Recognising Sacred Sites Could Double Conserved Area

Via www.cifor.orgAs attendees of the 11th Conference of Parties (COP 11) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) discussed how conserved areas can be increased from 12 to 17 percent of the earth's land to meet target 11 of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets by the 2020 deadline, some representatives argued that recognising lands sacred to indigenous communities could double the amount of protected land worldwide. Granting this status to...

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UNGA Report on Status of Indigenous Children's Rights

Via www.unicef.orgThe UN Secretary-General has submitted a report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was adopted in 1989 and has been ratified or acceded to by 193 states, to the  UN General Assembly. The report focuses on the rights of indigenous children, and finds that indigenous children suffer extreme forms of exclusion and discrimination, stating that "children of indigenous background often...

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Major Conference on Land Grabbing

Via www.cornell-landproject.org/As international investors continue to buy large swathes of land in 'developing' nations, the Cornell University Department of Sociology and the Land Deal Politics Initiative hosted "Global Land Grabbing II: An International Conference on Large-Scale Land Deals" from 17-19 October, 2012. The conference built on the Global Land Grabbing conference held at the University of Sussex in 2011 and included papers and presentations...

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Overview of Key CBD COP11 Outcomes

Kabir Bavikatte (left) and Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice)discussing key issues in the negotiations towards a planof action on customary sustainable use. Photo via IISD-RS.Natural Justice was recently in India for the 11th Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which took place from 8-19 October in Hyderabad. In addition to a range of events and meetings, we actively participated in the negotiations,...

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Overview of Key CBD COP11 Events

Harry Jonas (Natural Justice) launching the study on legaland institutional aspects of ICCAs. Photo via IISD-RS.Natural Justice was recently in India for the 11th Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which took place from 8-19 October in Hyderabad. With a range of civil society, network, government, and intergovernmental partners, we co-organised, presented at and/or attended the following...

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High-Level Panel on Implementation of Nagoya Protocol

On 18 October 2012, Laureen Manuel of Natural Justice attended a high-level panel discussion at a side event at the Convention of Biodiversity’s (CBD) 11th Conference of the Parties (COP 11) in Hyderabad, India. The discussion contemplated key questions surrounding the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS). The panel included Bard Vegar Solhjell, Minister of Environment (Norway) (Chair), Sileshi Getahun, Minister...

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Tana River Delta a Wetland of International Importance - Kenya

Tana River Delta via www.ramsar.orgThe Tana River Delta in Kenya, which includes part of Lamu County, has been officially designated as a Wetland of International Importance by the Kenyan government. According to the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on wetlands, the Delta covers 163,600 hectares, is an Important Bird Area in Coast Province, and is the “second most important estuarine and deltaic ecosystem in Eastern Africa.” The delta comprises...

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Applications Open for PLAAS Post-Graduate Diploma

The Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), a leading research institute of the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in Cape Town, South Africa, is now accepting applications for a Postgraduate Diploma in Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies. Applicants must have an undergraduate degree with a 60% average in relevant subjects and at least three years of relevant professional experience, with more professional experience required for...

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New ABS Partnership Announced at COP 11

In light of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS), emerging national ABS frameworks and increasing overall awareness of ABS, a new set of opportunities for communities to benefit from their role as custodians of genetic resources and holders of traditional knowledge (TK) is emerging. To prepare for and respond to these new opportunities and challenges a new partnership was recently established between the ABS Capacity Development...

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REDD+ Day at COP 11

On 16 October 2012, Laureen Manuel of Natural Justice attended REDD+ Day, hosted by the UN-REDD Programme and other partners at the 11th Conference of the Parties (COP 11) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The meeting, which was divided into five sessions, included the launch of the Little Forest Finance Book, drafted by the Global Canopy Programme, and the UN-REDD Policy Brief on Multiple Benefits, the third part of the UN-REDD...

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Namibian Press Conference at COP-11

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World Food Day

Today (October 16) is World Food Day, celebrated every year to mark the founding of the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) in 1945 and to highlight challenges in providing food security. The official theme of this year's World Food Day, announced by FAO, is "Agricultural Cooperatives: Key to Feeding the World." The theme was chosen to highlight the role of cooperatives in improving food security and contributing to the eradication of hunger.In...

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New Publication and Website from UNDP-GEF

The Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP), implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has published a major report on the work done since the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 to support communities and civil society organisations in their efforts to implement environment-cum-development initiatives entitled "20 Years: Community Action for the Global Environment." It has also released a new website, www.biodiversity-products.com,...

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CBD Secretariat Hosts Colloquium on ICCAs and Aichi Targets

Participants of national conference on ICCAs in the Philippines, which took place in March 2012. Photo viaiccaforum.org.According to a notification of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Indigenous peoples’ and local community conserved territories and areas (ICCAs) provide multiple ecological, cultural and biodiversity values, contribute greatly to food and water security and other ecosystem processes,...

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In-Depth Article on Tana River Massacre

After the tragic loss of more than 50 Kenyans on 22 August in Riketa, a village in Kenya's Tana River Delta, numerous commentators identified long-standing conflict between the agricultural Orma community and the pastoralist Pokomo. Paul Goldsmith, a researcher who has worked with Natural Justice in Lamu, has drafted an in-depth article for the East African that challenges some of these assumptions. He notes that "nothing in the literature alludes...

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Workshop on National Federations and Coalitions of ICCAs

Jorge Nahuel (Mapuche Tribe, Argentina) speaking about atri-national coalition of Indigenous peoples. Photo credit: Aurelie Neumann / ICCA Consortium.On 11 October at the 11th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP11), the ICCA Consortium, Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF-SGP), and many local partners co-hosted a 3-hour workshop entitled “National ICCA Federations and Coalitions Ready...

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Two New Biodiversity Resources from UNDP

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has released a significant new publication and an innovative database developed by the Equator Initiative. Both are developed from the lessons learned from a decade of the Equator Prize, which has been awarded to 127 outstanding local and indigenous community efforts to reduce poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity around the world. Natural Justice's...

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New CBD Newsletter - Achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets

The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the CBD Alliance have released a new edition of Square Brackets, the newsletter they publish jointly. This edition’s focus is on Achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, and includes interviews with six heads of agencies of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets Task Force. Natural Justice’s Holly Shrumm served on the editorial board for the publication. The interviews with the heads...

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OPDP Seeking Interns in Kenya

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