Month: October 2018

MANILA, Philippines – HIVE, the NTFP-EP e-learning platform is organizing a webinar series on Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples (LCIP) Platform. Building up on discussion progressions toward COP24, this webinar explores how the LCIP can set in motion the Paris Agreement. These two-part webinars are organized by the Non-Timber Forest Products Exchange Programme – Asia in collaboration with the CSO Forum on Social Forestry In ASEAN

BACKGROUND

The LCIP Platform and the role of indigenous knowledge systems, practices and governance

Climate Change is already being felt by indigenous peoples however there are many discussions and decisions on climate change at the national, regional and global level, proven to have major implications to their life and territories, are underway. Moreover, indigenous peoples have various knowledge, systems, and practices in protecting the resources such as land, biodiversity and forests and responding to risks and changes such as climate change.  All of these should be considered in discussions and decisions, which will eventually be led to government processes, planning and long terms programs affecting them.

The Twenty-third Conference of Parties (COP23) to the United Nations’ Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) in Bonn, Germany, an increasingly growing discussion on how local communities and indigenous peoples can engage in the Paris Agreement and the need to recognize their important role in climate action. Towards the end of the Conference, the parties adopted a decision[1] on the operationalization of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples (LCIP) Platform and further operationalization leading to COP24 in Katowice, Poland. Further, they have decided the over-all purpose of the platform which will be the following:

1. To strengthen the knowledge, technologies, practices and efforts of local communities and indigenous peoples related to addressing and responding to climate change,
2. To facilitate the exchange of experience and the sharing of best practices and lessons learned on mitigation and adaptation in a holistic and integrated manner, and
3. To enhance the engagement of local communities and indigenous peoples in the UNFCCC process;

The year 2018 is said to be the most important year of climate talks since the Paris Agreement in 2015.  Countries’ main mandate will be to agree to a set of rules and process to further operationalize the Agreement, and this so called “rulebook” must be completed and adopted   by the end of this year at COP24 in Katowice, Poland.

The Paris Agreement’s rule book will provide the operational guidance for fulfilling the ambition of the Agreement and providing clarity on countries’ efforts to reach the goal.   It will include details on several fronts: How countries will communicate their efforts with regards to adaptation, climate finance, transfer of technology and capacity building, and how they will be held accountable for their commitments; How collective efforts will be reviewed, leading to scaled-up actions and support every five years; and How to create a process to facilitate implementation and promote compliance.[2] In addition, one of the key aspects of the rulebook is the LCIP.

With the above-mentioned opportunities for indigenous peoples and local communities and indigenous peoples to engage in the discussion leading to the finalization of the Paris rulebook in COP24, NTFP-EP and the CSO Forum on Social Forestry recognized the importance of providing an orientation and equip its partners about the LCIP platform and current developments on the discussions leading to COP24.

OBJECTIVES

The overall objective of the webinar series is to provide an orientation to NTFP-EP partners on the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples (LCIP) Platform.

Specifically, the webinar series aims to:

1. Provide an overall introduction to the LCIP platform and discussion progress leading to COP24 in Katowice;
2. Explore how the LCIP platform can enhance the engagement of local communities and indigenous peoples in the UNFCCC process; and
3. Describe and discuss key takeaways from COP24, climate change related indigenous knowledge, systems and practices recognition, and how this will be facilitated by the Platform and identify possible steps moving forward

Part 1 of 2: Introduction to the LCIP Platform: How can local communities and indigenous peoples engage?

Schedule: 30 October 2018, 3:00pm – 4:00pm Philippines Standard Time (PST) (1 hour)

Register here.

This webinar will provide an introduction on the LCIP platform and what are the agreements so far in terms of participation and representation of local communities and indigenous peoples, how can this enhance the engagement of local communities and indigenous peoples in the UNFCCC process

Webinar 1 Discussion flow

Topic	Resource Speaker	Duration
Overview of the Paris Agreement and what is at stake for COP24 for forestry and indigenous peoples	Edna Maguigad, NTFP-EP Asia	10 mins
The LCIP platform and progress to date after the Bangkok Climate Change Conference	Mai Thin Yu Mon, Chin Human Rights Organization	15 mins
Progress of NDCs, REDD-plus market and non-market approaches	Emmy Primadona, KKI Warsi	15 mins
Facilitated discussion	Question and answer	15 mins
Summary and wrapping-up		5 mins

 

Part 2 of 2: Moving forward post-COP24

Schedule: 2nd week of January 2019 (final date to be confirmed) 2pm – 3:30pm, Philippines Standard Time (PST) (1 hour)

Registration link (TBA)

With the conclusion of the COP 24 in Katowice, Poland, there will be several key decisions that will greatly impact local communities and IPs. The webinar will host discussions from IP representatives involved in negotiating in the Paris rulebook and the LCIP platform, and we will also have discussion on recognition of CC related IKSPs and how this will be facilitated by the platform.

[1] https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2017/sbsta/eng/l29.pdf

[2] https://www.wri.org/blog/2016/11/insider-crafting-paris-agreements-rule-book-tasks-cop-22

 

The atmosphere of NTFP-EP’s work gives us both a sense of hope and fear. Asia holds five (5) of the world’s top 20 economies: China, Japan, South Korea, India and Indonesia, yet also the world’s poorest and most vulnerable.  Southeast Asia, through ASEAN, boasts of a strong regional economy with the largest cash holdings for the first time in decades, gaining financial strength, bullish in intra-region investments, and also attractive to investors from outside the region, particularly the European Union.  The dominance of China in trade and state governance in and out of Asia also cannot be ignored.  While the regional economy is booming, the state of Asia’s tropical forests and natural resources is dismal.  Indonesia for example, with “its thriving paper and palm oil industries, is losing more forest than any other country”, according to research made public in 2017 by the University of Maryland and the World Resources Institute.  Intra-ASEAN investments are highest in agriculture and mining–yet on the other hand, these sectors are drivers of threats and negative impacts on women and children, and on rural and indigenous communities.  Forest loss due to forest conversion for agriculture and mining, and their related environmental harms, directly affects the subsistence of forest-based and rural communities and diminishes their livelihood options.  Important NTFPs–for food, medicines, cash income and cultural practices rapidly decline; likewise the transfer of know-how on traditional livelihood such as harvesting of forest products and weaving to the youth, compete with other jobs–off farm or outside of villages.

European populism has given rise to migration conflicts and debates around nationalism and human rights.  Likewise in Asia, state leadership moving away from democratic governance are seen in India, the Philippines and Cambodia.  For example, the Philippines recorded the highest number of killed environmental defenders in Asia with 48 deaths in 2017, according to Global Witness. Within less than a year of his presidency, the Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte’s administration has stamped extrajudicial killings in the name of the war against drugs, and silencing of opposition as the norm.  In Cambodia, the opposition party, media and a number of NGOs have been forced to close down.  In this situation, advocacy for environmental justice and human rights increases in risk and resource requirements.  While so, civil society action and strengthening of movements become even more critical and urgent.

Sources of hope come from grassroots work that continue to persist, and innovations in community-based actions such as: native tree species planting in India and the Philippines, wild foods documentation, culturally based practice in forest protection, and indigenous elder and youth exchanges about traditional ecological knowledge. Young people’s involvement in environmental protection activities in Borneo and Palawan, Philippines are promising.  The youth’s savviness with the use of social media could be harnessed more in public campaigns on forest and environmental protection, and the value of promoting indigenous knowledge.  Organizing of grassroots women is also active, not only in strengthening entrepreneurship, but also advocating for food and environmental justice.

Both conventional and non-conventional forms of media are being used and often misused for political reasons. Even with the regional trend of attacking freedom of expression, social media use is still gaining wider reach. This however does not automatically translate to good journalistic practices, and in fact results in the propagation of “fake news” from politically-charged groups.  With these, NTFP-EP needs to evaluate and assess the best way to make media an ally for its advocacy for people and forests.

There are promising strategic platforms to advocate for women, and local and indigenous community voices on forests, culture and livelihood.  The recent United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP) 23 in Bonn, Germany had two critical outcomes  promoting human rights; 1) The adoption of a two-year gender action plan and 2) the establishment of a Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform.  The CBD COP 13 also advanced the recognition and support for local and indigenous peoples’ community conserved territories and areas (ICCAs), by its Resolution to implement the development and dissemination of “best practice guidance on identification, recognition, and respect for ICCAs in protected area overlap situations”.  CBD COP13 also specifically called on the IUCN, the ICCA Consortium and other interested parties to develop voluntary guidance and best practices on identifying and recognizing territories and areas conserved by indigenous peoples and local communities, including in situations of overlap with protected areas, and their potential contribution to the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.  NTFP-EP is an active member of the ICCA consortium and coordinates the Southeast Asia ICCA regional learning network.

Finally, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) plan of action on social forestry and micro-small, medium enterprise development are highly complementary and presents openings for capacity development of community forest enterprises and strategic market linkages.

BOGOR, Indonesia – The 7.5 magnitude earthquake that happened a few kilometers off the central island of Sulawesi, Indonesia last September 28 has set off a subsequent tsunami that engulfed the coastal city of Palu. To date, more than 1,200 people have been confirmed killed because of the tsunami, with thousands more in need of relief and rescue.

Government and civil society organizations have been mobilizing support for aid for the survivors. Underlining the growing sense of urgency, NTFP-EP Indonesia and its network are organizing relief efforts for its partner communities in Palu. Currently, we have arranged means to provide financial support to the city. Bank details are the following:

Account Name: Yayasan Pengembangan Sumber Daya Hutan Indonesia
Bank: CIMB Niaga
Account Number: 800 120 434 200

Contributions, no matter how big or small, will be helpful to the survivors of the disaster. Stay tuned to this blog for future updates on ways you can help in the Palu relief operations.