RRI Review of Forest Tenure Legislation

With increased attention to forest conservation, especially in the context of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+), issues of tenure insecurity of Indigenous Peoples in forest areas are increasingly recognised. Despite this attention, there has been little comprehensive information on legislation and policy to address these challenges. To address this gap, the Rights and Resources Initiative has produced a review of national...

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Kukula Healers on German Prime Time News

Natural Justice partners and members of the African Biocultural Community Protocol Initiative Kukula Traditional Health Practitioners Association of Bushbuckridge, South Africa, were recently featured on ARD, Germany's largest public television broadcaster. Kukula’s chairperson was interviewed by reporters from the prime time Tagesthemen news programme. He shared how traditional healers in South Africa hold a wealth of traditional knowledge and are...

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FPIC and REDD in the DRC

Gino Cocchiaro of Natural Justice took part in meetings on free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) hosted by The Forest Dialogue and Forest Peoples Programme from 21-25 May. The meeting consisted of a visit to Luki Biosphere Reserve in the far west of the country to meet with members of the communities of Kiobo and Kifulu who will likely...

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Workshop on BCPs, UNDRIP and MEAs

On 24 May during the 13th Congress of the International Society of Ethnobiology (ISE), Holly Shrumm and Harry Jonas (Natural Justice) contributed to a full-day workshop on biocultural community protocols (BCPs), the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and multilateral environmental agreements. The workshop was hosted by the ISE Global Coalition for Biocultural Diversity as part of the Congress' Indigenous Forum. Organized...

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Remembering Darrell Posey: Traditional Resource Rights Today

Darrell Posey with Kayapo children in the late 1970s(Courtesy: University of Oxford)On 21 May in Montpellier, France, Holly Shrumm and Harry Jonas (Natural Justice) hosted a session at the 13th Congress of the International Society of Ethnobiology entitled “Remembering Darrell Posey: Traditional Resource Rights Today”. Posey helped organize the World Conference of Indigenous Peoples on Territory, Environment and Development in parallel to the UN...

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UEBT Publication on Biocultural Dialogues

The Union for Ethical Biotrade (UEBT) has released a new publication documenting UEBT’s experience with biocultural dialogues in access and benefit sharing. The publication is based on experiences from three case studies in Madagascar, Brazil and Peru where local communities and member companies of UEBT were supported in engaging in biocultural dialogues by Natural Justice, UEBT and GIZ. The publication highlights the importance of community...

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Workshop for Emerging Ethnobiologists

From 17-20 May, Holly Shrumm and Harry Jonas (Natural Justice) attended the 2nd Workshop for Emerging Ethnobiologists in Gites-de-Briandes, France, which took place ahead of the 13th Congress of the International Society of Ethnobiology. As part of the 3-day workshop, they presented on a number of legal and policy frameworks relevant to ethnobiology and facilitated a group role play that explored the relationships and dynamics between communities...

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REDD+ Side Event at Bonn Climate Talks

Natural Justice partner the Global Forest Coalition participated in a side event to the Bonn Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany, on 17 May, focused on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+). The event, titled “Contradictions in the Bioeconomy: REDD+, bioenergy and alternative biocultural approaches,” included panellists from Biofuelwatch, Econexus, and the Secretariat to the Environment, Paraguay....

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African Indigenous Peoples Declaration on Rio +20

Via www.mpido.orgA gathering of indigenous African communities adopted the Declaration of Indigenous Peoples of Africa on Sustainable Development and Rio +20 in Arusha, Tanzania on 19 April 2012. The gathering was convened by Mainyoto Pastoralist Integrated Development Organisation (MPIDO), a Natural Justice partner in the Africa Biocultural Protocol Initiative. The declaration focuses on two themes; the green economy in the context of sustainable...

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Seeking ICT Support: May-July, 2012

Natural Justice is seeking a Cape Town-based service provider to support our organisation in maintaining, updating and occasionally developing further Natural Justice’s internet presence. Successful applicants should demonstrate their capacity to achieve the following - 1. SEO: • Previous experience in optimising websites to maximise hits via search engines, especially Google 2. Update www.naturaljustice.org and www.community-protocols.org...

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New IUCN-CEESP Newsletter

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy’s (IUCN-CEESP) latest newsletter was released in May. The newsletter reports on the activities of IUCN-CEESP’s members and partners from around the world and also includes policy articles and reports.The comments from the Chairperson, Aroha Te Pareake Mead, focus on preparations for the upcoming Rio +20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable...

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Community Meeting in Bwabata Park, Namibia

Through its African Biocultural Community Protocol (BCP) Initiative, Natural Justice travelled to the Bwabwata National Park in West Kaprivi, Namibia during the week of 7th May to meet with residents. Proclaimed a national park in 2007, Bwabwata is the largest of the five protected areas in northeastern Namibia and is bordered to the north by Angola and the south by Botswana. Bwabwata consists of high number of large mammals that are both rare and...

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Wapichan Map 1.4 Million Hectares

Photo from www.forestpeoples.orgIn a bid to protect over 1.4 million hectares of community land, the Wapichan community of Guyana have produced a digital map of their territories. The mapping project, carried out over the past ten years using GPS technology to plot key community sites, covers a diverse array of ecosystems and will support the community to establish the community’s rights to its land. Kid James described the aim of the mapping,...

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Natural Justice Prepares for the Ashoka Globalizer

As part of the Ashoka Globalizer, Harry Jonas (Natural Justice) met with Rizwan Tayabali (pictured) for two days to further develop Natural Justice's scaling strategy. The Ashoka Globalizer is focusing on Rural Innovation and Farming in 2012, and brings together a range of Ashoka Fellows at the Summit in June to discuss respective scaling strategies and to expose Fellows to leading social entrepreneurs for one-on-one advice sessions. The programme...

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Indigenous Peoples Conservation Spotlighted in Jakarta Globe

A recent article in the Jakarta Globe documented the incredible conservation that the Indigenous Peoples of Indonesia engage in through their way of being. Rizal Mahfud described his Ngata Toro community of Central Sulawesi as having “had our own ways to protect the forests for hundreds of years...we don’t need any government programs. We just need to develop [our own].” The article also notes the work of the Iban Dayak community who have maintained...

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Training Session on Nagoya Protocol and BCPs for Tribal Link's Project Access

In preparation for the 11th session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), Tribal Link organised a training session for Indigenous Peoples from all over the world from 2-4 May. This year's training included a daylong session on the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Article 8(j) of the Convention, the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization,...

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Case Study on Forest Use and Management in Vietnam

As Vietnam prepares for the implementation of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD), a challenge has been the limited information on how customary land rights and institutions support the preservation of Vietnam’s forests. While the government is increasingly open to partnering with local communities in conservation, there is very limited research documenting the successes and challenges of this approach in the country. To...

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New Report on Large-Scale Land Acquisitions

Image via www.globalwitness.orgAs the scale of large-scale land acquisitions in developing nations continues to grow, Global Witness, the International Land Coalition and the Oakland Institute have produced a report documenting how opening up the process of acquisition would benefit local communities, governments and business. The report is titled ‘Dealing with Disclosure: Improving Transparency in Decision-Making Over Large-Scale Land Acquisitions,...

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New CBD Newsletter

The May [square brackets] newsletter of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has been released. The newsletter includes a number of fascinating articles. Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice) served on the editorial board alongside colleagues from other NGOs and the CBD Secretariat. This edition includes an interview with the CBD Executive Secretary on challenges ahead. Simone Lovera (Global Forest Coalition) and Rashed Al...

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Learning About Indigenous Peoples, Human Rights and Advocacy in Asia-Pacific

From 23 April to 2 May in Sabah, Malaysia, Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice) participated in a training program entitled "Indigenous Peoples, Human Rights and Advocacy in Asia-Pacific". It was organized by the Diplomacy Training Program (DTP), which is affiliated with the University of New South Wales Faculty of Law, and hosted by Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (JOAS, the Indigenous Peoples Network of Malaysia),...

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First Meeting of the Diversity Liaison Group

On 28 and 29 May, Johanna von Braun (Natural Justice) participated in the first meeting of the Diversity Liaison Group (DLG) of the joint programme on biological and cultural diversity which was endorsed by UNESCO’s constituencies and the tenth Conference of Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) held in 2010 in Nagoya, Japan.This first meeting brought a number of different stakeholders together, ranging from...

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New JUST Conservation Website

Image via www.justconservation.orgThe JUST Conservation network, which seeks to link organisations and individuals seeking conservation achieved with justice, has launched a new website at www.justconservation.org. The new site has enhanced capacity to host discussions and is optimised for viewing on smartphones and tablets. According to the description, “The purpose of Just Conservation is to provide a more accessible venue for providing information...

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