ICCA Consortium's First Ever Newsletter

The Indigenous Peoples' and Community Conserved Areas (ICCA) Consortium just released its first ever newsletter. The newsletter includes a brief description of the ICCA Consortium and then details recent activities and events the Consortium has lead or participated in. Please do read through to hear about the great work that the Consortium is doing around the world. Within are updates from Regional Coordinators on activities in Panama, Canada,...

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Natural Justice advises Namibian Government on draft ABS Legislation

On the 23rd and 24th of February, Kabir Bavikatte and Gino Cocchiaro are in Windhoek, Namibia to attend the Awareness Raising Workshop on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) for Sustainable Utilization of Cultural and Natural Assets in Namibia. Namibia currently does not have ABS legislation and the workshop, attended by the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Namibian Members of Parliament, Traditional Authority representatives and other representatives...

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Introduction to BCPs in la Mosquitia, Honduras

On the 21st of February, Johanna von Braun from Natural Justice participated in an introduction workshop on biocultural community protocols in Puerto Lempiras, capital of the Mosquitia region in Honduras. The workshop was facilitated the Central American regional office of IUCN, Mopawi, a Miskito NGO and Moskitia Asia Takanka (MASTA), the main representative body of the Miskito people. The Miskito are an indigenous community that stretches from...

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19th Illegal Logging Update and Stakeholder Consultation

Peter Wood, Natural Justice Associate, attended the 19th Illegal Logging Update and Stakeholder Consultation, 9-10 February in London. The meeting focussed on the implementation of the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), expected to come into force in March 2013, which could have far-reaching implications for the forest sector and forest dependent communities, as it is intended to eliminate illegally sourced wood products from the EU market. Some critics...

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MPCA Workshop in Uttarakkand

Medicinal Plants Conservation Areas (MPCAs) in India are bioculturally rich areas of land with a high prevalence of endemic medicinal plants. MPCAs are usually demarcated by communities or by the government in partnership with traditional healers of the region with the aim of creating a medicinal plants in-situ gene bank which will also host medicinal plants nurseries. Medicinal plants from the nurseries in the MPCAs are then supplied by the traditional...

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Meeting on Increasing Number of BCR Lawyers

On the 13th of February, Kabir Bavikatte and Harry Jonas (Natural Justice) met with Antara Lahiri (Ashoka Law for All) and Vivek Maru (Namati) to discuss how best to increase the numbers of lawyers focusing on the nexus between the environment, land and social justice issues. Particularly it was felt that opportunities for students and young lawyers to engage with the issues presented a barrier to being able to "imagine" working in the area. The...

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Maldhari Community Claims Traditional Lands

In the face of government attempts to ban livestock in their traditional grasslands, the Maldhari community of the Banni grasslands of Kutch, Gujarat, India sent notices to their state government demanding recognition of their rights over the grasslands on the first week of February. Fifteen of 19 village panchayats in the region joined in this action. The notices claim the Maldhari’s are entitled to manage their own grasslands by the Forest Rights...

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New Article on Stewarding the Commons

Natural Justice’s own Kabir Bavikatte recently authored “Stewarding the Commons: Rethinking Property and the Emergence of Biocultural Rights” for the Common Voices newsletter of the Dakshin Foundation. The article explores the legal implications of the growing body of evidence that the conservation of protected areas is best achieved through communities, rather than through privatisation or exclusive state control. The article begins by examining...

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Bushbuckridge BCP Review and Code of Ethics Drafting

Faced with discrimination, the unauthorised use of their traditional knowledge and genetic resources, and the overharvesting of the plants with which they sustain the health of their communities, the members of Kukula Traditional Health Practitioners in Bushbuckridge, South Africa, organised themselves in 2009 and drafted a biocultural community protocol (BCP). The BCP asserts their role in maintaining community health, preserving culture, and protecting...

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Wapichan Launch Conservation Plan

Credit: T. GriffithsAs plans for mega roads and dams and forestry projects continue to threaten the forests of southwest Guyana, the Wapichan people of the region have prepared a ground breaking proposal for the preservation of 1.4 million hectares of forest. The Wapichan organized more than 80 community meetings from 2008 to 2011 in developing this plan and ensuring that it benefits all and is implemented with full community support. The proposal...

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Indigenous Knowledge Spotlighted in National Geographic

Photo of Posakei Pongap of Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, taken by Nicolas Villaume/CWENational Geographic’s News Watch has highlighted the vital role that Indigenous peoples play in conservation. Opening with a discussion of the global impact of climate change, author Gleb Raygorodetsky demonstrates how the linkages between community and identity and lands ensure sustainable management and have Indigenous peoples at the forefront of adaptation...

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Camel Charisma Store Launch

Congratulations to Camel Charisma on the successful launch of their first store. A social enterprise jointly founded and run by the Raika community of Rajasthan and Lokhit Pashu Palak Sansthan (LPPS), Camel Charisma produces products developed from camels’ dung, hair and milk. The first retail store is located on Ranakpur Road, which runs between Udaipur and Jodhpur, and is situated across the road from the Fateh Bagh Hotel. To learn more about...

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6th Pan-African ABS Workshop in Cameroon

Between the 30th of January and 3rd of February the 6th Pan-African ABS Workshop brought together 110 participants in Limbe, Cameroon. The workshop is put together every year by the ABS Capacity Development Initiative and was hosted by the Cameroonian Ministry of Environment, Protection of Nature and Sustainable Development (MINEP) and the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC). Its participants included national ABS focal points, representatives...

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Briefing Paper from Amazon Watch on FPIC

With the rights of many Indigenous peoples and local communities neglected by companies they interact with, Amazon Watch has prepared an important briefing paper to ensure that companies and other actors fully understand their responsibilities in ensuring Free, Prior and Informed Consent from communities. The introduction to the briefing paper states that it "focuses on the roles and responsibilities of companies, investors and finance institutions...

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TK Commons Meeting in Cape Town

On the 31st January representatives from the Bushbuckridge Traditional Healers’ Association, lawyers working on issues around traditional knowledge (TK) from Kenya and Ghana, and Natural Justice gathered in Cape Town with support from the Open A.I.R. Project. The theme was “Non-Traditional Users of TK—Opportunities and Challenges Around Compliance”. Breakout sessions delved into the definition of TK commons, methods of pooling and sharing TK, TK...

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