Miskitu BCP Launched in Honduras

Moskitia Asla Takanka (MASTA), a Miskitu community-based organisation, has developed and launched a Biocultural Community Protocol (BCP) with technical assistance from Natural Justice and the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Regional Office for Mesoamerica. The BCP seeks to assert the right to and guide the process of obtaining free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) for projects in La Moskitia.

The Miskitu community, with a population of around 70 000, live in the tropical rainforest ecosystems of La Moskitia in eastern Honduras. They are facing a series of challenges in their traditional territory, ranging from the destruction of primary forests through agricultural expansion, illegal trade of flora, fauna and drugs, as well as the commercial exploitation of their sub-soil resources. 

To face these and other threats to their natural and cultural environment, MASTA has focused their protocol on defining a mechanism for free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), a vital procedural right that has often been ignored by government and non-governmental development projects. The process of developing the BCP was guided by MASTA, together with representatives from 12 territorial councils and their respective community councils. With this protocol, MASTA is seeking to guarantee that future consultation and consent-seeking processes respect the Miskitu’s own institutions and decision-making procedures. 

To publicise the protocol and its implications to key stakeholders and other communities and organisations advancing Indigenous peoples’ rights, the protocol was presented to the public at an event in Tegucigalpa, Honduras in early November 2012. Further events are planned within the communities of La Moskitia for early 2013. 

The Biocultural Community Protocol of the Miskitu can be downloaded here. An article about the protocol published in the Honduran newspaper La Tribuna can be accessed here.

Oceania Biodiscovery Forum & ABS Capacity Development Workshop in Brisbane

From 19-22 November, 2012, the first ever Oceania Biodiscovery Forum took place in Brisbane, Australia. The meeting was jointly facilitated by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the Eskitis Institute of Griffith University, the Australian Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (SEWPaC) and the ABS Capacity Development Initiative. This meeting was followed by an Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS)  capacity development workshop for ABS Focal Points and other relevant stakeholders in the Pacific region from 22-23 November.

The Biodiscovery Forum provided a platform for exchange on the nature of bioprospecting activities by Australian research institutes, both public and private. A number of researchers shared the nature of their work, ranging from small-scale commercial bioprospecting activities to large-scale gene banks of marine genetic resources. These activities were then discussed against the backdrop of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing to the Convention on Biological Diversity and Australia’s draft policy as a user of genetic resources as well as the existing permit system as a provider of genetic resources. A number of national and regional benefit sharing examples with local communities were shared with participants. 

Both the European Commission and Switzerland shared their current status in implementing the Nagoya Protocol as users of genetic resources, and the extent to which genetic resources would be protected once they left their country of origin. This led to substantial debate as some participants were not satisfied with the current interpretation of both Switzerland and the European Commission in relation to the temporal scope of the Nagoya Protocol as well as their definition of what constitutes ‘access’. In their view the current wording would result in too many resources currently in gene banks being excluded from the Protocol’s protection and subsequently undermine the very purpose of the Protocol.

Finally, the Biodiscovery Forum ended with a visit to the Eskitis Institute, which houses a wealth of terrestrial and marine compounds to support the Institute's search for novel drug- and cell-based therapies against cancer, infectious diseases and neurological diseases. 

The ABS Capacity Development Workshop, the third of a series of three regional workshops in 2012, targeted ABS Focal Points and other relevant stakeholders from the Pacific region. Representatives from the Cook Islands, Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Niue, Kiribati, the Federation of States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Samao, Palau, Nauru, Tonga, Vanuatu as well as the overseas territories of American Samoa and New Caledonia participated . Also invited were representatives from South Africa and Jamaica to facilitate further South-South exchanges. 

At the request of participants from previous workshops, this training focused on Prior Informed Consent and Mutually Agreed Terms as the two key elements of implementing ABS. Johanna von Braun from Natural Justice served as one of the key resource people in the workshop together with Daniel Robinson (University of New South Wales), Morten Tvedt (Fridtjof Nansen Institute), Geoff Burton (United Nations University), Ben Phillips (SEWPaC), Clark Peteru (SPREP) as well as Andreas Drews and Susanne Heitmueller from the ABS Capacity Building Initiative. Further presentations included a presentation of Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs) as relevant community governance structures for ABS by Alifereti Tawake and a presentation on relevant funding opportunities by the GEF Small Grants Programme.

Palm Oil Producer Violations Exposed

A series of major Asian palm oil companies that are members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) have been exposed for violations of RSPO guidelines. As a recent press release from the Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) demonstrates in documenting several of these cases, these violations raise the question of whether the RSPO is actually able to enforce its own standards. 

It was recently established by Green Advocates, representing the Kru tribes in Liberia, that a subsidiary of Indonesia’s largest palm oil producer, Sina Mas, had clearly violated the RSPO’s New Planting Procedure by not advertising plans to clear and plant oil palms and not publicising a High Conservation Value Assessment. According to RSPO standards, the company should cease clearance until due process is followed, especially as community members have expressed concern that their land is being taken without their free, prior and informed consent. 

The FPP press release documents further violations of RSPO guidelines in Liberia, Cameroon, Malaysia, and Indonesia, many uncovered through a partnership between FPP, Sawit Watch and other partners to review the practices of 15 major palm oil companies in West Africa and Southeast Asia. It concludes by noting Sawit Watch’s concern that the RSPO must significantly improve its system as its credibility is clearly at stake. 

Find the full press release here. Download FPP and Sawit Watch’s review of 15 RSPO members practices here.

Importante Nueva Publicación sobre Protocolos Comunitarios, Derechos y CLPI

El volumen 65 de Aprendizaje y Acción Participativos, (PLA), publicados por el International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), acaba de ser publicado. Intitulado “Biodiversidad y cultura: exploración de protocolos comunitarios, derechos y consentimiento”, la edición especial ha sido editada por Krystyna Swiderska (IIED), Kanchi Johli (Kalpavriksh), Harry Jonas y Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice), Wim Hiemstra (Red COMPAS para el Desarollo Endógeno) y Maria Julia Oliva (Unión para el BioComercio Ético). 

Esta edición especial de Aprendizaje y Acción Participativos explora dos importantes herramientas participativas que los pueblos indígenas y las comunidades locales pueden utilizar para ayudar a defender sus derechos consuetudinarios al patrimonio biocultural: i) Protocolos comunitarios - o estatutos de las reglas y responsabilidades - en el que las comunidades estabelecen sus derechos consuetudinarios sobre los recursos naturales y la tierra, como reconocido en el derecho consuetudinario, nacional e internacional; y ii) Procesos de Consentimiento Libre, Previo e Informado (CLPI), en los cuales las comunidades deciden si permiten o no que los proyectos que afecten sus tierras o los recursos sigan adelante, y en qué términos.

Esta edición revisa las experiencias de comunidades en Asia, América Latina y África, en el desarrollo y uso de estas herramientas en una variedad de contextos. También examina experiencias gubernamentales en el establecimiento de procesos institucionales para CLPI y participación en los beneficios. Identifica lecciones prácticas y orientación con base en estas experiencias y apunta a fortalecer la capacidad de una serie de actores para sustentar en la la práctica estas herramientas basadas en derechos. Esta edición especial apunta a proporcionar orientación para aquellos que implementen el Protocolo de Nagoya y otros profesionales de los recursos naturales y del desarrollo, y a concientizar sobre la importancia de los procesos participativos diseñados y controlados por la comunidad.

Natural Justice y sus socios han contribuido en 8 de los 17 artículos. Cinco centrados en los procesos de protocolos comunitarios bioculturales entre profesionales tradicionales de salud en Bushbuckridge, Sudáfrica; criadores de ganado en Asia del Sur; custodios de bosque sagrado en la región Alto Oeste, Ghana; mineros artesanales en Alto San Juan, Colombia; y comunidades indígenas en Ulu Papar, Sabah (Malasia). Tres de los artículos exploraron metodologías y enfoques participativos para facilitar los procesos de protocolos comunitarios bioculturales, incluso en el contexto del biocomercio en Perú y en los procesos con múltiples partes interesadas en Ghana y Kenia.

La publicación completa se puede descargar de forma gratuita aquí o copias impresas están disponibles bajo petición.

Gujjar Community Consultation in Sariska Tiger Reserve

Natural Justice’s Arpitha Kodiveri and Sankar Pani attended a two-day workshop organised by Krishi Avam Paristhitiki Vikas Sansthan (KRAPAVIS) in Alwar, Rajasthan from 9-10 September, 2012. The workshop sought to understand the challenges faced by the Gujjar community after the declaration of the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan. Arpitha and Sankar presented on the concept of Biocultural Community Protocols and how a protocol might be relevant in the Sariska context. They were also involved in the consultation of community leaders from the 11 effected villages located in the core area, seeking to understand the grounds and process for the proposed relocation to surrounding areas and developing strategies for securing rights under the Forest Rights Act, 2006.

Kachchh Community Workshop on Forest Rights Act

Natural Justice’s Arpitha Kodiveri and Sankar Pani attended a two day consultation on ‘Community Forest Rights under Forest Rights Act: Challenges and Opportunities for Biodiversity Conservation in Kachchh District.’ The workshop was organised by  Sahjeevan, a Kachchh-based NGO, from 6-7 September, 2012. The consultation took place between members of pastoralist communities from the Banni and representatives from organisations working on the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA). As most communities are being denied various rights in forest areas, the workshop focused on the applicability and implementation of the FRA in Kachchh district with an emphasis on issues faced by pastoralist communities and on communities dependent on fishing and salt cultivation. The issues noted were the lack of implementation of the FRA provisions around grazing rights as well as evictions for industrial activities and the declaration of special economic zones. 

The primary recommendations from the consultation were: 

• To ensure implementation of the FRA through a widespread awareness campaign and the facilitation of claims by the district administration in collaboration with civil society organisations; 

• The withdrawal of clearances granted for the diversion of forest land not in compliance with the FRA; 

• Traditional rights in the protected areas should be strengthened and should be recognised under the FRA.

Major Court Victory over Belo Monte Dam

Photo credit: Cristina Mittermeier/
International League of Conservation Photographers

In a major victory for indigenous peoples’ rights, Brazil’s Regional Federal Tribunal has held that construction must be suspended immediately on the massive Belo Monte dam until indigenous communities have been consulted. The Tribunal’s judgment cited UN International Labour Organisation’s Convention Number 169 and the Brazilian Constitution in the ruling. The dam, if constructed, will displace 16,000 people by government estimates but may displace thousands more. The decision will be appealed. 

Judge Souza Prudente, who authored the ruling, said "A study on the environmental impact of the project was required before, not after, work on the dam started. The legislation is flawed…The Brazilian Congress must take into account the decisions taken by the indigenous communities. Legislators can only give the go-ahead if the indigenous communities agree with the project." 

Read more about the ruling through the BBC here, National Geographic here, and the Guardian here. For more information in Portuguese, read here.

New film: "Palawan: Our struggle for nature and culture"

Ancestral Land/Domain Watch (ALDAW), a local network of indigenous people struggling for the protection of their ancestral lands against large-scale corporations in the Philippines, has produced a short film entitled "Palawan: Our struggle for nature and culture". The synopsis is as follows:

The struggle to save Palawan (known as the Philippines’ Last Frontier) is not only about saving trees and rare species. It is also about nourishing the Filipino cultural heritage, so powerfully represented by those indigenous communities that - after escaping Spanish and American colonization and while resisting the new ‘mining imperialism’ now - continue to represent the 'living roots' from which all Filipinos originate. According to the filmmakers, environmental plundering by mining companies is not only a crime against nature but it is also a crime against culture, a sort of genocide that annihilates the most profound roots of the Filipino's history and ultimately plunders the cultural heritage of the whole nation. In this film, Kawali, the mythical ancestor depicted by Batak narrators, emphasises humility and trust towards the supernatural beings in charge of animals and plants. On the contrary, the attitude of Kawali’s brother-in-law comes to represent the epitome of inappropriate behaviour, such as the lack of respect towards the mystical keepers of animals and here, specifically, towards the “father of bees”, a relationship that contemporary Batak continues to restore though the lambay ceremony. The sudden switch between the narration of the Batak myth and the threats posed by mining companies serves to introduce the advocacy efforts of ALDAW.

ALDAW would like you to circulate these links amongst your friends and networks and kindly consider signing the following online petitions:

• No to Mining in Palawan
• Stop Mining Palawan Forest

Major New Publication on Community Protocols, Rights and FPIC

Volume 65 of Participatory Learning and Action (PLA), published by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), has just been released. Entitled "Biodiversity and Culture: Exploring community protocols, rights and consent", the special issue was guest edited by Krystyna Swiderska (IIED), Kanchi Kohli (Kalpavriksh), Harry Jonas and Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice), Wim Hiemstra, (COMPAS Network for Endogenous Development), and Maria Julia Oliva (Union for Ethical Biotrade).

This special issue of PLA explores two important participatory tools that indigenous peoples and local communities can use to help defend their customary rights to biocultural heritage, natural resources, and lands:  community protocols – or charters of rules and responsibilities – in which communities set out their customary rights to natural resources and land, as recognised in customary, national and international laws; and free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) processes, in which communities decide whether or not to allow projects affecting their land or resources to go ahead, and on what terms.

The issue reviews the experiences of communities in Asia, Latin America, and Africa in developing and using these tools in a range of contexts. It also looks at some government experiences of establishing institutional processes for FPIC and benefit-sharing. It identifies practical lessons and guidance based on these experiences and aims to strengthen the capacity of a range of actors to support these rights-based tools effectively in practice. It aims to provide guidance for those implementing the Nagoya Protocol (amongst other international instruments) and other natural resource and development practitioners, and to raise awareness of the importance of community-designed and -controlled participatory processes.

Natural Justice and their partners contributed to 8 of the 17 articles. Five focused on biocultural community protocol processes amongst traditional health practitioners in Bushbuckridge, South Africa; livestock keepers in South Asia; sacred grove custodians in Upper West Region, Ghana; artisanal miners in Alto San Juan, Colombia; and indigenous communities in Ulu Papar, Sabah (Malaysia). Three of the articles explored methodologies and participatory approaches for facilitating biocultural community protocol processes, including in the context of biotrade in Peru and in multi-stakeholder processes in Ghana and Kenya.

The full publication can be downloaded for free here or hard copies are available upon request.

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 be involved in REDD projects. Participants also dialogued with members of the Ministry of Environment and representatives of industry, civil society and indigenous and local communities. During the dialogue representatives were able to make recommendations and collaboratively plan the implementation of FPIC in REDD to ensure the participation of forest communities in the country’s projects. 

Holding the second largest rainforest in the world after the Amazon, 58% of DRC is covered by tropical rainforest. However, it is expected that deforestation will increase substantially to support DRC’s growing infrastructure, farming and mining developments. REDD has now become a major strategic issue in the country with approximately 500 million USD expected to flow into the country. Only a small amount of this amount has been dedicated towards consultation and participation of communities living in and utilizing the forests.

The Forest Dialogue's background paper on FPIC and REDD+ in the DRC can be downloaded here.

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 the southern section of Honduras into the northern parts of Nicaragua inland and along the Moskito Coast by the Caribbean Sea. In Honduras the community comprise approximately 50000 people. 

The territory of the Miskito in Honduras includes the biggest section of pristine wilderness in Central America, made of mangrove swamps, lagoons, rivers, savannas and tropical rain forests as well as mountainous cloud forests. It also includes three protected areas and a UNESCO Biosphere. The community has long been fighting for their rights regarding land title, control over forest and marine resources as well as procedural rights such as their right to Free and Prior Informed Consent. They face a plethora of threats ranging from conflicts including with the protected areas, agricultural expansion, dams and fishing practices all of which they feel undermine their rights established under international law. 

During the workshop BCPs were introduced to members of MASTA, Mopawi as well as to a number of presidents of the community’s 300 territorial councils. Participants then discussed the value such instrument would bring to support their struggles and eventually decided to move forward with a BCP focusing on territorial and resource rights.

The meeting was followed by a second day of discussion in which IUCN ORMA presented to participants a recently commissioned legal analysis. The study outlines the short-comings of Honduras’ new forest law compared to international conventions regarding indigenous peoples rights, namely ILO Convention 169 as well as UNDRIP.