New Report: Land Rights and the Rush for Land

The International Land Coalition (ILC), International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), and Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) have released a new report entitled, "Land Rights and the Rush for Land: Findings of the Global Commercial Pressures on Land Research Project". Authored by Ward Anseeuw, Liz Alden Wily, Lorenzo Cotula, and Michael Taylor, the report is the culmination of a three-year research project that brought together 40 ILC members and partners to examine the characteristics, drivers, impacts, and trends of rapidly increasing commercial pressures on land.

According to the online synopsis, the report "strongly urges models of investment that do not involve large-scale land acquisitions, but rather work together with local land users, respecting their land rights and the ability of small-scale farmers themselves to play a key role in investing to meet the food and resource demands of the future. The conclusions of the report are based on case studies that provide indicative evidence of local and national realities, and on the ongoing global monitoring of large-scale land deals for which data are subject to a continuous process of verification." Although research and monitoring will continue, the report draws some conclusions and policy implications from the evidence already gathered.

The full report and executive summaries in English, French, and Spanish are available online.

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Save Lamu Nominated for Human Rights Award

Save Lamu, a coalition of Indigenous communities of Lamu, Kenya, has been working with Natural Justice to develop a biocultural community protocol (BCP) to call for transparency and participation in the development of a mega-port on their traditional lands and waters from the Kenyan Government. For its outstanding efforts to ensure fairness and dignity for the people of Lamu and Kenya, Save Lamu has been nominated to receive a Pwani Human Rights Award. The annual Pwani Human Rights Award, organized by Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI), aims at recognizing individuals and organizations who are at the forefront of promoting and protecting civil liberties and fundamental freedoms in Kenya. 

Congratulations to all representatives of Save Lamu for this well-deserved nomination! To support the efforts of Save Lamu please contact info@savelamu.org. 

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Submission to UN WG on Human Rights and TNCs

On 8 December, Natural Justice and the Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organisational Development (CIKOD) made a joint submission on ‘Large-Scale, Industrial Methods of Extraction, Production, and Development and their Impacts on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’ to the UN Working Group on the Issue of Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises.

The submission documents the varied and significant negative impacts of industrial extraction of natural resources, large‐scale energy and infrastructure development projects, and industrial production systems such as agriculture and fishing on Indigenous peoples and local communities. These impacts include, among others, the violation of human rights, environmental destruction, disempowerment, poverty, displacement, and adverse effects on health, local development, cultures, and tradition.

The submission then elaborates the protections of the international rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities most often violated when companies or governments engage in such activities. It also describes some of the challenges faced by different stakeholders in following these obligations and details some of the work done by communities to proactively assert their rights.

Finally, the submission closes with specific recommendations to the Working Group to ensure Indigenous peoples and local communities are guaranteed the fullest legal protection in these situations.

Download the full submission here. Find other legal submissions by Natural Justice here.

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Conference on the Nagoya Protocol

Harry Jonas (Natural Justice) attended a conference at the University of Edinburgh from 2-3 of December focusing on the Nagoya Protocol. Many of the attendees were integral to the negotiation of the protocol and included presentations from: Valerie Normand (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity); Maria Julia Oliva (Union for Ethical Biotrade), Alphonse Kambu (UNEP); Charlotte Salpin (UNDOALOS); Claudio Chiarolla (IDDRI); and Tomme Young. Harry presented a paper he is co-authoring with Peter Munyi on the opportunities and challenges relating to the implementation of Articles 6, 7, 12 and 21 of the Nagoya protocol with reference to the San-Hoodia case and the ongoing experiences of the Traditional Healers of Bushbuckridge. The conference papers will be published in a forthcoming book edited by Elisa Morgera, Matthias Buck and Elsa Tsiomani. There was also a session reviewing a forthcoming commentary on the Nagoya Protocol, which will augment the book. Harry thanks Elisa Morgera and her team for the kind invitation.

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Presenting BCPs in the Mau Forest

With a long history of exclusion from their traditional homes and increasing pressures on land tenure from politically connected outsiders, the Ogiek community is engaging in domestic and international legal action to protect their rights. The Ogiek Peoples' Development Program (OPDP), a key organisation in this process, suggested that Natural Justice could assist in supporting the Ogiek to establish their rights over their lands and resources. OPDP and Natural Justice agreed that one mechanism to help consolidate community sentiment around land and conservation and supplement the pending court cases could be a Biocultural Community Protocol (BCP).

On 2nd December, Natural Justice travelled to meet with over 50 elders and other representatives of the Ogiek community of the Mau Forest, near Nakuru, Kenya, to explain the principles of BCPs and ascertain if the community was interested in pursuing a BCP. At the meeting Natural Justice presented on the process of developing a BCP, focusing on the importance of engaging the broadest possible section of the community through all stages of the BCP development.

After this presentation community members asked questions about the practical steps needed to establish a BCP. They offered suggestions on how to ensure full participation. The attendees unanimously endorsed OPDP's suggestion that a BCP process should be initiated.

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International Law Discussion Group

On 1 December, Harry Jonas (Natural Justice) met with Edinburgh University’s International Law Discussion Group to present on Natural Justice’s work. PhD and Masters students engaged with the local application of international law and considered the complexities, opportunities and challenges of using a variety of legal frameworks to effect social and environmental change. Harry thanks David Rossati and Professor Elisa Morgera for the opportunity.

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BCPs, REDD+ and CBD Safeguards at COP17

On 1 December at the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Durban, South Africa, Natural Justice co-hosted a panel entitled "Biocultural Protocols: Lessons for REDD+ Safeguards from the CBD Experiences". The event was hosted in collaboration with the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC), the Indigenous Peoples Climate Change Assessment (IPCCA), and the Global Forest Coalition (GFC).

The purpose of the panel was to raise awareness of a number of decisions, tools and guidelines that have been developed under the auspices of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) during its 20-year history and to highlight their usefulness and cross-leverage rights to mitigate risks associated with Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD+).

Panelists included Johannes Stahl (CBD Secretariat), Simone Lovera (GFC), Kanyinke Sena (IPACC), Alejandro Argumedo and Kaylena Bray (IPCCA), and Kabir Bavikatte (Natural Justice). After highlighting the risks and opportunities of REDD+, panelists mentioned, among other things, the possible value of guidelines developed under the CBD for implementing REDD+, including the Akwé: Kon Guidelines (for the conduct of cultural, environmental and social impact assessments regarding developments proposed to take place on, or which are likely to impact on, sacred sites and on lands and waters traditionally occupied or used by indigenous and local communities) and the Tkarihwaié:ri Code of Ethical Conduct to Ensure Respect for the Cultural and Intellectual Heritage of Indigenous and Local Communities. Another mechanism that was especially highlighted was the use of biocultural community protocols in the context of REDD+.

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BCP Initiative Meeting in Nairobi

On 30th November, Natural Justice hosted participants and partners of the African BCP Initiative in Nairobi. Members of the Initiative presented on their Biocultural Community Protocol (BCP) development workplans and implementation and members and partners offered feedback on ensuring meaningful BCPs. Throughout the day the key themes that emerged were the importance of good process in preparing BCPs and ideas for increasing the practical uses of BCPs.

Members represented a wide range of communities. The Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organizational Development (CIKOD) described the work of two communities in Ghana who are preparing BCPs to protect the Shea Tree and coastal sacred groves.  Local organizations working with pastoralist communities in Ilkesumeti and Kivulini, Kenya, shared their aims, which primarily address issues of land security, and the process through which they are engaging with their respective communities to ensure community ownership of the BCPs. Save Lamu presented on the BCP they are developing to enable local communities in Lamu to assert their rights as the Kenyan government prepares to build a major port in Lamu without any meaningful community consultation. MELCA Ethiopia illustrated the BCP being prepared with communities in Sheka Forest to consolidate their land rights and assert their traditional practices of conserving the forest. Representatives from the Laikipia Abandoned Lands Project and the USAID SECURE Project shared successes in community protection of land rights and developments in Kenyan law relevant to communities.

The meeting closed with a discussion of the meaning of good process in BCP development, which focused on the importance of full and effective community engagement in each step of the process. It was emphasised that an inclusive process will increase the usefulness of the BCP in asserting community rights. Participants also expressed their desire to build and deepen linkages between communities with BCPs to share ideas and broaden the recognition of BCPs by states and other actors as legitimate vehicles of community self-assertion.

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BCPs and Livestock Keepers' Rights in Nairobi

With drought and disease showing the potential to devastate livestock breeds developed for concentrated production, traditionally bred livestock are gaining attention from conservationists and commercial interests. In this context, the role of Indigenous peoples in breeding these livestock across generations and in ensuring sustainable grazing is increasingly recognised. This recognition is the foundation of the growing movement for national and international rights for livestock keepers. Biocultural Community Protocols (BCPs), through which communities can articulate their ways of life and practices of livestock breeding and sustainable grazing, are an emerging vehicle for asserting these rights.

In this context, Natural Justice participated in “Biocultural Protocols: An emerging approach to strengthening livestock keeping communities”, a one-day workshop hosted by the League for Pastoral Peoples (LPP) and the LIFE Network on 29th November in Karen, Nairobi, Kenya. Representatives from governments, NGOs, international organisations, and livestock keepers from six countries attended.

Jacob Wanyama (LIFE Network) presented on the history of the movement for livestock keepers' rights and Ilse Kohler-Rollefson (LPP) shared general comments on pastoralists, the breeds of livestock that they have developed, and the highly sustainable and promising ways in which they use and conserve the areas in which they live. Mwai Okeyo (International Livestock Research Institute) presented on the incredible lack of diversity in commercially promoted breeds of cattle around the world, the susceptibility of these breeds to drought and disease in Kenya, the comparative advantages of indigenous breeds through these conditions, and the challenges in protecting indigenous breeds from replacement or cross-breeding.

Gino Cocchiaro (Natural Justice) presented on the history of BCPs, their emerging significance and recognition in international law and policy especially in relation to the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol, and the importance of participatory processes for developing BCPs. Two communities who have already developed BCPs, the Raika of Rajasthan, India, and the Samburu of Kenya, presented on their objectives, the experience of BCP development, and some of the initial reception to their respective BCPs.

The participants were then divided into working groups to discuss whether BCPs were appropriate for livestock keepers and how BCPs can become more practical. The day closed with the working groups affirming the potential for livestock keepers to utilise BCPs and action points including the importance of building linkages between various communities developing BCPs and increasing the number of BCPs developed to gradually increase the significance and usefulness of BCPs.

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Third Biotrade Pilot in Vohimana, Madagascar

From 9-10 November, the last of three pilots linking the use of elements of biocultural community protocols (BCPs) in a Ethical BioTrade context took place in Vohimana, Madagascar. The series of pilots is part of a joined project between the Union for Ethical Biotrade (UEBT), GIZ, and Natural Justice aiming to explore the use of BCPs as a means to support UEBT members to strengthen their relationships with the local communities from whom they source natural ingredients. Vohimana is a 1600-hectare (ha) experimental reserve created by the NGO L'Homme et L'Environment. The area is a biodiversity hotspot and is divided into an 800 ha conservation zone, a reforestation zone, a production zone, and a residential area where several villages are located. In addition to conservation and restoration, the aim of the reserve is to generate sustainable livelihoods through promoting a range of activities that support the local communities to use the area sustainably. The activities include the promotion of a number of small micro-businesses ranging from eco-tourism to the production of essential oils used as ingredients for cosmetics.

For the production of essential oils, a number of local plants are either wildly harvested or locally cultivated. They include a number of ginger species, as well as cardamon, turmeric, and iary, which are subsequently locally distilled into essential oils that pass a range of international quality standards, allowing the oil to be fit for exportation. The local communities have formed an association of collectors, harvesters and distillers called APPUI PAM Manara-penitra, which has 46 active members. This association's only client is a company called Aroma Forest, a UEBT member since 2010, though most of its engagement with the company takes currently place through L'Homme et L'Environment.

The two-day session was facilitated by an independent consultant who had held three community meetings beforehand. The two days were split between another community internal discussion, followed up by a dialogue between APPUI PAM and L'Homme et L'Environment. In the dialogue, participants discussed the challenges they were facing, commitments towards sustainable wild cultivation and harvesting, and mutual expectations for the future. Key elements of the discussion included, among others, challenges they were facing with respect to administrative expenses and procedures, the need for child care facilities at different locations, the hope to increase cultivation to increase supply, and the long-term aim of the association to become more independent from the NGO and deal more directly with Aroma Forest. The session was concluded with participants acknowledging the importance of such discussions and the importance of keeping this process ongoing. The next meeting date was established for the 7th of December, this time to also include Aroma Forest as the third stakeholder in the relationship.

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Natural Justice Seeking Francophone Lawyer for Africa

Natural Justice: Lawyers for Communities and the Environment is seeking a Francophone lawyer or legal practitioner for its African projects. The lawyer/legal practitioner would primarily be working on the interface between community rights and environmental law, described as bio-cultural rights, and ideally would have a background in these fields. He/she would be required to assist in regional projects advising communities, community based organizations (CBOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and governments on relevant human rights and environmental law and policy, including  the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing under the Convention on Biological Diversity.

The individual should be fluent in English and French and be able to communicate technical legal language to a wide range of audiences, ranging from communities to policy makers and international negotiators. The lawyer/legal practitioner would be based out of the Cape Town, South Africa, office and be required to travel frequently. The full call for applications can be read below.


Position: Legal Advisor for Francophone Africa
Organisation: Natural Justice: Lawyers for communities and the environment
Location: Cape Town, SA
Start date: Immediate
Deadline: December 9, 2011

Natural Justice: Lawyers for Communities and the Environment is seeking a lawyer with experience in Francophone Africa to guide Natural Justice's work in the region, based out of the organization's office in Cape Town, South Africa, with frequent travel. The lawyer will primarily work on providing legal advice on international, regional and national human rights and environmental law and policy to Natural Justice and its partners in Francophone Africa. The lawyer will assist in regional projects advising communities, community-based organisations (CBOs), non-governmental organisations and governments on relevant laws and policies that seek to safeguard biodiversity and the role of communities as stewards of biodiversity and associated traditional knowledge, including the Nagoya Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity on Access and Benefit Sharing. The position will initially be for one year with potential for extension.

Natural Justice: Lawyers for Communities and the Environment is an international collective of legal practitioners that was established in South Africa in January 2007 with the vision of using the law to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity through the self-determination of Indigenous peoples and local communities. Natural Justice’s mission is to facilitate the full and effective participation of communities in the development and implementation of law and policy that impacts biodiversity and associated cultural heritage. In order to realize this, Natural Justice works closely with communities on the ground while simultaneously engaging with governmental and intergovernmental processes at the national and international level to ensure the effective representation of community concerns. Natural Justice currently advises and assists communities, CBOs and governments in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Natural Justice also provides technical support to a number of inter-governmental organizations including the UNEP, UNESCO, FAO and the UNDP. Please refer to our website and our blog for further information. Candidates should submit their CV and a letter of motivation via email to gino@naturaljustice.org by December 9, 2011.

Responsibilities
• Provide legal advice to Natural Justice partners in francophone Africa on relevant human rights and environmental law and policy in international and regional legal frameworks;
• Research relevant international and national legal frameworks and jurisprudence for Natural Justice partners as necessary;
• Support communities to develop of bio-cultural community protocols (BCPs)1 through Natural Justice’s African BCP Initiative;
• Assist NJ in drafting publications based on its work in Africa;
• Explore new potential areas of work and engage with potential partners and donors in Francophone Africa;
• Guide the translation of NJ publications and other documents from French to English and English to French;
• Liaise and share information with the organizations partners in Asia and Latin America;
• Supporting African governments to draft and/or implement ABS legislation in accordance with the Nagoya Protocol.

Required
• LLB or equivalent degree or experience as a legal practitioner.
• Fluent in French and English
• Knowledge of regional and international human rights and environmental laws, including the Convention on Biological Diversity
• Ability to travel frequently

Desired
• At least one year experience as a lawyer in francophone Africa, including work utilizing regional and international bio-cultural legal frameworks
• Experience in drafting, reviewing and/or advising on legislation

For further information on the position, please contact Gino Cocchiaro at gino@naturaljustice.org.

Footnote 1: Biocultural community protocols (BCPs) are community‐led instruments that promote participatory advocacy for the recognition and support for ways of life based on the customary and sustainable use of biodiversity, according to standards and procedures set out in customary, national and international laws and policies. In this sense, biocultural community protocols are community‐specific declarations of the right to diversity and claims to social pluralism. Their value and integrity lie in the process that communities undertake to develop them, in what the protocols represent to the community, and in their future uses and impacts.

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Working Group on Article 8(j) Concludes in Montreal

The 7th Meeting of the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions (WG8(j)-7) concluded in the evening of 4 November in Montreal. Throughout the week, delegates considered a range of issues, including:

• Progress report on the Programme of Work on Article 8(j) and related provisions;
• Mechanisms to promote the effective participation of Indigenous peoples and local communities in matters related to the objectives of Article 8(j) and related provisions of the CBD;
• Multi-year Programme of Work on the implementation of Article 8(j) and related provisions, with a new major component on Article 10 with a focus on Article 10(c), as well as focus on development of sui generis systems for the protection of traditional knowledge and development of indicators relevant for traditional knowledge and customary use;
• In-depth dialogue on thematic areas and other cross-cutting issues of ecosystem management, ecosystem services, and protected areas;
• Recommendations from the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues; and
• Adoption of recommendations.

The Secretariat’s meeting report and all of the in-session documents, including L docs with draft recommendations submitted by the Chair, are available online. For more detailed information about the negotiations' outcomes, read the Earth Negotiations Bulletin summary and analysis.

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Side Events on BCPs, REDD, ABS, and Protected Areas

At the 7th meeting of the Working Group on Article 8(j) (WG8(j)) held in Montreal from 31 October to 4 November, Natural Justice participated in four side events hosted by other organizations. The first side event hosted by Asociacion ANDES and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) was entitled, "Customary Norms and Biocultural Protocols in the Potato Park, Peru" and focused on the development of an inter-community agreement for equitable benefit-sharing based on Quechua customary laws, and the role of the agreement in strengthening local economies and knowledge systems. The side event also launched a new publication on the biocultural protocol of the six Quechua communities that established, governed and managed the Potato Park as an in-situ gene bank under their stewardship.

The second side event was hosted by the Indigenous Peoples Biocultural Climate Change Assessment Initiative (IPCCA) and explored a variety of perspectives related to the use of biocultural protocols for protecting and promoting traditional knowledge, practices and innovation systems of Indigenous peoples and local communities. It focused on how biocultural protocols can become a tool for empowering Indigenous peoples and drive the local implementation of Articles 8(j) and 10(c) of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The presenters at the side event discussed why biocultural protocols are critical for maintaining cultural symbols, beliefs, attitudes, values, expectations, and norms of behavior associated with respect for Mother Earth. They also discussed how biocultural protocols could be strategically used as tools to affirm community rights to their territories, to contribute to the management of Indigenous territories and ecosystems, and for fostering socio-economic development based on biocultural heritage. Examples of biocultural protocols applied in the context of access and use of genetic resources and traditional knowledge and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD) were also presented.

Natural Justice also participated in a side event hosted by India's National Biodiversity Authority and Ministry of Environment and Forests. The side event, entitled "Traditional Knowledge and Access and Benefit Sharing: Examples from India", discussed efforts by the government of India in protecting traditional knowledge and securing the rights of Indian communities to the same. Kabir Bavikatte (Natural Justice) presented on biocultural community protocols developed by Indigenous peoples and local communities in India to protect their traditional knowledge and explained how these protocols can be used to effectively implement the Indian Biodiversity Act in a manner that recognizes the rights of these communities to their collective biocultural heritage.

Finally, Natural Justice presented at a side event hosted by GIZ and UNEP on access and benefit sharing and the Programme of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA), focusing on reporting on the outcomes of a meeting on the same held in Gland in July 2011.

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Side Event on Recognizing and Supporting ICCAs

Women in Pa' Upan, Krayan Selatan, Indonesia.
Credit: Cristina Eghenter

On Wednesday, 2 November at the 7th Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions (WG8(j)), Natural Justice co-hosted a side event with the Union of Indigenous Nomadic Pastoralist Tribes of Iran and the ICCA Consortium entitled, “Recognizing and Supporting Territories and Areas Conserved by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities”. It included a number of presentations from Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ experiences and lessons learned with the recognition and support of ICCAs in different contexts.

Territories and areas conserved by Indigenous peoples and local communities (also known as ICCAs) are a phenomenon of global significance for the earth's biodiversity and ecosystem functions, cultural and linguistic diversity, and livelihood security. If appropriately recognized and supported, ICCAs could account for the conservation of as much land and natural resources around the world as those currently under government protected areas. Since 2003 and 2004, respectively, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the CBD Programme of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA) have stressed the need to better understand and appropriately support ICCAs. CBD Decision X/31 also calls upon Parties to recognize the role of ICCAs in biodiversity conservation, collaborative management, and the diversification of protected area governance types.

Taghi Farvar (Union of Indigenous Nomadic Pastoralist Tribes of Iran) opened the side event by providing an overview of the global phenomenon, significance, and international recognition of ICCAs. Onel Masardule (Fundación Para la Promoción del Conocimiento Indígena, Panama) described the intrinsic connections between Indigenous peoples, nature, and territories and the role of ICCAs (or locally named equivalents) as alternatives to state protected areas that provide an opportunity to reclaim control over ancestral territories, strengthen traditional authorities, and recognize rights and local priorities.

Anchalee Phonklieng (IMPECT, Thailand) illustrated customary understandings and management of sacred areas in Karen territories. Some areas and plant and animal species have strong taboos associated with them and require strict observance of ceremonies and rituals, which in turn, help stimulate the community’s commitment to taking care of these areas and species. She noted that national policies created a derogatory sense of “primitiveness”, but that her community is now more aware of the multiple values of their customary practices, including in conserving biodiversity. She also highlighted the importance of having a strong education system to pass on knowledge, practices, and beliefs to younger generations.

Thora Martina Hermann (University of Montreal) spoke about the Naskapi First Nation legend of the Caribou Heaven and the process of recognizing it as a sacred area in a new national park in Québec. The designation was proposed by the Naskapi Elders Advisory Council and the Council of the Naskapi Nation and included a recommendation that an elder always be a member of the management committee and that cultural information be included in educational materials. A number of mining projects in northern Québec as well as the proposed establishment of 15 new national parks on Indigenous territories led to the Naskapi and Cree Nations calling together for all Indigenous sacred sites to be recognized as such in national parks. She highlighted the complexity of working within multiple jurisdictional layers of protected area legislation.

Jocelyne Garrett shared the experiences of the Brokenhead Ojibwe of southern Manitoba, who wanted to protect the rare wetlands in their ancestral territory from external threats such as mining. After a process of community-based research that combined Western science and traditional knowledge and 8 years of negotiations, the area was designed an Ecological Reserve, the highest form of environmental protection in Canada. The Ojibwe still have access to sacred areas and medicinal plants, among other things, and manage the Reserve in partnership with Manitoba Model Forestry and Native Orchid Conservation. They were recently awarded $1 million to build a boardwalk in the Reserve to mitigate tourism pressure upon the sensitive wetlands. It was noted during discussion that each society has a cosmovision that gives rise to a scientific system and that equitable valuation of those systems is an essential part of respecting customary governance and management systems.

Gunn-Britt Retter (Saami Council) described the situation of the Saami in Norway, saying that respect for traditional management in the northern areas has decreased because of increasing demand for energy and resources, extraction of which is moving north due to the majority of the south being privately owned. She noted that the Saami people are literally being squeezed “from all sides”, with an increasing number of mines, state-governed protected areas, wind mills, and other developments encroaching steadily into their customary territories and rangelands. Lamenting the fact that the Saami have achieved significant recognition of cultural heritage rights, including language, but not yet secure land and resource rights, Retter emphasized that territory is the absolute foundation of Saami culture. Though discontinued and apologized for several years ago, she highlighted the state’s official Norwegianization policy as responsible for the continuing “colonization of the mind” and the general sentiment of “to be Saami is to be oppressed”. Citing lack of participation as the main reason for generally rejecting new state protected areas, the Saami Parliament may now consider establishing their own protected areas according to customary management systems. Questions remain about how to determine boundaries amidst pressure from mining companies to snap up unclaimed land.

Eloise Schnierer (Watego Legal and Consulting) described the overall legal context and intricacies of realizing Indigenous peoples’ rights in Australia, including the Native Title Act, the Torres Straight Regional Seas Claim and Blue Mud Bay Decision, and the Indigenous Protected Areas system. In contrast with the Saami experience, she noted that many Indigenous peoples now have land, but no sustainable financing mechanism to manage it or to support cultural heritage and languages. She highlighted Traditional Use of Marine Resource Agreements in the Great Barrier Reef Park and the use of community protocols in the Northern Territories as examples of ways to overcome the great differences between local knowledge and Western science conservation-focused knowledge and different values and motivations therein. She underscored the importance of land and resource rights in addition to cultural rights as the legal foundation for supporting Indigenous peoples’ ways of life.

Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice) gave the closing presentation, providing an overview of a forthcoming volume of the CBD Technical Series on recognizing and supporting ICCAs as well as of the second phase of a global legal review on provisions that support or hinder ICCAs at the national, regional, and international levels. This follows from the first phase review, which can be downloaded here.

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Roundtable on Indigenous Peoples' Territories at WG8(j)

On Tuesday, 1 November at the 7th Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions (WG8(j)), Natural Justice hosted a roundtable on Indigenous peoples’ territories and community conserved areas. Members of Indigenous peoples and local communities from Zimbabwe, Australia, Canada, and Iran shared their experiences with varying types of legal recognition of collective rights to territories, areas, and resources, recognition of customary governance and management systems, and identity as a function of cultural connection to lands and waters.

Inappropriate forms of recognition and support was a common theme, particularly in cases where government or market-based mechanisms either retain ownership or decision-making power or have the potential to significantly undermine that of communities, primarily due to lack of attention to governance issues and inequitable sharing of costs and benefits. Other major barriers and challenges include far-reaching assimilationist policies, lack of full and effective participation of Indigenous peoples and local communities in decision-making processes that affect them, and a “clash of values” between customary and state legal systems and the collective and individual rights that they respectively elicit.

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Forest Peoples' Experiences with Implementation of Article 10(c)

On the opening day of the 7th Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions (WG8(j)), the Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD) co-hosted a side event entitled, “Content and Implementation of the New Major Component of Work on Customary Sustainable Use (Article 10(c)) in the Programme of Work on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions”. John Scott (SCBD) stressed the fundamental nature of Article 10(c) to Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ ways of life, highlighted the experts’ meeting on Article 10(c) held in June, and encouraged Parties to take into account the Addis Ababa Guidelines.

Caroline de Jong (FPP) introduced the “10(c) project”, which has been ongoing since 2004 and comprised of documenting customary practices, rules, and laws and their relation to conservation and sustainable use, identifying threats to customary systems, and providing recommendations for more effective implementation of Article 10(c). The remainder of the presentation was given by a group of FPP partners: Kid James (Wapichan people, Guyana); Auchalee Phonklieng and Sakda Saenmi (Karen people, IMPECT, Thailand); and Muhammed Abdul Baten (traditional resource users of the Sundarbans, Unnayan Onneshan, Bangladesh).

Barriers and challenges to the implementation of Article 10(c) include: lack of recognition of customary sustainable management of natural resources; continuation of top-down and paternalistic conservation policies; lack of recognition of traditional institutions and authorities and customary laws; lack of secure rights to territories and free, prior and informed consent; external pressures such as mining, logging, plantations, infrastructure projects, dams, and individual land titling to outsiders, which contribute to the destruction of traditional areas and reduced access to resources and in turn, of traditional knowledge and customary practices; lack of understanding among policy-makers about Indigenous peoples’ ways of life and relations with lands and resources; mainstream education and assimilationist policies; insufficient and inequitable participation of Indigenous peoples and local communities in state protected areas.

Despite these barriers, a range of community initiatives are enhancing implementation of Article 10(c) from the ground up. These include, among others: community-based research to document and communicate customary sustainable use, for example, mapping, videos, and monitoring of biodiversity and illegal resource activities (such as logging); training on customary practices, developing community-based management plans, and inter-community agreements about conserving specific areas. Maps in particular were noted as very important in the struggle for land recognition and helping government and conservation agencies understand communities’ ways of life. Governance and principles like free, prior and informed consent were highlighted as fundamental to ensuring ecosystem sustainability and the security and wellbeing of communities for future generations.

The presenters noted two main issues that were missing from the tasks of the draft component of work on Article 10(c), namely, climate change (including impacts on territories and roles of traditional knowledge and practices in mitigation and adaptation) and gender considerations.

During the question and answer period, the following issues were discussed: legal recognition of territorial rights is the basis of traditional knowledge and customary use – in other words, rights to traditional knowledge cannot be recognized without recognizing rights to territory; given the many similarities across regions, it’s important to have Indigenous-to-Indigenous sharing and cooperation, including on methodologies for documentation and communication; territories are not always static or well-defined areas and may shift, depending on the resources and increasingly, due to climate change.

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NJ in Montreal for Working Group on Article 8(j)

Kabir Bavikatte and Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice) are in Montreal, Canada, for the 7th Meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions (WG8(j)). The meeting will take place from 31 October to 4 November and will be preceded by a capacity building workshop on access and benefit sharing from 29-30 October.

Natural Justice will co-host and participate in a range of side events and meetings and will post reports on this blog throughout the week. Daily coverage of the negotiations will be provided by IISD Reporting Services.

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Exploring Access and Benefit Sharing in the ASEAN Region

Harry Jonas (Natural Justice) attended an ASEAN regional capacity development workshop on access and benefit sharing (ABS) in Manila, Philippines, from 25-26 October. The workshop was organized by the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity and was attended by government officials, international organizations, NGOs, and academics. Over the two days, attendees heard presentations on the history of the Nagoya Protocol and experiences of national implementation from across the region and discussed challenges and opportunities. Natural Justice presented on our work and launched a publication entitled Community Protocols and ABS.

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Building Capacity of Conservation Groups on ABS

On 26 October, the ABS Capacity Development Initiative and Conservation International hosted a one-day capacity building event for conservation organisations in the Washington, D.C., area on access and benefit sharing (ABS). Entitled "ABS and Conservation: Opportunities and Challenges for the Future", the event included speakers who have been working in the ABS context for many years, including Pierre du Plessis from CRIAA and Jorge Cabrera from INBio, Costa Rica. Johanna von Braun (Natural Justice) also presented on the use of biocultural community protocols for the implementation of ABS at the local level.

The event provided participants with a general overview of ABS, the Nagoya Protocol and a number of case studies, and raised question in terms of the overlaps between ABS and conservation and how ABS should function as an incentive for conservation. A number of participants particularly highlighted the importance of linking questions related to resource governance to conservation and ABS and the importance of connecting questions regarding resource rights to establishing successful ABS incentive schemes that lead to conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. The day ended with a fruitful discussion and brainstorming session on the particular role that conservation groups such Conservation International can play in making ABS work in practice.

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New Publication on Community Protocols in Peru

Asociacion ANDES, the Quechua communities of the Potato Park, and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) have released a new publication entitled, "Community Biocultural Protocols: Building Mechanisms for Access and Benefit-sharing Among the Communities of the Potato Park based on Quechua Customary Norms".

The description is as follows: "The Potato Park communities in Peru are deeply committed to the conservation of biocultural resources, associated knowledge, and indigenous rights, and undertook this research to further investigate the role of customary norms and institutions in the protection of traditional knowledge (TK) and resources. The development of a Biocultural Protocol, in the form of the Inter-community Agreement for Equitable Access and Benefit Sharing, is the result of their efforts. In addition to providing a valuable example of effective community-based protection of TK and genetic or biological resources in praxis, this initiative is also one of only a handful of examples worldwide of working models that stem directly from customary laws and norms.

Given the present international paucity of models that adequately value and protect indigenous and local community rights, biodiversity and customary norms and practices in relation to benefit sharing and access to resources and knowledge – the present initiative may further serve as an example of best practice in relation to the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol. Spanish translation is forthcoming." More information is available on the IIED website on biocultural heritage.

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ABS Initiative Workshop in Malawi

Kabir Bavikatte and Sabine Zajderman (Natural Justice) attended the Fourth Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Workshop for Eastern and Southern Africa in Malawi from 17-22 October. The workshop, organized by the ABS Capacity Development Initiative for Africa (ABS Initiative) and hosted by the Environmental Affairs Department of Malawi, was the first in the sub-region since the adoption of the Nagoya Protocol at the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). In light of this development, African countries are now discussing and identifying relevant ABS strategies at national, sub-regional, and regional levels to address the challenge of implementing the Nagoya Protocol. This meeting also echoed the Fourth ABS Sub-Regional Workshop for West Africa and the Maghreb, which was coordinated and facilitated by the ABS Initiative in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Sanitation of Mali and held in Bamako, Mali, from 26 September to 1 October.

The first four days of the workshop in Malawi aimed to inform the participants about the provisions of the Nagoya Protocol and provide them with a platform to share national experiences with implementing ABS, discuss key challenges while exploring national and sub-regional concerns, and identify capacity gaps and priority areas for action at the political and technical–administrative levels. Participants were first introduced to the Nagoya Protocol and its implications for national policies and legislation and were invited to discuss different policy choices – protective vs. market-oriented, governance and administrative structures, and definition of rights – for national implementation as well as potential coordination and harmonization strategies at sub-regional and regional levels. The use of the active ingredient of the Strophanthus Kombe seed harvested in the Lake Region of Malawi and the benefit sharing mechanism developed by TreeCrops with the local communities illustrated the main challenges faced at the local level and the complexity at times to discern a biotrade case from an ABS case.

The workshop ended with a two-day session exclusively focusing on practical approaches and methods in the field of Communication, Education and Public Awareness (CEPA) in the context of ABS. During this time, participants reflected on the development of sensible solutions and tools for dialogue to address the various communication challenges encountered with different stakeholders groups.

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ABS Training Course in Nairobi

Sabine Zajderman and Laureen Manuel (Natural Justice) attended a 5-day training course on access and benefit sharing (ABS) in Nairobi, Kenya, from 10-14 October. The course was aimed at addressing the capacity constraints faced by African countries in implementing ABS at the national and regional levels. About 30 delegates working in the field of ABS from East and Southern Africa attended the course, which was hosted by the Strathmore Executive Legal Education Programme (SELEP) in collaboration with the ABS Capacity Development Initiative for Africa. The course contents, designed by the Environmental Evaluation Unit of the University of Cape Town, included presentations on the key provisions of the Nagoya Protocol, traditional knowledge issues, and intellectual property rights, as well as case studies of actual experiences with ABS in Africa.

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First Symposium on ICCAs in Indonesia

Harry Jonas and Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice) attended the first-ever national symposium on the status, prospects, options, and opportunities for Indigenous peoples' conserved territories and areas conserved by Indigenous peoples and local communities (ICCAs) in Indonesia, organized by the People's Coalition for Fisheries Justice (KIARA), the Non-Timber Forest Products Exchange Programme for South and South-east Asia (NTFP-EP), Forest Peoples Programme, the ICCA Consortium, and WWF-Indonesia. The symposium took place from 13-14 October at the CIFOR campus in Bogor with support from The Christensen Fund, UNDP, GIZ, and WWF-Indonesia.

The two days comprised a number of presentations on diverse community experiences with conserved territories and areas across Indonesia, as well as a select few from other countries such as Iran, Panama, and the Philippines. The legal framework, including challenges and opportunities for official recognition of ICCAs, was elaborated by local legal NGO HuMa. Working groups discussed a range of questions, including the extent and local expressions and types of ICCAs in Indonesia; barriers to appropriate recognition and support; and future steps to promote the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities, livelihoods, and conservation. Many thanks to Crissy Guerrero and the rest of the organizing committee for hosting us in Bogor!

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ICCA Consortium General Assembly in Bogor

Natural Justice participated in the 4th General Assembly of the ICCA Consortium on 12 October in Bogor, Indonesia, at the CIFOR campus. It was attended by 31 people, including representatives of Member organizations, Honorary Members, and the new regional co-coordinators. The Assembly included reports from the President (Taghi Farvar), Coordinator (Grazia Borrini-Feyerabend), Treasurer (Stan Stevens), Auditor of Accounts (Maurizio Farhan Ferrari), Chair of the Statutes Committee (Harry Jonas), regional coordinators, and Global Communications Officer (Vanessa Reid). The Assembly resulted in the adoption of the 2012 budget, revised Statutes, draft Procedural Guidelines and Membership Policy, and Global Communication Plan.

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ICCA Consortium Retreat in Indonesia

Harry Jonas and Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice) participated in a retreat of the ICCA Consortium from 6-11 October in Prana Dewi, Bali, Indonesia. The 6-day agenda brought together the new regional co-coordinators, the Consortium Secretariat, and some Member organizations and Honorary Members for the first time to discuss and plan a range of issues and initiatives.

Internal matters that were discussed included a review of the mission, 2020 vision, structure, membership, and past activities of the Consortium. Participants worked to propose revised Statutes, draft Procedural Guidelines, draft Membership, Partnership, and Financial Policies, and a proposed communication system for consideration at the 4th General Assembly on 12 October.

A range of sources of support were presented and considered, particularly: 2.5-year funding from The Christensen Fund (TCF) to strengthen the Consortium as an emerging local-to-global institution; 1-year funding from the UNDP/EEG Equator Initiative and UNDP/GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP) for documentation and dissemination of information of ICCAs in the context of 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets; 1-year funding from SwedBio for a review of national, regional, and international laws, policies, and practices that support or hinder Indigenous peoples' conserved territories and areas conserved by Indigenous peoples and local communities; and ideas for a funding proposal on participatory action research and policy advocacy. Also discussed were ongoing and potential initiatives and partnerships with, among others: the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD); the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Global Protected Areas Programme, Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP) and relevant Themes, and World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA); the Wild Foundation; and the UNEP-WCMC ICCA Registry.

Participants discussed past and planned involvement in various United Nations and other international policy mechanisms related to Indigenous peoples and local communities, particularly concerning biodiversity, climate change, food and agriculture, conservation, human rights, and cultural rights. They deliberated core concepts such as territories and the right to self-determination in relation to community conserved areas, considered a revised term for ICCAs, and planned regional objectives and activities for the Consortium in the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. A brief field trip helped illustrate cultural and spiritual aspects of the local water management and cultivation system known as Subak.

Natural Justice would like to thank Grazia Borrini-Feyerabend and Vanessa Reid in particular for planning the retreat and the Samdhana Institute for hosting us at Prana Dewi.

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Upcoming ICCA Consortium Events in Indonesia

Harry Jonas and Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice) will be joining other members of the ICCA Consortium from 5-15 October in Indonesia for a series of events. At a retreat from 6-11 October, the Consortium Steering Committee and Regional Coordinators will tackle a number of issues ranging from the action plan, 2020 Vision, and ongoing initiatives and partnerships to a global legal review and strategic inputs to international policy fora.

The 4th General Assembly will be held on 12 October at the CIFOR Campus in Bogor. From 13-14 October, the first ever national symposium on ICCAs will take place in Bogor. It will explore the concept, practice, limitations, and opportunities of ICCAs in Indonesia and, if appropriate, provide initial stimulus and support to a broad alliance of organizations and people willing to engage in appropriate follow-up activities.

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Indigenous Declaration on Climate Change and Traditional Knowledge

As the next round of negotiations under the auspices of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) opened in Panama, a gathering in Finland of Indigenous leaders from around the world has called upon the international community to remove scientific bias against Indigenous knowledge from climate change science and policy. The meeting adopted the Sevettijärvi Declaration, which calls upon the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to make all efforts necessary to include Indigenous knowledge and local perspectives in its assessment processes.

The Indigenous Peoples' Biocultural Climate Change Assessment Initiative (IPCCA) network will be releasing a synthesis report of the results of their local assessments in 2012, which will include evidence of climate change, impacts and adaptation and mitigation responses from the most representative ecosystems on the planet and provide recommendations to policy makers for future actions. “Addressing climate change requires that climate justice be taken seriously”, said Paulina Feodoroff of the Skolt Sámi nation. “We remind the international community that the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples establishes international minimum standards for the respect, protection and fulfillment of Indigenous peoples’ rights. The IPCC and others are therefore obliged to include traditional knowledge in assessment reports."

The Sevettijärvi Declaration (also available in Spanish) contains further analysis and examples of the climate change impacts on Indigenous peoples and includes specific requests to the IPCC, United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and national governments on how ensure that Indigenous knowledge properly informs climate change science and policy.

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African Regional CBD Consultations on REDD+

Kabir Bavikatte and Johanna von Braun (Natural Justice) participated in the African regional consultation and capacity building workshop on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD)-plus and biodiversity safeguards. The consultation/workshop was held in Cape Town from 20-23 September and is one of three regional workshops that the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat was requested to implement by Decision X/33 at the latest CBD Conference of the Parties. Natural Justice also attended the Asia regional consultation held in Singapore in March 2011.

At the workshop, different African countries presented on the status of their World Bank-supported Forest Carbon Partnership Facility  (FCPF) REDD readiness preparation process. The participants were then divided into working groups that were required to provide recommendations on: a) developing advice on the application of relevant REDD-plus safeguards for biodiversity and Indigenous peoples and local communities; and b) identifying indicators to assess the contribution of REDD-plus to achieving the objectives of the CBD.

The participants also discussed the existing REDD-plus safeguards to see if they effectively addressed the concerns raised in the Global Expert Workshop on REDD-plus held in Nairobi from 20-23 September, 2010. These safeguards included the REDD-plus Social and Environmental Standards developed by the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance; the draft UN-REDD Social and Environmental Principles and Criteria; the Cancun Safeguards; and the World Bank Safeguard Policies. The concerns included:

• The conversion of natural forests to plantations and other land uses of low biodiversity value and low resilience, and the introduction of growing of biofuel crops;
• Displacement of deforestation and forest degradation to areas of lower carbon value and high biodiversity value;
• Increased pressure on non-forest ecosystems with high biodiversity value;
• Afforestation in areas of high biodiversity value;
• The loss of traditional territories and restriction of land and natural resource rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities;
• Lack of tangible livelihood benefits to Indigenous peoples and local communities and lack of equitable benefit sharing;
• Exclusion from designing and implementation of policies and measures; and
• Loss of traditional ecological knowledge.

The workshop ended with participants recommending, among other things, that there must be greater harmonization between the development of REDD-plus safeguards and the guidelines and safeguards that have already been developed by the CBD, including the Akwe: Kon Guidelines. Furthermore, the REDD-plus safeguards should seriously consider best practice and innovative tools developed under the CBD process, including community protocols in the context of access and benefit sharing, experiences from community-based natural resource management, biotrade, and payment for ecosystem services.

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Radio Show on Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples

Conversations with the Earth has released an installment of a weekly radio show on climate change and Indigenous peoples. The description reads: "Global climate change is here. And only now, as our nation is ravaged by hurricanes, floods and droughts, is this new reality becoming all too obvious. But indigenous people in isolated communities around the world have been sounding the alarm for decades. This week we’ll meet indigenous messengers from Alaska and Peru who say it’s not too late to use traditional knowledge to reconnect with Mother Earth. And we’ll learn about a powerful new exhibition at the National Museum of the American Indian launched to amplify their message to the world." Guest on the show include Tim Johnson (Mohawk and Associate Director for Museum Programs, National Museum of the American Indian), Sarah James (Gwich’in tribal leader, Arctic Village, Alaska, and winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize), Maja Tillman (Senior Associate, InsightShare), Irma Luz Poma Canchumani (Quechua traditional gourd-carver), Nico Villaume (freelance photographer), and Brian Keane (Director, Land is Life).

The radio show, which is supported by The Christensen Fund, can be downloaded online. The exhibition on Indigenous Voices on Climate Change is being held at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., from 22 July, 2011, to 2 January, 2012.

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Protests in Lamu Over Proposed Port

The communities of Lamu, Kenya, who are currently developing a biocultural community protocol in relation to a mega port to be built in their District, recently held a protest to demand information on the port and consultation in the process. The protest was held after the community learnt from the media that the government of Kenya is planning to begin the construction of the port prior to making any efforts for consulting the local communities. The group started protesting from the National Environmental Management Authority up to the Kenya Ports Authority and Town Square. During their protests, Save Lamu carried with them the letters of appeal that have been sent to government officials, non-governmental organizations, and individuals nationally and internationally as well as copies of the Save Lamu petition to the government of Kenya calling for involvement in the port process that will have dire affects on their livelihoods and environment. Information on the communities' effort can be found at www.savelamu.org.

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NJ Attends Wild Law Conference in Brisbane

Participants Alessandro Pelizzon (left) and Maria Zotti.

From 16-18 September, Griffith University (Brisbane, Australia) hosted Australia’s 3rd Wild Law Conference, entitled “Earth Jurisprudence 2011: Building Theory and Practice”. Earth Jurisprudence is an emerging theory of law that proposes that we rethink our legal and political systems to make sure they support, rather than undermine, the integrity and health of the earth. Over three days, the participants heard presentations from a number of important thinkers and practitioners, including Aboriginal leader Michael Anderson, Cormac Cullinan (EnAct International, South Africa), Emeritus Professor Ian Lowe (Griffith University), Peter Burdon (Australia Wild Law Alliance), Professor Klaus Bosselmann (University of Auckland), Brendan Mackey (Australia National University), Chief Justice Preston (New South Wales), Senator Larissa Waters, Alessandro Pelizzon (Southern Cross University), Judith Koons (Centre for Earth Jurisprudence), Maria Zotti (South Australian Department Environment), and filmmaker Ellie Gilbert.

The conference was also host to the launching of Australian Wild Law Alliance and the Earth Laws Research Network, as well as to the second edition of Wild Law (Cullinan) and Exploring Wild Law: The Philosophy of Earth Jurisprudence (Burdon, ed.). Harry Jonas (Natural Justice) presented on Biocultural Rights and Responsibilities: Political Ecology, Jurisprudence, Resistance and Engagement to illustrate the theoretical foundations of Natural Justice's work. Natural Justice thanks Michelle Maloney and her team for a great conference.

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NJ Article on BCPs and Biocultural Rights

Mikey Salter and Johanna von Braun (Natural Justice) recently wrote an article entitled "Biocultural Community Protocols: Bridging the Gap Between Customary, National and International Law" for the latest issue of the Effectius Newsletter. It begins by saying, "Over the last two decades as a result of the Indigenous peoples’ rights movement, a new cluster of rights has emerged that falls under the broad category of group or collective rights, but makes a specific link to conservation and the sustainable use of biological diversity. These are referred to as biocultural rights, and they acknowledge the relationship between communities, resources and culture in areas where communities have historically been stewards of common lands because of their reliance on the ecosystem that surrounds them..."

Effectius is a non-profit organization based in Belgium that is dedicated to identifying and promoting effective justice solutions worldwide.

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