Month: December 2009

By Tep Asnarith, WWF Cambodia

The newly elected chief of Rattan Association of Cambodia, Mr. Lip Cheang is excited over his new leadership role in the association. As one of its founders, and also owner of one of the important rattan enterprise in Cambodia, he is committed to successfully meet the goals of the association.

“I will devote my time and work harder with other members for the successful operation of this rattan association,” he said. “If the association runs smoothly and effectively toward its goal, it will be very advantageous as it will create more work opportunities, help reduce the country’s poverty, maintain the sustainability of rattan resource in the forest, as well as eventually increase government’s income via collection of tax from rattan product export,” he added.

In late October, a meeting to elect head of the association was organized in Phnom Penh with support of WWF and its partner Artisans Association of Cambodia (AAC). This happened a few weeks after the rattan association of Cambodia had been established with the goal to put in place and maintain a sustainable system of rattan production and supply.

The management of the association is planning some necessary activities to be implemented within a six-month period. Important actions include legalising the newly formed association, working with the ministry of commerce to obtain licenses for small and medium enterprises members of the association, and establishing a rattan business plan.

“WWF’s rattan project, co-financed by EC and IKEA, and AAC will work with a business consultant to support the association in the development of its business plan,” said Mr Ou Ratanak, Rattan Project Manager. He continued that a good business plan for effective implementation should take into account some key elements including strategic marketing, market information, forecast and analysis, capacity in production and supply and management of workers.

According to Mr Ratanak, a series of visits will be organised for members of the association to home of wild rattan in WWF-supported 20 villages in provinces of Kampot, Preah Sihanouk, Koh Kong, Kampong Thom and Preah Vihea. “The rattan entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to gain insight into wild rattan and the sustainable model of resource management already in place, while building up relationship with the communities in order to eventually establish a mechanism of supplying rattan for processing in factories,” he said.

In the matter of relationship building, the association also serves as a link between rattan handicraft and furniture produced by the communities and the market in Phnom Penh capital, as well as Siam Reap and Preah Sihanouk provinces.

“The association has plan to buy the community’s semi-processed and processed products for further selling in Phnom Penh market,” Mr Lip Cheang said. “This helps enlarge market for the products by the communities and encourage them in processing work, while continuing to sustainably manage the resource in the forest,” he added.

The association is also working with WWF and AAC to generate greater awareness among other groups in the rattan sector of the existence of the association and the benefits of becoming members. Mr Ratanak said one of the approaches would be that the association would seek an opportunity to sit down in discussions with the Government to establish a favorable environment that promote the rattan sector in Cambodia and encourage the competitivity.

“There is plan to develop a series of promotional tools including website and other print materials to spread to a wider audience information about the association and the goal of green and sustainable production it is working on to achieve,” said Mr Ratanak.

According to Thibault Ledecq, Regional Rattan Project Manager, by becoming member of the association group, Cambodian rattan processing companies will be able to acquire necessary knowledge and skills in order to respond to the need and requirement of the international market.

“WWF will facilitate the link between the association and the regional and international markets by identifying potential buyers who are looking for sustainable and green rattan products,” he said.

Follow this internet link to read the press release on the rattan association when it was established:
http://www.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/cambodia/?175522/First-rattan-association-of-Cambodia-a-step-to-sustainable-rattan-industry

Learning by seeing

Earlier in the year, a mixed delegation of governments, WWF and other associations from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam have benefited from a 10-day visit to different parts of Indonesian rattan industry – from wild rattan in Kalimantan to retail-shops in Jakarta. As part of exchange programme, the visit was organised by WWF’s Regional Rattan Project to let all participants experience new ways of rattan management, processing and design, learn about trade and related policies, while also establishing connections between the rattan sectors of the three countries and Indonesia.

The Cambodian rattan actors plan to conduct a similar visit in Vietnam with two important foci: exchange of knowledge and technology and strengthening relationship in the rattan sector.

By Miks Guia-Padilla*, AntroWatch

One of my favorite places is Mintapod, nestled on the slopes of the Kimangkil Mountain Range, Bukidnon province, Mindanao in southern Philippines. I love it not only for its breathtaking beauty but also because the indigenous peoples living there, the Higaonon, have managed to maintain the Indigenous Knowledge Skills and Practices (IKSPs) that protect its forested mountains. It is only fitting that the Mintapod Declaration was affirmed and signed there.

The Mintapod Declaration is an agreement of five Higaonon ancestral domains, represented by their traditional leaders called datu, to protect the sanctity of the mountains in the range, foremost among them Mount Kimangkil; the other mountains are Balatukan, Kalanawan, Pamalihi and Sumagaya. For the Higaonon, these mountains are where the spirits guarding nature live.

This Declaration was a highlight of the Kimangkil Indigenous Peoples Corridor Conference (KIPFCC) held on 1-3 April 2009 at Cagayan de Oro City, some 200 kilometers north of Mintapod. There were over 80 participants from the Higaonon indigenous communities, and from support groups and government offices.

The Conference is part of the project called “Building Forest Corridors through Sustainable Ancestral Domain Management” supported by the European Commission. This project aims to contribute to forest protection by strengthening IP communities, where much of the remaining forest stands in the Philippines can be found. Such strengthening is accomplished by addressing in an integrated manner community development needs in the areas of tenurial security, livelihood enterprise, capacity building in legal remedies, and of course reforestation and forest management.

Assisting in these needs are four NGOs, each with a specific expertise, working closely together: AnthroWatch, NTFP-EP, Upholding Life and Nature (ULAN), and the Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE). The project’s sites are in geographical areas wherein neighboring ancestral domains form an indigenous peoples corridor. It is hoped that by helping to strengthen highly motivated communities within these corridors, in the near future adjacent ancestral domains will be encouraged to strengthen themselves and therefore also protect their forests. The project is on its third and final year, and conferences like this in the project sites are a way of consolidating and learning from the project’s experiences.

The Mintapod Declaration is an example of community initiative that the project is supporting. Amay Matangkilan Cumatang, leader of the management structure tasked with leading the protection of the sacred mountains, emphasized that recognizing the Higaonon’s right to continue practicing their traditional ways of forest management will help in keeping the over 70% of forest cover intact. And aside from being an integral part of their cultural heritage, the Higaonon are aware that the watersheds of the major rivers of four provinces (Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental, Agusan and Cotabato) are within that area. They explain that by supporting these indigenous peoples’ initiatives, there is support for the broader population as well, today and in the future. The five ancestral domains which have signed on to the Mintapod Declaration, namely: the Agtulawon-Mintapod Higaonon Cumadon, Kalanawan Tribal Council, Minalwang Higaonon Tribal Council, Pamalihi Tribal Council and the Mamacila Apo Ginopaka Tribal Council represent over 5,000 Higaonon families.

There are other highlights which made the KIPFCC special. It was heartening to observe how eager the Higaonon were to get together and discuss common concerns according to their perspectives and in their language. The Higaonon’s ways of holding a gathering were upheld, from the opening ritual to energizers that consisted of spontaneous traditional dancing.
It was equally heartwarming to see the support of organizations, apart from the project partners, in the planning and conduct of the conference, among them Fr. Vincent Cullen Tulugan Learning and Development Center, Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center, Samdhana Institute, Balay Mindanao, Green Mindanao, Environmental Science for Social Change and Kahiusahan sa mga Higaonon (KHI – a Higaonon federation).

But the KIPFCC is not like a fairy tale that has a sure happy ending. Three months have passed, and the euphoria generated by the conference has abated. Immediately after the conference and as of this writing, we continue to receive news about the relentless entry of mining and logging projects (that will potentially destroy large tracts of forests in the Kimangkil Range), which have had successes in confusing or dividing community members. In the midst of uncertainty, our hope is that the indigenous peoples and support groups will recall and adhere to the principles and plans affirmed in the KIPFCC.

—
* Project Manager, Building Forest Corridors through Ancestral Domain Management (Email: miksgp@anthrowatch.org)

CoDe REDD Philippines has been participating in various actions to contribute to bringing the concerns of forest communities to the fore vis-a vis climate change. One major task that it is pursuing now is the crafting of the National Strategy on REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation).

It has conducted several national and regional consultative workshops involving community leaders and members, CSOs, government, academe, and individual professionals. Its network facilitator the Non – Timber Forest Products – Exchange Programme for South and Southeast Asia (NTFP-EP) has brought in international elements into the process.

From the start, it has been recognized by the group that working with other developing countries would be critical. Member organizations and individuals therefore, participate in other regional and international activities to beef up CoDe REDD’s capacity and build networks towards convergence of advocacies. Two representatives of the group now sit as CSO observer and as participant to the ongoing side events at UNFCCC, Copenhagen, Denmark.

CoDe REDD Philippines consists of forest-based communities and civil society organizations involved in livelihood, conservation, and community development projects in Philippine forests and are working towards pro-community and pro-conservation REDD thru REDD plus advocacy.

CoDe REDD has been promoting three banner messages: Community Development through REDD, Communities Developing REDD, and Conservation and Development through REDD.

A microsite is now under construction (www.ntfp.org/coderedd) to house recent events and activities of CoDe REDD and resource materials on REDD.