DECLARACION DEL FORO INTERNACIONAL DE LOS PUEBLOS INDIGENAS SOBRE CAMBIO CLIMATICO A LA CONFERENCIA DE PARTES COP17

Señor(a) Presidente;

Distinguidos delegados,

Los pueblos indígenas tenemos un principio fundamental que rige nuestra relación especial con la tierra. Nosotros dependemos de la tierra, ella nos da la vida; somos parte de ella y actuamos respetando sus ciclos naturales; todo lo que hacemos o dejamos de hacer con el tiempo nos beneficiara o afectara, y los impactos del cambio climático nos indican que tenemos acciones pendientes y decisiones importantes a favor de la Madre Tierra. Por ello, en nombre del Foro Internacional de Pueblos Indígenas sobre Cambio Climático, nos dirigimos a ustedes para recomendar lo siguiente:

1. Las Partes se comprometan a respetar las normas y estándares internacionales de derechos humanos que establecen obligaciones morales y jurídicas para proteger y promover el pleno goce de los derechos de los pueblos indígenas en todas la cuestiones relacionadas al cambio climático, incluidos los derechos a las tierras, territorios y recursos, sus conocimientos tradicionales y su consentimiento libre, previo e informado, de conformidad con la Declaración de las Naciones Unidas sobre los Derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas (DNUDPI).

2. La Partes garanticen la participación plena y efectiva de los pueblos indígenas en todos los mecanismos, órganos y procedimientos establecidos bajo la CMNUCC, incluyendo la mitigación, adaptación, financiación, MRV (supervisión, informe y verificación), transferencia de tecnología.

3. Las partes garanticen y aseguren el acceso directo e inmediato de los pueblos indígenas a la financiación a través del fondo verde dedicado para abordar las necesidades prioritarias de los pueblos indígenas; consideramos que esta demanda se sustenta en la deuda histórica que tiene el modelo de desarrollo actual con los pueblos indígenas.

4. Como resultado de la COP17, las Partes acuerden un segundo periodo de compromisos del Protocolo de Kioto 2013-2020 que sea vinculante para todos los estados del mundo. Este acuerdo debe incluir medidas que garanticen la participación plena y efectiva de los pueblos indígenas.

5. Finalmente, llamamos a parar la destrucción de la naturaleza, la Madre Tierra para los pueblos indígenas; por tanto, exigimos la paralización de megaproyectos extractivos en territorios indígenas y ecosistemas frágiles que acentúan los impactos del cambio climático. El futuro del planeta está en vuestras manos, sus decisiones deben sanar la Madre Tierra. Venimos a florecer la diversidad y esperamos que las decisiones de Durban florezcan la vida.

Land conflicts, carbon piracy and violations of indigenous peoples’ rights: New report by Amazonian indigenous peoples exposes the reality of REDD+ in Peru and proposes solutions

PRESS INFORMATION - Embargoed for 04:00 GMT 30 November 2011
Land conflicts, carbon piracy and violations of indigenous peoples’ rights: New report by Amazonian indigenous peoples exposes the reality of REDD+ in Peru and proposes solutions
A new report published today by Peruvian indigenous organisations, AIDESEP, FENAMAD and CARE, and international human rights organisation the Forest Peoples Programme (FPP), reveals the impact that REDD projects and programmes are already having on the lives of indigenous peoples. The reality of REDD+ in Peru: Between theory and practice - Indigenous Amazonian Peoples’ analyses and alternatives finds that REDD pilot projects run by some NGOs and companies are already undermining the rights of indigenous peoples, and are leading to carbon piracy and conflicts over land and resources. Persistent advocacy efforts by indigenous peoples’ organisations to secure respect for the fundamental rights of indigenous peoples have resulted in some government commitments to modify national REDD programmes financed by the World Bank. Nevertheless, solid guarantees for respect of these rights are yet to materialise.
Roberto Espinoza Llanos, coordinator of AIDESEP’s Climate Change Programme and one of the lead authors of the report, explains, “The commitments made by the previous government in 2011 were not made lightly, they were assumed by the State and approved in a global meeting of the World Bank’s FCPF [Forest Carbon Partnership Facility]. We hope that the present government and international entities like the World Bank will deliver on their promises to respect land and territorial rights. Continual monitoring will be necessary to make sure they keep their word.”
Carbon piracy
The AIDESEP-FPP report highlights how, without any form of regulation, carbon piracy is already rife in Peru. Project developers are roaming the jungle attempting to convince indigenous peoples and local communities to enter in to REDD deals with promises of millions of dollars in return for signing away their rights to control their land and forest carbon to third parties. Many deals are being conducted using strict confidentiality clauses and with no independent oversight or legal support for vulnerable communities. Some of these peoples are not yet fully literate in Spanish, but are being asked to sign complex commercial contracts in English that are subject to English law. Many communities have already come to regret some early deals made with carbon traders and NGOs, and are now attempting to extricate themselves. One leader from the community of Bélgica in South East Peru explained,
“...We were presented with a trust fund in which the community is obliged to hand over the administration of communal territory and be subject to the decisions of the developer for 30 years….this will not allow us to make decisions about our territory or plan for the future of our children.”
Land grabs
Many other communities have no secure land rights, as an estimated 20 million hectares of indigenous peoples’ customary territories in the Peruvian Amazon still possess no legal recognition (including those of isolated or ‘autonomous’ indigenous peoples). This is in violation of Peru’s international obligation to recognise and secure indigenous peoples’ traditional possession of their forest lands. At the same time, hundreds of formal requests for ‘conservation concessions’ (with the intention of establishing REDD projects) have been submitted to the government by private individuals and environmental NGOs. Many of these 'would be concessions' directly overlie indigenous peoples’ territories still awaiting legal recognition, thereby setting the stage for a state-backed land grab.
Conrad Feather, Project Officer for FPP and the report’s other lead author said, “REDD is not just a policy instrument being negotiated at the UN; unregulated REDD developments are already turning Peru into a centre of international carbon piracy and the site for a potential land grab of indigenous peoples’ territories on a massive scale. Urgent measures are needed to protect the lands and livelihoods of indigenous peoples.”
Indigenous alternatives to REDD+
Indigenous peoples’ organisations, however, are not only ringing alarm bells, they are also proposing alternatives. They are urging the new Peruvian government to re-think the forest and climate plans developed by their predecessors and use REDD funds to secure indigenous peoples’ forest territories and support community-based solutions to tackle climate change.
The report concludes that instead of squandering the money on unproven and unstable carbon markets, more modest and selective funding could be targeted to secure the land and territorial rights of indigenous peoples and support sustainable community forest management. These community and rights-based approaches are cost-effective and proven to protect forests. Community-based alternatives will not only reduce emissions from deforestation and keep forests standing but will also lead to poverty reduction, increased livelihood security and biodiversity conservation. In the words of Alberto Pizango Chota, President of AIDESEP, “Only in this way can REDD truly become an opportunity for indigenous peoples instead of a threat.”
The reality of REDD+ in Peru: Between Theory and Practice: Indigenous Amazonian Peoples’ analyses and alternatives is available for free download at: http://www.forestpeoples.org/the-reality-of-redd-plus-in-peru-indigenous-amazonian-peoples-analyses-and-alternatives

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PRESS BRIEFING AT COP17, DURBAN: 30 NOVEMBER, 1.30-2.00pm: Room Kosi Palm (ICC MR 21 ABCG) – International Convention Center, Durban
Contacts at UNFCCC COP17 in Durban: Roberto Espinoza Llanos (AIDESEP), Email: ayamtai08(a)gmail.com, Jorge Payaba Cachique (FENAMAD), Email: jcaibopayaba(a)yahoo.es, Conrad Feather (FPP), Tel:  +44 7792979817, Email: conrad(a)forestpeoples.org

Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) and Rainforest Foundation Norway (RFN) Side Event: Safeguards in REDD and the Green Climate Fund - 9 December 2011, 13.15 - 14.45, Room 2, Durban Exhibition Centre (DEC).
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AIDESEP (Interethnic association for the development of the Peruvian Amazon) is a national confederation of indigenous Amazonian peoples in Peru, representing over 1400 communities. http://www.aidesep.org.pe
FENAMAD (Federation of the Native Peoples of the river Madre de Dios and its tributaries) is the umbrella indigenous federation of the Madre de Dios region, Peru. http://fenamad.org.pe/noticias/
CARE - (Asháninka Centre of the river Ene) is a local indigenous federation representing Asháninka communities on the Ene river in the central jungle region of Peru. http://ashanincare.org/
Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) is an international non-governmental human rights organisation working to support the rights of peoples who live in forests and depend on them for their livelihoods. http://www.forestpeoples.org For FPP climate and forests briefings: http://www.forestpeoples.org/topics/climate-forests
Forest Peoples Programme


http://www.forestpeoples.org

Declaration of Indigenous Peoples of Abya Yala at the COP 17

We, the indigenous peoples of Abya Yala, reunited within the framework of the Conference of Parties (COP17) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change facing the lack of political will of states, mainly of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases and inspired by the harmony with Mother Earth, demand:

General framework:
• Recognize and respect the self determination of indigenous peoples, particularly our rights to territories and natural resources in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

• To ensure and guarantee the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples at all levels, respecting the processes based on consultation and free, prior and informed consent in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

• Recognize, respect and strengthen the fundamental contribution of knowledge, innovations and traditional practices of indigenous peoples.

• Restructure the conceptions of the so called "development" based on the accumulation of wealth that emphasize the unlimited exploitation of natural assets.

Shared Vision:
• We urge developed countries to achieve a framework of binding commitments with concrete targets for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) to follow up the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012.

We propose an emissions reduction of at least 45% below 1990 levels by 2020 and at 2050 least 95%.

• Phase-out of fossil fuel development and a moratorium on extractive projects, in, or close to, our land and territories, respecting the rights to “Buen Vivir” of indigenous peoples.

• Shared vision for cooperative action in the long run should not be reduced to define the limit in the increase of temperature and concentration of GHG in the atmosphere, on the contrary it should include a comprehensive and balanced set of financial measures, technology, adaptation, capacity building, patterns of production, consumption and other essentials issues such as recognition of the rights of Mother Earth to restore harmony with nature.

Technology transfer:
• Knowledge is universal and can under no circumstances be owned and for private use, nor its application in the form of technologies. Developed countries should share their technology with developing countries.

• The transfer and installation of technologies must be immediate, timely and free of charge, in harmony with Mother Earth and without conditions, including technology that is patented and undisclosed information.

• The system of intellectual property rights should be modified to ensure access to clean technologies for mitigation and adaptation, especially those developed partly with public funds, considering the 45 recommendations adopted in the framework of the Development Agenda of the General Assembly of the World Intellectual Property Organization. It must include prior and informed consent and equitable benefit sharing.

• Establish guidelines for creating a multilateral, multidisciplinary approach to participatory control, management and ongoing evaluation of the exchange of technologies. These technologies should be useful, clean and socially appropriate.

• Establish a fund for financing and appropriate technology inventory and freed from intellectual property rights, including patent monopolies should move from private to public domain, freely accessible and low cost.

• Any assessment, recovery and development of mitigation and adaptation must reflect the knowledge and indigenous technologies, subject to their free, prior and informed, consent .

Adaptation and mitigation:
Ensure the respect, protection and promotion of traditional knowledge and sustainable livelihoods of indigenous peoples. Include environmental and social safeguards of indigenous peoples, including cultural and spiritual aspects.

• Policies and public funds that prioritize comprehensive territorial recognition of indigenous peoples. Recognize and promote the own systems of indigenous peoples in the use, management and conservation of natural assets.

• System of monitoring, reporting and verification should not only measure changes in forest cover but incorporate social variables, in particular regarding the implementation of indigenous rights.

• Any assessment, recovery and development of mitigation and adaptation action must reflect the knowledge and technology of indigenous peoples, and be subject to their prior, free and informed consent, as well as ensure participation of indigenous experts.

• We demand that the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues recommend to the UN Office of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples) to produce a report on the impacts of climate change in the Indigenous Peoples.

• States should ensure that indigenous peoples have the right to mobility and are not forced to relocation from their traditional lands and territories, and that the rights of peoples in voluntary isolation are respected.

• In the case of climate change migrants, programs and appropriate measures should be commensurate with their rights, status, conditions and vulnerabilities.

Funding:
• All funding mechanisms for mitigation and adaptation to climate change should be established under the UN Framework Convention for Climate Change and direct resources should be provided to indigenous peoples.

• Establish participatory mechanisms to ensure transparency and accountability in all procedures and funding operations. The funds must come from public sources and be additional to development aid funds.

• Establish a special fund to enable indigenous and local communities develop their own activities and contributions to remedy climate change.

• Developed countries must commit new annual funding of at least 6% of its gross domestic product to address climate change in developing countries.

• Funding should be direct, unconditional and non-infringement of national sovereignty or self-determination of communities and the most affected groups.

• International financial institutions like the World Bank should be exempt from the administration of the funds created and established. They fund projects that contribute to global warming and more so now that the World Bank aims to eliminate safeguards for indigenous peoples through the "Program for Results" – P4R .

• The developed countries, that are the major reason of climate change, should assume their historical and current responsibility, must recognize and honor their climate debt in all its dimensions as a basis for a just, effective and scientific climate change.

• In the context of climate debt, we urge developed countries to restore developing countries the atmospheric space that is occupied by their GHG emissions.

Carbon markets and related mechanisms:
• We challenge States to abandon the false solutions to climate change that negatively impact on our rights, land, air, oceans, forests, lands and waters as indigenous peoples. These false solutions include nuclear energy, hydroelectric dams, massive geo-engineering techniques, "clean coal," agrofuels plantations, carbon market mechanisms, and the Clean Development Mechanisms.

• The solutions proposed by governments and international NGOs to address the effects of climate change based on market logic, both referring to the clean development mechanism as the proposed REDD +, are new forms of geopolitical economic that threaten indigenous peoples rights guaranteed in multiple international instruments and the livelihoods of our people.

• A structural reorganization of REDD + to ensure the rights of indigenous peoples and customary governance of forests. Identification of and curb the "carbon cowboys" and as the piracy of carbon is the result of the inconsistencies of REDD +, it must be restructured deeply, prioritizing public mechanisms and transparent funding, not subordinated to the evils of the financial bubble of the private market carbon credits; priority to consolidation of the territorial rights of indigenous peoples and their life plans without reducing the bias of "additionality of carbon."
Durban, South Africa, November 30, 2011.
Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Yala Abya