6th Pan-African ABS Workshop in Cameroon

Between the 30th of January and 3rd of February the 6th Pan-African ABS Workshop brought together 110 participants in Limbe, Cameroon. The workshop is put together every year by the ABS Capacity Development Initiative and was hosted by the Cameroonian Ministry of Environment, Protection of Nature and Sustainable Development (MINEP) and the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC). Its participants included national ABS focal points, representatives of indigenous and local communities, private sector experts and other ABS stakeholders as well as representatives of a number of intergovernmental organisations including the CBD, UNEP-GEF and FAO. 

The objective of the workshop was to provide participants with a forum within which to exchange and discuss national and regional experiences in addressing ABS issues with a special focus on non-timber forest product based value chains; approaches to addressing the transboundary nature of biological and genetic resources; and the need to consider the establishment of a Global Multilateral Benefit-Sharing Mechanism. The workshop also provided African stakeholders the opportunity to familiarise themselves with a recently finalised draft study on a "Gap Analysis and Review of the African Model Law"; the outcomes of an expert workshop on ABS and intellectual property rights and the regional perspectives on ABS as relevant in other UN fora, namely WIPOand the FAO. 

Finally, as every year, participants were invited to study with more detail a local ABS case study. In this case participants were able to gain insight into the case of the Prunus Africana at the foot of Mount Cameroon. Through a day long excursions participants familiarised themselves with the value chain of the bark of the tree used among other to treat prostate ailments. The example brought great insight to the actual challenges of implementing ABS in practice.

Briefing Paper from Amazon Watch on FPIC

With the rights of many Indigenous peoples and local communities neglected by companies they interact with, Amazon Watch has prepared an important briefing paper to ensure that companies and other actors fully understand their responsibilities in ensuring Free, Prior and Informed Consent from communities. 

The introduction to the briefing paper states that it "focuses on the roles and responsibilities of companies, investors and finance institutions to identify, prevent and address the adverse human rights impacts of company operations. It identifies the rights of indigenous peoples that are potentially affected by extractive industry and infrastructure projects and explores the ethical, legal and financial reasons for respecting these rights. This paper highlights the importance of a company operating only where it has the free, prior and informed consent of any indigenous peoples potentially affected by their operations. It identifies some of the key challenges involved in implementing a Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) policy and makes recommendations for companies and shareholders who engage in business activities or investments in the Amazon."

Download the full briefing paper here.

IIM-Shillong training for doctors

SHILLONG: As the neo-natal mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) in Meghalaya is as high as 23.6, IIM Shillong is trying to bring expertise from Kerala to improve the situation in the state. Under the sustainable healthcare management systems (SHCMS), IIM-Shillong professors are training state doctors to conduct case studies, analyze the scenario and visit hospitals with guidance from the best doctors of the country for a period of 30 days.

"IIM Shillong professors are schooling the doctors in sustainable healthcare project, hospital planning and management, leadership and motivation, management of finance and accounting with the support of Harvard cases," an IIM release said. "They also undertake field visits and healthcare research after completing 14 days of class-room learning, group exercise, case analysis and simulation," the IIM release read.

The release said the team of doctors, which visited the 1935-established Ganesh Das Hospital in Shillong, was surprised with its lack of facilities to handle the 1200 to 2000 deliveries occurring in a month.

The team noted that the hospital admitted more pregnant women than it could handle and emphasized on the need to find out why these deliveries could not be managed at primary health centres.

The team of doctors, mostly from the Garo Hills, also visited the Shillong Civil Hospital and recommended adequate manpower and equipment with backup for all departments, provision for blood bank or blood storage facilities, treatment plant for effluent, more emergency rooms and ICU beds.

Meghalaya NGOs call for re-conducting census

Shillong, Feb 5 : Some NGOs in Meghalaya today demanded the government re-conduct Census 2011 operations claiming a tribe was not included in the preliminary Census released by the government.

A joint forum of NGOs from Jaintia Hills district today dashed a letter to the Chief Secretary W M S Pariat asking him to re-conduct the Census operation survey in the state.

"All surveys of the Census 2011 operation should be stopped," T Ltep, Chairman of the Jaiñtia NGOs Forum (JNF), told reporters claiming the forum detected the anomaly late. He said "the Census should be re-conducted in the state whereby the Jaintias (consisting of Pnars, Bhois and Wars) tribe should be included." Ltep said "there are no 'Jaiñtias' in the state but only a Synteng tribe (the nickname of Jaiñtia tribe) in both 1991 and 2001 Census."

"In view of this, we demand surveys of Census 2011 be stopped immediately and the Census operations should be re-conducted whereby the Jaintias (Pnars, Bhois, Wars) tribe should be included," the JNF said.

Meghalaya boasts of three major tribes- the Khasis, Jaiñtias and the Garos. The JNF claimed in the past two census operations, there was no mention of Jaintias in the state.

Pollution takes a toll on Umiam Lake

SHILLONG: With the Union ministry of tourism recently selecting Umiam Lake (Barapani) as a mega tourist destination, the issue related to pollution in the lake has been raked up again. The lake is among 45 tourist circuits in the country to be developed as a major tourist spot.

Out of the 45 identified projects, 30 have already been sanctioned, an official statement said. "For each identified mega destination and circuit, the ministry of tourism's contribution as Central financial assistance is Rs 25 crore and Rs 50 crore respectively under the scheme of product/infrastructure development for destinations and circuits," the statement read.

Nevertheless, tonnes of silt, filth, soil and other solid waste are draining into the lake, slowly polluting the most enchanting fresh water body in the northeast. It was constructed in 1965 for storage of water for power generation. But over the years, the scenic lake became the most visited tourist spot in Meghalaya.

But today, pollution has taken such a heavy toll on it that its water is no longer fit for drinking or even recreation purposes. Umiam is filled by rain water in its catchment area measuring 221 sq km and comprising mainly forest and agricultural land.

As many as 16 streams and rivulets drain into the lake. A concrete dam was constructed on the Umiam River at a place, 16 kms from Shillong, on NH 40. The impounded water is conveyed through a two-km long tunnel to the Umiam Stage I hydro electric project power house at Sumer to produce power.

"However, the significant social and economic changes that have taken place over the years in the catchment area have unfortunately brought about adverse ecological effects on the reservoir which calls for urgent preventive and remedial measures so that it remains sustainable during the rest of its projected life span," said an official in the PHE department.

"The rapid urbanization of the catchment area of Umiam river, particularly the unplanned and haphazard growth of Shillong city which comes within the catchment, the unscientific methods of agriculture adopted and rampant deforestation that has been taking place all these years have generated pollutants and silt that flow into the reservoir daily. The resultant pollution and silting of the reservoir has polluted the waterbody," he added.

Experts feel if the problem is not addressed immediately, the damage on the reservoir and the power scenario in Meghalaya will be beyond redemption.

Years ago WAPCOS, an organization under the Union ministry of water resources which studied the extent of pollution and siltation of the Umiam reservoir, had observed that the sediment load deposited in the reservoir was due to "uncontrolled activities" taking place in the catchment area. As a result, the storage capacity of the reservoir has been reduced by 28.9 per cent in the case of dead storage and 5.5 per cent in the case of live storage.

In other words, water depth of 70 feet, which can be utilized, is the live storage while anything below this level to the bottom is dead storage. The lake, which has an area of over 100 sqmiles, was designed with a life span of 100 years, which means it would become unsuitable for generating power after 2065.

The maximum depth of the lake is around 200 ft which is also the height of the dam. The long term measures suggested by WAPCOS included multi-tier vegetation on the land within the catchment; protection of existing forests, as well as newly raised forest plantations on both sides of the river, stop jhum (slash and burn) cultivation, encourage private and sacred forest concept, new areas to be brought under forest; construction of silt detention dams and establishment of silt observation stations to enable monitoring of quality of load on the river.

TK Commons Meeting in Cape Town

On the 31st January representatives from the Bushbuckridge Traditional Healers’ Association, lawyers working on issues around traditional knowledge (TK) from Kenya and Ghana, and Natural Justice gathered in Cape Town with support from the Open A.I.R. Project. The theme was “Non-Traditional Users of TK—Opportunities and Challenges Around Compliance”. Breakout sessions delved into the definition of TK commons, methods of pooling and sharing TK, TK practioners and their issues, external links to non-traditional users of TK, and existing and future policies around TK. Interviews with the healers from Bushbuckridge on the challenges they have faced in managing the sharing of their TK informed much of the discussion. 

Looking forward, the representatives looked to build on the successes of the Bushbuckridge community. As communities in Ghana and Kenya move forward with their development of TK commons, participants will support the development of linkages between these communities and the Bushbuckridge healers. They will also continue to look for ways to creatively collaborate to analyse and shape laws and policies around TK based on experiences at the grassroots level.

Meghalaya aims to have zero BPL family

SHILLONG: Meghalaya aims to have no poor family in the state within ten years, chief minister Mukul Sangma said today.

"We want to ensure that Meghalaya wants to achieve zero Below Poverty Line (BPL) family in 10 years," Mukul told reporters.

He said, "To achieve this, a number of initiatives requiring huge funds from Planning Commission and Centre have been designed."

Chief minister sounded optimistic about getting additional funding based on its objectives from the Centre.

While Planning Commission approves the plan size of each state according to the available resources, Mukul said, "The state government will go beyond the actual plan size to achieve the target."