Second Pilot Study on Enhancing Community Dialogue with UEBT

On 26 July, a second pilot testing the use of certain elements of the biocultural community protocol (BCP) process in the context of Ethical BioTrade was implemented in Nazarezinho do Meruú, a community of about 200 families a few hours away by car and boat from Belém, Pará. Within the community, the “Associação de Produtores Rurais de Nazarezinho do Meruú” (Rural Producers’ Association of Nazarezinho do Meruú) represents 60 members/families, 30 of which participate in the process of selling Açaí (Euterpea olarecea) to Beraca, a Brazilian member of the Union for Ethical Biotrade (UEBT).

In comparison with the earlier pilot of Peru, this pilot only included a preliminary dialogue between Beraca and the community, which already proved useful to both in relation to managing expectations. Both parties also provided each other with further background about themselves and how they were organized. After a day of discussions, the need for improved internal organisation was again and again highlighted within the community, above all to bridge the difficult six-month period each year in between the Açaí harvest. It was agreed that the discussion between the two would continue, facilitated by the local NGO Bolsa Amazônia, which would then elaborate to what extent a more BCP-type process would be appropriate and of interest to the community.

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First BCP in the Context of Ethical BioTrade

During the course of the last week, Johanna von Braun (Natural Justice) participated in the first of three pilot studies as part of a joint GIZ-funded project between the Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT) and Natural Justice. The aim of the project is to test the concepts and methodologies of biocultural community protocols (BCPs) as a tool to enhance engagement of local actors in Ethical BioTrade supply chains.

The pilot took place in Puerto Maldonado, a small town in the southern Peruvian Amazon. It focused on the relationship between Candela, a founding UEBT member, and the Asociación Forestal Indígena de Madrede Dios (AFIMAD), an association formed by seven local Indigenous communities, to promote their forest-based productive activities.  The current commercial relationship between the communities/AFIMAD and Candela is based on the harvesting of the brazil nut (tree pictured at left); both parties are keen to expand their relationship to other products.

The development of the BCP by AFIMAD and the seven communities took place over several meetings and was supported by a local facilitator. It eventually included a broad number of issues that the communities wanted to tackle, ranging from illegal mining to the invasion of outsiders into their lands. Similar to other BCPs, it also included a section in which the communities explained who they are, how they are organized, what their values are in relation to their local ecosystem and resources, and their overall endogenous development objectives. Furthermore, a particular section of the BCP focused on how they want to relate to third parties in a commercial relationship, and what they see as their own commitments towards such relationships.

Because the aim of the BCP was to affirm the communities’ relationship to Candela, an additional component of the BCP process was a facilitated dialogue between the communities and the company. This entailed parties introducing themselves to each other based on their values, governance, communication, and decision-making structures. In the case of Candela, the values presented to the communities were the EthicalBioTrade principles, which highlighted that their anticipated relationship was more than a commercial relationship but a partnership towards economic, social, and environmental sustainability. In turn, the communities presented themselves to Candela based on the core elements identified in their BCP, namely those that related to the communities’ values, governance, and expectations from companies and their own commitments.

During this dialogue, in-depth discussion took place with respect to the concept of Ethical BioTrade and the different elements in the seven BioTrade principles. Both parties discussed internally and then with each other how they could contribute towards establishing a good working relationship based on the Ethical BioTrade principles through both general and specific commitments towards each other.  The final part of the dialogue was the identification and 'Agreement of Principles' such as transparency, dialogue, trust, good faith, and a commitment towards further discussion of what to do if these commitments are not met (i.e. conflict resolution) and what constitutes a ‘fair price’.  In the end, both parties walked away from the dialogue with a draft Agreement of Principles and Commitments. The communities had also drafted a BCP in the process, which they aim to develop further in the near future.

After an evaluation session, both AFIMAD and Candela were pleased with the outcome of the process. AFIMAD further valued having developed a BCP that could be applicable more generally. From the Candela and UEBT perspective, it was an interesting opportunity to explore methodologies that, based on the BCP approach, can be used to promote a stronger engagement with communities from which they obtain their natural resources.

Two further pilot studies in Brazil and Madagascar are planned this year in the context of Ethical BioTrade, after which the lessons learnt will be discussed in a review meeting in Cape Town in early 2012.

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First BCP Piloted in BioTrade Context

During the course of the last week, Johanna von Braun (Natural Justice) participated in the first of three pilot studies as part of a joint GIZ-funded project between the Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT) and Natural Justice. The aim of the project is to test the concepts and methodologies of biocultural community protocols (BCPs) as a tool to enhance engagement of local actors in ethical biotrade supply chains.

The pilot was implemented in Puerto Maldonado, a small town in the southern Peruvian Amazon, and focused on the relationship between Candela, a founding UEBT member, and the Asociación Forestal Indígena de Madrede Dios (AFIMAD), an association formed by seven local indigenous communities to promote their forest-based productive activities.  The current commercial relationship between the communities/AFIMAD and Candela is based on the harvesting of brazil nut, whereas both parties are keen to expand their relationship to other products.

The development of the BCP by AFIMAD and the seven communities took place over several meetings and was supported by a local facilitator. It eventually included a broad number of issues the communities wanted to tackle with the protocol, ranging from illegal mining to the invasion of outsiders into their lands. It also included, similar to other BCPs, a section in which the communities explained who they are, how they are organized, what their values are in relation to their local ecosystem and resources, and their overall endogenous development objectives. Furthermore, due to the nature of the case study, a particular section of the BCP focused on how they want to relate to third parties in a commercial relationship, and what they see as their own commitments towards such relationships.

Because the aim of the BCP was to affirm the communities’ relationship to Candela, a second step was added to the usual BCP process, namely, a facilitated dialogue between the communities and the company.  This step entailed parties introducing themselves to each other based on their values, governance, communication and decision making structures.  In the case of Candela, the values presented to the communities were the Ethical BioTrade principles – highlighting that their anticipated relationship was more than a commercial relationship but a partnership towards economic, social and environmental sustainability.  The communities in turn presented themselves to Candela based on the core elements identified in the previously developed BCP, namely those that related to the communities’ values, governance and expectations from companies and their own commitments.

During this dialogue in-depth discussion took place with respect to the concept of Ethical BioTrade and the different elements in the seven BioTrade principles. Both parties discussed internally, and then with each other, how they could contribute towards establishing a good working relationship based on the Ethical BioTrade principles through both general and specific commitments towards each other.  The final part of the dialogue was the identification and 'Agreement of Principles' such as transparency, dialogue, trust, and good faith, as well as a commitment towards further discussion of what to do if these commitments are not met (conflict resolution) and what constitutes a ‘fair price’.  In the end, both parties left the dialogue with a draft Agreement of Principles and Commitments. In addition, the communities also began to draft a BCP in the process, which they aim to develop further in the near future.

After an evaluation session, both AFIMAD and Candela were pleased with the outcome of the process. AFIMAD further valued having developed a BCP that could be applicable more generally. From the Candela and UEBT perspective, it was an interesting opportunity to explore methodologies that, based on the BCP approach, can be used to promote a stronger engagement with communities from which they obtain their natural resources.

Two further pilot studies in Brazil and Madagascar are planned this year in the context of Ethical BioTrade, after which the lessons learnt will be discussed in a review meeting in Cape Town in early 2012.

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BCPs, Livestock Keepers and Animal Genetic Resources

On 20 July, at the 13th Session of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA13), the  LIFE Network and the League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development co-hosted a side event on  biocultural community protocols, traditional livestock keepers, and animal genetic resources.

Paul Boettcher (FAO) introduced the linkages between the Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources, the Nagoya Protocol, and the Convention on Biological Diversity, noting that a common element is recognition of the traditional knowledge and cultural expressions of livestock keepers. He also acknowledged that animal genetic resources are the direct result of generations of livestock keepers' livelihoods and that biocultural community protocols provide an opportunity to raise the profile and awareness of livestock keepers at all levels.

Abdul Raziq Kakar (Society of Animal, Veterinary and Environmental Scientists) described the biocultural community protocol that the Pashtoon of Balochistan (Pakistan) have developed as "the mirror of the community"; it includes information about their history and culture, genetic assets, customary law and management systems, habitat, and future and hopes. The process of developing the protocol included community consultations, door-to-door visits, meetings with elders, soliciting of experts' views and inputs, and further community meetings. He noted that the protocol has helped identify two indigenous breeds that had never been recognized by the government and helped unify the community under "one voice" to advocate the government for change.

Jacob Wanyama (Africa LIFE Network) noted that despite growing international interest in the conservation of animal genetic resources, there is little recognition of the role of livestock keepers as custodians of indigenous livestock breeds at the national and local levels. He lamented the dilution and potential extinction of indigenous breeds in Kenya, particularly the Red Maasai sheep, due to environmental and socio-economic factors such as increasingly irregular droughts and the introduction of exotic breeds. The biocultural community protocol that the Samburu of northern Kenya developed has contributed to increased local awareness of issues affecting livestock keepers and their breeds; consideration of plans for continuing their role as custodians; and clarifying terms and conditions for engaging with outsiders such as policy-makers and researchers.

Hanwant Singh Rathore (Lokhit Pashu Palak Sansthan) provided an overview of the local context of the Raika in Rajasthan, India, including their dependence on access to common property resources for grazing and the as yet lack of implementation of the Forest Rights Act 2006 for livestock keepers. He aso illustrated the many opportunities for developing natural products of indigenous camel breeds in Rajasthan into marketable items such as dung paper, wool shawls, ice cream, and soap, highlighting the importance of such incentives for retaining interest amongst the community members in livestock keeping amidst pressures to migrate to urban areas.

Ilse Köhler-Rollefson (League for Pastoral Peoples) explained that biocultural community protocols can help establish community ownership over traditional breeds and associated grazing areas, as well as clarify to policy makers and researchers the direct linkages between animal genetic resources and local socio-cultural contexts. She noted that any access and benefit sharing agreements should focus on in situ conservation and sustainable use and contribute to communities' endogenous development. She emphasized that adapted livestock breeds are "ecological treasures" whose economic value will become more apparent in the future, and that communities who are actively conserving them should be supported to continue to do so in situ.

Questions from the audience stimulated discussion around issues such as culturally sensitive participation in the development of biocultural community protocols; opportunities for legal recognition of protocols; conditions within which local production systems can be sustained, including capacity building; and wider issues of land and access rights as the foundation for sustaining the breeds.

Daily summaries and online coverage of the CGRFA13 negotiations is provided by the International Institute for Sustainable Development Reporting Services (IISD-RS).

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Agrobiodiversity, Climate Change, and Food Security

On 19 July, at the 13th Session of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA13), the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and the Eart System Science Partnership (ESSP) co-hosted a side event on agrobiodiversity, climate change, and food security.

Andy Jarvis (International Centre for Tropical Agriculture)  provided an overview of a partnership between CGIAR and ESSP, which aims to combine climate and agricultural sciences towards improved environmental health, rural livelihoods, and food security. Emile Frison (Bioversity International) emphasized that both species and genetic agrobiodiversity will play an increasingly key role in adaptation to and mitigation of progressive climate change. Frison also noted that states will require increased interdependence in order to ensure access to genetic resources that they will need for food security.

Ahmed Amri (International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas) illustrated a methodology for using ex situ collections to select climate change-related adaptive traits, which can then be used to rehabilitate degraded areas. He also called for greater emphasis on allowing people in dryland areas to demonstrate their existing adaptive capacity and experiences with adaptation. Ahsan Dulloo (Bioversity International) described the "seeds for needs" concept and on-farm participatory climate change adaptation initiatives with local farmers in Ethiopia, India, and Papua New Guinea.

Daily summaries and online coverage of the CGRFA13 negotiations is provided by the International Institute for Sustainable Development Reporting Services (IISD-RS).

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ICCAs and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

On 15 July, the final day of the 4th Session of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), Natural Justice and the ICCA Consortium co-hosted a side event entitled, "Community Governance and Stewardship of Traditional Territories and Biocultural Diversity".

Grazia Borrini-Feyerabend introduced and provided many examples of Indigenous peoples' conserved territories and community conserved areas (commonly known as ICCAs), illustrating their diversity of forms, motivations, values, locations, and impacts. She highlighted their worldwide significance as locally specific "meeting points" of conservation and sustainable livelihoods, rooted in biological and cultural diversity and adaptive decision-making and management systems. Acknowledging the wide range of threats and challenges, she also noted the growing recognition of ICCAs in international policy, particularly in the Convention on Biological Diversity's Programme of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA) and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

Eleanor Goroh (Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia) spoke about government recognition of the customary fishing system (tagal) in Sabah, Malaysia. Tagal is still being used by some communities in Sabah and has been revitalized in others, with the aims of environmental sustainability and economic self-sufficiency. Such Indigenous natural resource management systems are closely linked with other social, cultural, economic, health, and knowledge systems; they are rooted in and transmitted through generations of learned experience and adat (customary law). Partly in response to declining use since the 1960s (due to logging, uncontrolled fishing practices, and overall exploitation of riverine ecosystems), the Sabah Fisheries Department has recently institutionalized and promoted the tagal system, in accordance with Sections 35-37 of the Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture Enactment 2003. Although this legal recognition is an important turning point for the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge in conservation efforts in Sabah, it also requires the creation of new committees, standardized rules, and compliance mechanisms that do not accord with the traditional systems. Goroh noted that Fisheries Department should respect and recognize the localized customary governance and legal systems that tagal was built upon rather than replacing them with state-determined and standardized arrangements. She also called for such recognition of customary resource governance and management systems amongst the other state departments and enactments, particularly protected areas.

Diel Mochire (Programme d’Intégration et de Développement du Peuple Pygmée au Kivu/Shirika la Bambuti) presented on Indigenous peoples and forest conservation initiatives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mochire's organization works to support the human rights and socio-economic and cultural development of the Indigenous Pygmies, as well as the protection of the forests, natural resources, and endangered species in their traditional territories. He noted that while different members of the community may have different approaches or motivations for conserving their territory, they are all working towards the same shared vision, namely, political, cultural, and economic autonomy. However, they also face many challenges, including conflicts between customary law and state law, displacement for the creation of strictly protected national parks, lack of respect for the right to free, prior and informed consent prior to activities taking place on their lands, and effects of climate change and land use change (which are in turn driven by industrial logging and agriculture). He called for reinforcement of participatory and community-driven decision-making for conservation initiatives, recognition of customary forest management systems, culturally appropriate education, and greater awareness-raising and capacity-building around the impacts of climate change and potential for REDD schemes.

Vita de Waal (Foundation for Gaia and IUCN-CSVPA) spoke about sacred sites and their role in conserving areas and landscapes. Sacred sites are found in a wide range of places, including pilgrimage routes, particular trees, rocks and stones, sources of water, forests, valleys, mountains, and even entire cities. Some are well-known, and others are secret or hidden, only known locally. She emphasized that sacred sites are some of the most important sites of all of humanity and they often are protected and conserved through sophisticated customary governance and management systems.

Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice) closed the panel by reiterating the centrality of self-determination, self-governance, and customary law, as well as the place-specific inter-linkages between biological, cultural, and linguistic diversity, to the localized conservation of territories and areas. There is a diverse bundle of individual and collective rights under both international environmental and human rights frameworks that could support ICCAs in practice, but many obstacles remain and significant human rights violations continue. It was suggested that one way to realize both environmental and human rights frameworks is to conceptualize, implement, and build movements around them together. Four key sets of rights that are fundamental to community governance of territories and biocultural diversity include: rights to self-determination and autonomy; rights to ownership, control, management, and use of land and natural resources; rights to culture, including cultural integrity and participation in cultural life; and rights to self-governance and participation in decision-making. Suggested next steps include developing guidelines for appropriate recognition of and support for ICCAs; advocating for appropriate legal recognition of Indigenous peoples' fundamental rights (as above) in different international and domestic fora; utilization of existing reporting and grievance mechanisms; and mobilizing local movements and public awareness campaigns to garner broad support. (For more information, see Stevens, Stan (2010). "Implementing UNDRIP and International Human Rights Law through Recognition of ICCAs." IUCN-CEESP Policy matters 17: 181-194.)

Discussion included the centrality of these issues to the fundamental rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities around the world; the need for economic and legal systems to be rooted in principles of the natural world and ecosystems; the need to seek and act upon synergies between the different international frameworks; supporting capacity-building initiatives at all levels (including information and resources); the challenges of structural barriers such as illiteracy and power imbalances; opportunities for expanding the mandate and influence of people such as the Special Rapporteur; the power of demonstrating community capacity to conserve as a strategy for government recognition and support; and challenges with realizing the right to free, prior and informed consent (particularly when instigated by powerful corporations and governments).

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FPIC and Transnational Corporations

Zurich-based NGO Incomindios hosted a lunch-time event on 14 July entitled "Free, Prior and Informed Consent: Difficulties and Successes with Transnational Corporations". Held in conjunction with the 4th Session of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), the event explored the concept and practice of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) in the context of transnational corporations operating on Indigenous peoples' territories.

Lene Wendland (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights) discussed the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which were unanimously endorsed by the Human Rights Council on 16 June. The result of a 6-year consultative process, the guidelines focus on three pillars: the duty of states to protect against human rights violations; corporate responsibility to respect all human rights; and access to effective remedy. Alberto Saldamando (International Indian Treaty Council) highlighted the difficulties of upholding human rights through state mechanisms alone and called for direct examination of the behaviour of corporations themselves and upholding of high ethical standards, regardless of whether or not the state within which it operates requires such standards. He also recalled the definition of sustainable development as providing for the current generation without comprising the needs of future generations.

Vidulfo Rosales (Tlanchinollan) shared his experiences with community displacement in Mexico due to a power plant constructed by the government, and with mobilizing communities around the right to FPIC to stop the planned extraction of a Canadian mining company on their territories. He noted that even when the rights to consultation and consent are in law and policy, they are not upheld in practice if there is no political will; acknowledging that political will instead backs resource extraction, he emphasized the need for communities to know their rights and mobilize themselves ahead of any activities taking place.

Melik Ozden (CETIM Human Rights Program) highlighted the common elements of ILO 169, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: people have the right to choose their own development, to participate in decision-making, and to make decisions about their own resources and lands. He noted that conflicts between Indigenous peoples and corporations and/or states usually emerge because of lack of recognition of these fundamental human rights. Lamented the voluntary nature of international guidelines, he urged that even with "the best laws in the world, we still need to mobilize to ensure proper implementation". Following the presentations, discussion primarily centred around struggles to implement existing laws, policies, and frameworks, and encouraging strategies such as being locally organized, garnering the widest possible support through national, regional, and international fora, and engaging in public awareness campaigns.

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