );
  • Mr Frederick Kihara, Global Environment Facility – Small Grants Projects, Kenya

These contributions are provided in the full report of the N’Djamena conference which can be downloaded from www.ipacc.org.za.

The conference was closed by His Excellency, General Mahamat Ali Abdallah Nassour, Minister of Urban and Rural Hydrology. The Minister noted the valuable work which had been done by the delegates and looked forward to the presentation of the results at the 17th Conference of Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, due to take place in Durban, South Africa from 28 November until 10 December, 2011.

Read more:




N’Djamena Declaration on Adaptation to Climate Change, indigenous Pastoralism, Traditional Knowledge and Meteorology in Africa

Hôtel Novotel de N’Djamena, N’Djamena, Republic of Chad, 7-9 November 2011

Climate change poses one of the greatest challenges to humanity. Global warming and associated climatic changes are impacting on pastoralist peoples with increasing frequency and severity. African indigenous peoples’ delegates at the N’Djamena conference on adaptation noted first-hand experiences of droughts, flooding, dislocation of seasonal cycles, changes in the composition of grazing lands, and changes in accessibility and quality of water.

Indigenous herders from five African countries (Chad, Niger, Kenya, Namibia and South Africa) attended a two-day conference in N’Djamena Chad to share with each other and with meteorologists about how traditional knowledge and climate science can be combined to respond to current threats and risks. The conference also considered the need for effective participation of indigenous peoples, including herders, in national adaptation platforms and other national processes to ensure peace, sustainable livelihoods and biological conservation in the face of worsening climate instability.

Indigenous peoples’ delegates worked with the National Meteorological Services of Chad, the National Centre for Support to Research (CNAR), as well as international agencies, including the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), UNESCO, the Global Environmental Fund (GEF) – Small Grants Projects, and the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation EU-ACP (CTA). The results of the workshop were shared with the Honourable Minister of Urban and Rural Hydrology, and the Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation of the Republic of Chad. This declaration constitutes to the key results of the conference and the day of restitution.

Key findings included:
  • Traditional knowledge and climate science are both critically important for adaptation policy and supporting resilience building of rural communities necessary to cope with climate change;
  • Traditional knowledge and climate science need to be shared to create synergies that can inform adaptation policy, monitoring and assessment. It is through a combination of both knowledge systems that we are likely to achieve better synchronisation between forecasting, anticipatory responses, appropriate governance responses and feed-back. Both knowledge systems need to be converted into media that is understandable and usable in national adaptation platforms and for public use;
  • Climate change amplifies social and economic vulnerability, with the risk of serious conflict and poverty. An essential element of climate adaptation is ensuring good governance, human rights and social equity to maintain local, national and regional harmony during times of stress;
  • The United Nations’ Cancún Adaptation Framework, the National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) may be best effected through well designed and funded national adaptation platforms;
  • National adaptation platforms need to include a diverse range of rural and urban communities, with particular attention to participatory approaches to facilitate the contributions of pastoralists, hunter-gathers, farmers and fisherfolk. 
  • National adaptation platforms need to facilitate a two-way flow of ideas, information and strategies for resilience building and equitable sharing of costs and benefits. The inputs to and outputs from the platforms need to be meaningful and relevant. 
Conference summary

Pastoralism evolved in Africa specifically as an adaptive response to climate and environmental conditions which limited the expansion of agriculture. Pastoralism has co-evolved as diverse cultural and economic systems within ecological niches around Africa. The result has been millennia of managing sheep, camels and cattle in different ecosystems and landscapes throughout long cycles of climatic changes. Pastoralism has always been premised on the need to maintain biodiversity as the underpinning of human and livestock well-being.

Climate change in combination with other drivers of declining biodiversity has reduced the effectiveness of pastoral societies to maintain both social harmony and biological resilience. At the same time, the reduction in agricultural capacity will likely lead to increased reliance on pastoralism and agro-pastoralism for African food security.

The N’Djamena conference and Declaration were elaborated as part of IPACC and AFPAT’s support for the Cancún Adaptation Framework, which was adopted by the 16th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change, held in Cancun, Mexico in December 2010. IPACC is a contributor to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Nairobi Work Programme on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change (UNFCCC NWP).

IPACC and AFPAT were influenced by the World Meteorological Organisation’s World Climate Conference – 3, held in Geneva, Switzerland in 2009. IPACC and AFPAT have initiated cooperation with both WMO and the African Centre for Meteorological Application for Development (ACMAD). The CTAis a partner of IPACC, assisting with building technical, information and policy capacity. CTA and the Open Society in Southern Africa (OSISA) were the principal funders behind the N’Djamena conference. Additional conceptual and policy support has been provided by the Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems unit of the United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

The results of climate change include greater vulnerability of ecosystems as well as threatening human social and economic systems. Climate change is impacting negatively on health, livelihoods, peace and security. While the only answer is an urgent, robust and binding global agreement on the reduction of Green House Gas emissions, the reality is that Africa must take urgent steps to adapt to climate instability, reduce vulnerability and build resilience of both natural and human systems.

Despite the very serious risks from climate change, the N’Djamena conference delegates noted that climate change is only one element of the many challenges facing African indigenous pastoralists. Changes in land use and occupancy, different forms of pollution (e.g. radioactive pollution of aquifers), drylands deforestation, the negative impacts of extractive industries and a general decline in biodiversity across Africa are all contributing to growing poverty and vulnerability of indigenous peoples.

The following key issues and recommendations emerged from the consultations.

Knowledge Management

It was agreed by delegates that knowledge management is centrally important to successful adaptation.  Traditional Knowledge (TK) / Indigenous Knowledge Systems are valuable resources for monitoring, analysing and responding to climate change. TK has the benefit of including information on biology and ecosystems, while simultaneously locating this in a landscape approach to sustainability. TK exists in cultural systems which contribute to governance, equity, rights and stewardship responsibilities. TK thus combines knowledge with wisdom, values and social obligations. TK is itself an integration of science, skills and a normative framework for sustainable living.

Delegates noted that atmospheric (meteorological and climatic) science has much to offer rural communities including pastoralists. All participants emphasised that atmospheric science is a vitally important knowledge source that needs to be widely available to all scales of decision-makers. Climatological modelling and early warning systems can help pastoralists make informed decisions about carrying capacity, transhumance, nature conservation, water management and risk reduction.

The challenge for both systems of knowledge - traditional and scientific - is how they can be made usable for decision-makers, and how they can be used in synergy with each other to ensure a robust, shared approach to adaptation. Attention and expertise is required to facilitate the intercultural mediation of science and TK, generating understandable and usable research that helps decision-makers at local, national and regional scales.

Delegates called on African States to recognise the value of combining Traditional Knowledge along with atmospheric sciences to achieve synergies in policy making. Both systems of knowledge need to be interpreted to make them useful in adaptation planning and implementation. Delegates recommended facilitating a sustained dialogue between holders of the different knowledge systems, on-going cooperation, and effective integration of both knowledge systems in national, regional and international platforms.

Delegates noted that there is evidence that local varieties of livestock and plants appear more drought-, flood- and disease resistant than hybrid or alien species. Local varieties may have lower yield or commercial value, but their sustainability means that they provide greater security in the medium and long term. They may also be more appropriate to maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem integrity. Delegates recommended that more research funding and technical support should be provided to help protect indigenous species of plants and livestock.

Traditional knowledge does not exist independently of indigenous institutions. Valorising TK also means recognising how indigenous peoples hold, manage and innovate their knowledge systems. Traditional leaders, religious leaders, shaman, herders, oasis dwellers, metal and leather workers, traditional healers, men and women throughout the society are all important in sustaining and transmitting TK. This implies that it is not enough to have a nominal pastoralist presence in policy-making; there must be a productive interaction between State institutions, research institutions and indigenous peoples’ institutions to achieve coherence and sustainability.

New technologies, particularly information communication technology (ICTs) offer us new means by which to involve holders of traditional knowledge and the conversion of local oral knowledge into information and data which are useful for decision making at different scales. More attention needs to be given to these methods of bridging between orality and information than can feed policy processes. Cybertracker is one example of an African ICT which can assist with linking TK and valuable data required for adaptation planning and monitoring.

Delegates noted the valuable work done by the World Meteorological Organisation and African States to make meteorological services available to rural communities. Delegates encouraged State Parties and agencies to continue developing the use of appropriate technologies, such as participatory mapping, radio, and mobile devices and applications, to provide a two-way flow of climate and weather information that connects national meteorological services with rural communities.

Governance and Rights
Climate change amplifies existing social, economic and environmental problems. Part of adaptation policy making requires addressing issues of rights, equity, fiscal integrity and good governance. Continued widespread problems of corruption, discrimination and marginalisation aggravate the risk of conflicts and vulnerability. Climate change places greater pressure on all Africans, those in State agencies and civil society, to ensure compliance with principles of human rights, good governance and inclusion in decision making.

Delegates noted that discrimination against pastoralists finds its roots in colonialism and European legal biases imported into Africa. This is most evident in the problems of land tenure and resource rights of mobile peoples in Africa today. Traditionally, hunters, herders, farmers and fishing peoples had complementary land and natural resource use and tenure systems. There was coherence between rights to resources and the responsibility of communities for stewardship and conservation. This coherence of rights and responsibilities has been damaged and has not been adequately addressed in the post-colonial context. The current marginalisation of indigenous pastoralists can only be resolved by reforms to land rights, land tenure and access to natural resources legislation and practices.

Land tenure and resources rights need to be reviewed in relation to ecosystem capacity and achieving harmonious and equitable coexistence of communities who have different land use requirements. This too is part of building resilience and adapting to climate change.

IPACC members noted the value of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a new-generation international standard for promoting indigenous peoples’ rights and institutional engagement between State agencies and indigenous peoples.

Delegates noted that nature conservation is essential for subsistence economies. At the same time, exclusion from some Protected Areas has broken up indigenous territories and resulted in increased vulnerability to extreme weather and unstable climate conditions. Delegates invite State Parties to take a fresh look at the role of Protected Areas in providing remedial territories during droughts and flooding to allow pastoralists to lighten their impact on ecosystems. Protected Areas are important for conservation but should be seen within a wider scope of landscape connectivity and conservation, which includes mobile pastoralism.

The governance issue also speaks to proper assessment of equitable costs and benefits. As noted in the UNEP Green Economy Initiative, the value of rural economies and ecosystems needs to be taken into consideration before other economic decisions are made. Gross Domestic Product cannot be the sole determinant for approving new extractive industries and infrastructure projects. Environmental degradation leads to long-term vulnerability and places greater costs on State treasuries by increasing poverty, urban migration, declining food security and health and the collapse of local economies.

Where mines and tourism exist in pastoralist territories, the revenues from these ventures need to be handled transparently with benefits being shared equitably. Extractive industries need to be actively contributing to ecosystem conservation and resilience, and the costs of climate adaptation.

The value of pastoralism needs to be clearly and correctly assessed, and included in national decision making on resource and land allocations. Pastoralism is a primary livelihood for over 20 million Africans. Climate change is likely to increase this reliance on livestock, and hence pastoralism needs to be considered a core economic system in national planning.

National Platforms
Delegates noted that climate change adaptation requires coordination at global, regional and national levels. It was further noted that the key level of implementation is the creation of national platforms for adaptation policy, planning and monitoring. There are currently three adaptation instruments adopted by Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change: the National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs) for least developed countries, the National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and the Cancún Adaptation Framework (CAF). These instruments and frameworks all need to be realised through effective, well financed, and responsive national adaptation platforms.

Indigenous peoples assert their willingness to be directly involved in national adaptation platforms. The goal is to ensure that farmers, fishing communities, hunter-gatherers and pastoralists act in a harmonious and complementary manner by working together on national and local policy making, in concert with State agencies and technical bodies.

National platforms need to be inter-sectoral in character. Climate adaptation involves decisions about agriculture, lands, water, human development, housing, health, security, education, as well as including technical issues of atmospheric and biological sciences.

National Adaptation Platforms need to concentrate on two-way communication. Pastoralists need early warning of climate crises before they happen. This warning needs to be integrated into other sectoral responses, including assistance with veterinary services, the ability to slaughter surplus animals and sell the products before a full-scale crisis has emerged and animals are unable to be used commercially.

Delegates note that biodiversity and ecosystem resilience is the basis of indigenous economies and cultures. Conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services is fundamental to food security, health and sustainable living.

National Adaptation Platforms, and the related policy frameworks (e.g. the National Adaptation Programmes of Action / National Adaptation Plans) need to be equipped with participatory methods and tools to allow for effective participation by indigenous peoples and other rural communities. A centralised process which does not have its roots in real communities and real economic and environmental contexts risks missing the mark in responding to current and future needs. Africa needs to pilot innovations in participatory methodologies, new communication tools and citizen science, which in turn can be scaled up to national and regional levels of impact and effectiveness. The conference noted the valuable application of participatory mapping, citizen science, mobile phone technology, and Web 2.0 innovations in the domains of information management and communication.

National Adaptation Platforms will only be viable if they are properly funded and include commitments from the national budget. Adaptation is a lens that is relevant to budgeting and planning in all sectors. All Ministries should be contributing to the costs of adaptation planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. If Africa takes seriously its own investment in the National Adaptation Platforms, this will draw the attention and interest of international and regional donors and financial institutions that are looking to invest in robust country-driven initiatives.

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Friday, April 01, 2011

The Role of participatory cultural mapping in promoting intercultural dialogue: We are not hyenas; a reflection paper

Cultural mapping involves the representation of landscapes in two or three dimensions from the perspectives of indigenous and local peoples. It is potentially an important tool for UNESCO in its efforts to help Member States and civil society to create platforms for intercultural dialogue, and increase awareness of cultural diversity as a resource for peace building, good governance, fighting poverty, adaptation to climate change and maintaining sustainable management and use of natural resources.

Cultural mapping, if applied wisely, can help to reach the objectives set out in the UNESCO “Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity" (2001) and related recent conventions : the “Convention of the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage” (2003) and the “Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions” (2005). Cultural mapping is furthermore relevant to the World Heritage Convention which dates back to 1972, but has undergone major changes since then, expanding the notion of a cultural site and promoting stronger involvement of populations living on the sites.

The aim of this paper entitled "The Role of participatory cultural mapping in promoting intercultural dialogue: We are not hyenas" is to critically consider how cultural mapping can become a good practice of intercultural dialogue and successfully further the aims of the Universal Declaration and the related conventions.

The paper is meant to assist indigenous and local peoples to consider their options and aspirations, to help civil servants and policy makers evaluate how mapping can be a useful tool in cultural policy and inventory work, and for those who are making maps to reflect on their practices.

Source: Nigel Crawhall, 2010, UNESCO

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Macroasia and the Plundering of Protected Areas: Unravelling the Roots of Illegality

ALDAW, Puerto Princesa - In spite of the growing outpour of international support and solidarity, it appears to be no end to the attempts of some government institutions to transform the Philippines “Last Frontier” (Palawan Island) into one of the most popular mining destinations (click on the map below to see the details!).

Click the map to enlarge it to its original size !
Indeed, the violation of indigenous ancestral land rights on Palawan Island (Philippines) has exacerbated towards the end of 2010, with the proliferation of street protests and peaceful demonstrations. On December 21, the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) [in the absence of the chair, NGO representative, and with the vice governor opposing] affirmed the decision of the PCSD executive committee made last December 4, 2010, to issue Strategic Environmental Plan (SEP) clearances to Macro Asia Mining Corporation and Ipilan Nickel Mining Corporation (INC).
According to the Environmental Legal Environmental Center (ELAC) such clearances would enable these mining corporations to conduct large-scale mining operations within natural forests, protected areas and within the ancestral domain of the Palawan indigenous peoples. According to the SEP, the affected areas are classified as ‘strict protection’ or ‘core zones’ and ‘restricted use zones’. “The PCSD decision overstepped the bounds of the law that it is mandated to uphold, and ultimately placed Palawan’s natural and cultural heritages at great risk” said ELAC Attorney Gerthie Mayo Anda.

Surprisingly, on July 30, the indigenous peoples of Palawan and the local NGOs had succeeded in obtaining from the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) a deferment of a SEP endorsement to MacroAsia Corp. On that occasion Governor Baham Mitra agreed to defer the decision to endorse a SEP clearance to MacroAsia until a multipartite team composed of PCSD technical staff, local government officials, NGOs and Indigenous Peoples’ representatives would have visited the proposed area to investigate indigenous peoples complaints. Sadly, since then, the PCSD has made no efforts in constituting the much-wanted “multipartite team”.

The PCSD is the government body in charge of implementing the “Strategic Environmental Plan”, a very special environmental law aiming at ensuring the sustainable development on the island. This ‘Strategic Plan’ was created and put into place through conspicuous financial resources coming from the European Union which culminated with the  implementation of the Palawan Tropical Forestry Protection Programme (PTFPP). “It would be tremendously useful if the European Commission itself would begin an in-depth evaluation on how its multi-million investments in the preservation of Palawan Island have been rather vilified by reckless mining policies and by short-sighted politicians. Somebody must be made accountable for these conservation failures” said Dario Novellino, International Coordinator of the ALDAW Network (Ancestral Land Domain Watch).

Palawan is well known as the bio-diversity richest province in the Philippines and, for this reason, in the eighties, the entire island was declared by the UNESCO as a Man and Biosphere Reserve. “We tried to approach UNESCO several times on this issue” said a spokesman of the ALDAW Network (Ancestral Land/Domain Watch). “Through its silent and inertia, the UNESCO has shown, once again, how these declarations bring little or no benefits to local communities, especially when there is no clear political commitment to uphold them. Overall UNESCO has revealed the general weakness of the entire United Nations system, that is a chronic incapacity to take unequivocal positions on urgent matters requiring unambiguous and concerted political efforts” he added.


The political squabbles underlying the mining saga on Palawan Island are clearly detected in the ambiguous behavior of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) - the official government body in charge of protecting the rights of tribal communities. As of now, the NCIP Palawan Provincial Office has bluntly violated all required procedures leading to transparent and genuine FPIC processes, siding instead with the mining companies. As a result, the indigenous communities of Brooke’s Point Municipality have bitterly rejected the so-called Certificates of Precondition issued by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), in favor of mining companies.

On January 2011, Alyansa Tigil Mina (“The Alliance Against Mining”) - the largest advocacy network in the Philippines - has asked clarifications to NCIP national office on the compilation of an investigation report allegedly prepared by NCIP Provincial Officer Roldan Parangue, in response to the complains raised by the indigenous people of Brookes’ Point. In a letter dated 11 January 2011 Myrna L. Caoagas, from NCIP National, stated that the NCIP main office has never received such report.
Obviously, while the NCIP is unable to provide evidences of Indigenous Peoples’ Free and Prior Informed Consent, MacroAsia Corporation and INC are working hard to prove that their operations have been favorably accepted by local communities.  Village people that are not from Brookes’ Point Municipality are “induced” by both companies to make positive statements in their favor. Specifically, Mrs. Apolonia “Onyang” De Las Alas, a councilor from Mabalot village - and originally from the Municipality of Agutaya, in the North of Palawan - was invited to talk on the behalf of the indigenous peoples of Brookes’ Point in a press conference jointly organized by MacroAsia and INC, on January 5.  This has raised a fierce reaction on the part of the traditional and legitimate indigenous leaders.  Meanwhile, the ALDAW network has decided to approach Congressman Teddy Brawner Baguilat  (chairperson of the National Cultural Committee) requesting a Congressional Investigation of these matters.However, time to save Palawan is running out: towards the end of this month, Baham Mitra, Governor of Palawan and chairman of the PCSD will express his own decision on whether to endorse a SEP clearance to MacroAsia, Ipilan Nickel Corporation and LEBACH. As of now, all these companies have failed to secure the needed social acceptability requirements and have bluntly violated the basic tenets of both the Strategic Environmental Plan (SEC) and of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA Law).

Once again, one of the government agencies to be blamed for these violations is the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (SEP). ELAC believes that “the Council overlooked the clear intent of the SEP law when it compromised its zoning policy to accommodate certain mining interests”. For the same reason, the ALDAW network has recently requested the PCSD to stop any further attempt of changing the definition of ‘core zones’ and other zones to allow mining activities in forested land.  It has already been established that some definitions such as those of “controlled use zones” found in the Strategic Environmental Plan have been amended by the Council to please extractive industries. For instance, according to the SEP law, in Controlled Use Area – (the outer protective barrier that encircles the core and restricted use areas): “strictly controlled mining and logging, which is not for profit… may be allowed”. Uncharacteristically, the “not for profit” specification has been eliminated, thus opening these zones to commercial extractive activities.

Clearly, the newly produced ALDAW video and additional geotagged evidences reveal that MacroAsia and INC have carried out exploration activities in ‘core zones’ (areas of maximum protection), as well as in ‘restricted zones’ and watershed areas. The locations of MacroAsia test-pits have been documented in areas of pristine virgin forest, and also at high altitudes (e.g. around and above 1,000 meters ASL) and specifically in those areas of primary forest where indigenous people harvest the resin of Almaciga trees (Agathis philippinensis), which is traded by the local communities for rice and other prime commodities.ALDAW geotagging-data further indicates that LEBACH drilling activities are also taking place out of the limits of its Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) area.  Recently, the company has also harassed and intimidated local farmers by cutting their coconut palms, in the attempt of forcing them out of their own land. In conjunction with these field investigations, Artiso Mandawa, ALDAW national coordinator, has received persistent dead threats. “I will continue to fight for my people and my land, until the President of the Philippines puts a halt to all those mining investments that are genocidal to indigenous people” said Mandawa.


We are afraid that the pronunciation of the newly elected President and especially of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is that they would pursue mining as an economic policy, just like the previous Arroyo government. We cannot fight climate change if we will not prioritize sustainable development” added Alyansa Tigil Mina National Coordinator Jaybee Garganera.

It is rather ironic that President “Noynoy” Aquino’s centerpiece program is poverty alleviation and strict implementation of anti-corruption measures. Corruption, however, is not only about grafting, it is a state of mind, something that contradicts all ethical principles on which human coexistence and well being should be based.  Sacrificing watersheds, forests and people’s livelihood in favor of foreign profit is unethical; it is the most corrupted way of dealing with public welfare while jeopardizing the future of the coming generations.  Surely, “Noynoy” Aquino’s fight against corruption and poverty will not be credible, until the new administration comes up with a new mining policy to ban mining in Palawan, while revoking Executive Order 270-A or the revitalization of mining for the Philippines as a whole.

What you can do ...

Sign a Petition to Stop Mining in Palawan!

And address your concerns to:

For more information watch ALDAW videos on Vimeo and on YouTube or contact the ALDAW INDIGENOUS NETWORK (Ancestral Land/Domain Watch) aldaw.indigenousnetwork@gmail.com , ELAC (Environmental Legal Assistance Center) palawan@elac.org.ph or padayon_egl@yahoo.com and or Alyansa Tigil Mina (nc@alyansatigilmina.net or alyansatigilmina@gmail.com )

Source: ALDAW, 22 January 2011


ALDAW INDIGENOUS NETWORK
(Ancestral Land/Domain Watch)
is a Philippines-based advocacy campaign network of Indigenous Peoples
 defending their ancestral land and resources from mining corporations, oil palm companies, top-down conservation schemes and all forms of imposed development.





Saturday, October 24, 2009

The UNESCO World Report on Cultural Diversity makes reference to P3DM done by Ogiek Peoples

The 420-page UNESCO World Report on Cultural Diversity has been launched by the Director-General, to the attention of the Permanent Delegates to the 35th session of the General Conference, on Tuesday 20 October 2009.

The use of participatory three-dimensional modelling (P3DM) by the Ogiek Peoples in Kenya is cited in section 2.4 as an example of local Empowerment (see page 52 of the report).

Specifically the report makes reference to the article published by Rambaldi et al. on Information Development in 2007: Through the eyes of hunters-gatherers: Participatory 3D modelling among the Ogiek indigenous peoples in Kenya.

It is worth noting that the power of participatory mapping coupled with Web 2.0 commnunication tools (ppgis list, blog, YouTube, etc) coupled with actions undertaken by concerned stakeholders, have raised the concerns faced by a minority group like the Ogiek at the forefront of public opinion.