The 44th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry, held virtually last 25 October 2022.
The ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) formally adopted the ASEAN Guidelines on Recognition of Customary Tenure in Forested Landscapes during their 44th meeting last 25 October 2022.
The Guidelines aim to establish a comprehensive regional approach to the recognition of customary tenure by establishing an ASEAN-wide standard for the member states to pattern their national policies to. The Guidelines also specifically facilitates a framework for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) to participate in the decision-making at the national level of each member state.
Customary tenure is a set of rules, practices and norms defined over time by a community or communities that govern the allocation, use, access, exclusion, and transfer of land, forests, fisheries, and other natural resources.
Aside from the stated goals, care is also given by the Guidelines to ensure that the approaches are gender responsive, socially inclusive, and supportive of transgenerational equity.
NTFP-EP supported the ASEAN Working Group on Social Forestry and the ASEAN Secretariat to facilitate the formulation of the guidelines, with support from the Mekong Region Land Governance Project and the Green Livelihoods Alliance.
Aside from government offices and policymakers, the Guidelines are also intended to be used as a reference by the private sector, civil society, and academic institutions implementing activities, research or development on the customary lands and territories of IPLCs as well as their natural resources.
The guidelines include the following 10 inter-linked guiding principles:
1. The right to customary tenure
2. The right to local and cultural diversity in customary tenure systems
3. The right to traditional livelihoods and livelihood development
4. The right to equitable and sustainable involvement of women
5. Secure legal recognition of customary tenure systems
6. The right to free, prior, and informed consent
7. Equitable involvement and meaningful participation of indigenous peoples and local communities in land and resource use planning and decision-making
8. The right to equitably benefit from customary tenure systems
9. The right to resolve conflict
10. Provide institutional and operational support for the protection, formalization, recognition, enforcement, and monitoring of customary tenure with adaptive and multi-stakeholder approaches
The development of the Guidelines began with the 24th ASEAN Senior Officials on Forestry meeting in 2021, who approved its creation upon the recommendation of the ASEAN Working Group on Social Forestry. This is in recognition of the ASEAN’s commitment towards sustainable forest management and ensuring forest resources provide socioeconomic benefits while maintaining their ecological stability.
Prior to the adoption of the Guidelines, there has been no specific policy framework at the ASEAN regional level dealing with the recognition of customary tenure. This has caused problems for IPLCs. who often have to contend with domestic state-level laws that are not fully aligned with the diverse and complex land use practices of IPLCs.
“Before, there has been slow progress in recognizing the lands designated and owned by Indigenous peoples and local communities in ASEAN countries,” said Dazzle Labapis, NTFP-EP Asia’s programme officer for tenure rights and governance.
“The Guidelines are a response to the clear gaps in realizing customary forest recognition. It also helps contextualize the national positions of indigenous knowledge systems and practices and promotes existing forest stewardship, biocultural diversity and sustainable practices,” Labapis added.
For its part, NTFP-EP acknowledges the support of the ASEAN Working Group on Social Forestry, the ASEAN Secretariat, Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, Asian Farmers Association, Mekong Region Land Governance Project Secretariat, and the writing leads Mr. Thomas Worsdell and Atty. Edna Maguigad. Appreciation is also shared to the Regional Alliance on Customary Tenure Recognition, the Country Customary Tenure Alliance in CLMV, and all the regional policy dialogue participants who provided inputs and comments to the early versions of the guidelines.
Indigenous and feminist voices called for climate finance to be accessible, inclusive and gender just at GAGGA’s COP 27 side event, co organized by NTFP-EP and GAGGA.
The event “Local perspectives to make gender-just climate finance a reality” counted with the presence of key climate finance stakeholders who discussed the current state of affairs related to the lack of resources reaching gender-just climate solutions in place world-wide.
The session hosted by Femy Pinto (NTFP-EP) was initiated with an intervention by Dolfina Kuum, Indigenous woman, mother, and environmental defender who narrated the crude experience of women in Komunitas Peduli Lingkungan Timika, West Papua who risk their lives everyday in the defense of their land against the mining industry.
The narration set the tone for a discussion among speakers and panelists regarding how inadequate climate action policies and lack of proper implementation put local communities at risk, directly impacting their quality of lives and increasing their vulnerability to the climate crisis effects.
“Where do indigenous women and girls go when projects supposedly funded to save the future of the planet are in fact destroying their present planet?”
Cheryl Polutan (Lilak Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights)
The session threw a spotlight on how un-effective current climate finance mechanisms really are at reaching the local level and how can a feminist perspective be achieved and maintained during the design, funding, implementation and grievance mechanisms of climate action projects.
“Resources are either not available, or not transparent or there is no accountability”.
Maria Matui (WATED Tanzania)
“There needs to be flexibility from donors, funds need to be culturally appropriate and culturally sensitive otherwise we discriminate on women who already are discriminated against: they have no access to education, do not speak official languages. How can they prepare proposals?“
Joan Carling (Indigenous Peoples Rights International)
The full list of speakers and panelists was as follows:
Speakers:
Maria Matui (WATED Tanzania)
Dolfina Kuum (Komunitas Peduli Lingkungan Timika., West Papua)
Sarah Agustiorini (TKPT Indonesia)
Cheryl Polutan (Lilak Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights)
Panelists:
Cam Do (Canadian delegation to the COP)
Young Hee Lee (Adaptation Fund)
Pa Ousman Jarju (Green Climate Fund)
Joan Carling (Indigenous Peoples Rights International)
These are some interesting highlights:
“There is no question: we are facing multiple crises today. Climate change is impacting the livelihood of communities. What we are trying to do is to leverage the knowledge of multiple community organizations to push forward the localization agenda. We want to amplify their voices and sit them on the decision-making tables” – Cam Do (Canadian delegation to the COP)
“Allocation of finance should follow a non discriminatory approach and insure that those that have the least will have the most access. The major problem now is the access to finance especially by women in grass root organizations. – Joan Carling (Indigenous Peoples Rights International)
“Gender just climate finance means we have to provide adequate finance for gender responsive adaptation measures, but also promote the leadership and participation of women in the decision making process. We need to address root causes and barriers to gender equality. – Young Hee Lee (Adaptation Fund)
The ASSERT-CBFM Capacity Building Sessions launched an online training last 26 and 27 April 2022 on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation (CCAM) and Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) to help forest-based communities build resilience against the effects of climate change through discussions on climate science and the role of forests in climate change mitigation.
A total of 55 participants (29 Male, 26 Female) from 12 Community-based Forest Management (CBFM) peoples organizations and local/regional DENR staff attended the online learning session. The CCAM course is foundational for succeeding modules for Sustainable Forest Management, whilst the EbA course aims to explain ecosystem services and integrate EbA concepts and quality standards in CBFM projects.
Dazzle Labapis, tenure rights and governance programme officer lead from NTFP-EP Asia, opened the session by introducing the objectives of the online training. He also emphasized how familiarization on CCAM strategies is paramount in building a foundational knowledge for sustainable management.
Jonathan John Maldupana, a Climate Reality Leader trained in the Philippines and the resource speaker for the CCAM session, did not mince words in pointing to the root cause of climate change.
“The world is certainly getting hotter and we are the cause,” Maldupana said.
Maldupana presented statistics showing 99% of the studies all agree that humans caused climate change. Because of the continued harmful actions of humans, sea level rise will not be avoided. The Philippines is especially vulnerable with 929 coastal municipalities exposed to sea level rise. In response, the Philippines has committed to 75% greenhouse gas reduction in accordance to the Paris Agreement in 2015.
“The care for forestry is one of the most important solutions to climate change,” Maldupana said.
The first day of the training also discussed indigenous knowledge, systems and practices (IKSPs) and how Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) observe the behavior and changes in the surrounding nature using traditional knowledge passed down through generations. Olivia Melendrez, the Sierra Madre Landscape coordinator for NTFP-EP Philippines, shared how indigenous and local communities use IKSPs to determine if a typhoon is approaching such as using sightings of a bird called sawi in Mindanao, or observing a mother hen that won’t leave her chicks in the nest.
”There are published researches that links animal behavior with earthquakes,” Melendrez said.
Moreover, IKSPs play a role in CCAM strategies. The Mangyan people in Mindoro island adapt to effects of severe flood by sheltering under “libaog”, a traditional evacuation center. IPLCs also know which traditional crops would survive intense heat or severe rain through generational knowledge.
Ecosystem-based adaptation for the people
For the second day of the training course, Melendrez discussed how EbA uses biodiversity and the ecosystem to help communities adapt to the worsening effects of climate change. The main benefit of EbA is the conservation of ecosystems that builds resilience to climate change, while benefiting both humans and the environment.
“There must be multi-level policies for EbA to be ensured,” Melendrez said. EbA supports equal governance that empowers women and youth.
In the afternoon session, Keith Anthony Fabro presented the EbA approach to Macatumbalen Community Based Forest and Coastal Management Association (MCBFCMA), a community-based forest management PO based in San Vicente, Palawan. Fabro provided evidence of CBFM’s crucial contribution to the Philippines’ Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). The result of the government’s National Greening Program and self-initiated reforestation efforts of the local community revived the denuded forest lands.
However, in 2021 Typhoon Odette caused extensive damage to the area’s forests which directly impacted the forest-based livelihoods and sustenance of the villagers. The typhoon survivors struggled as they had to restart their livelihoods from scratch. With limited funding and technical support, the MCBFCMA mobilized their people, from youth to elderly, to revamp their community nursery. They aimed to replant all the felled trees and vegetation beginning with the cultivation of seedlings native to their forest.
“The community [should not be] only dependent on forest-based livelihoods, in case the community will be hit by climate extremes, they can still have other livelihood sources,” Fabro said.
Input and reflections from the participants
While Nida Collado, leader of the MCBFCMA, disapproves of the presence of outsiders and squatters in and around their CBFM area, a representative from the provincial DENR of Palawan explained that illegal settlers and illegal loggers are a perennial problem.
“Sometimes these illegal settlers from far regions would claim the land for themselves by filing for land titles. Our forest lands are dwindling due to their activities and our hands are tied,” said the representative of DENR-PENRO Palawan. She promised however that the DENR would continue to fight against land grabbers and other unscrupulous individuals.
Collado said that the Bicolano or Cebuanos in their area are not squatters, because their local association have made them partners of CBFM. Even if the local community is not deputized, Collado says that the village is responsible for the protection of the forest and thus, they will continue to confiscate unpermitted chainsaws.
“I hope for the CBFM to be legislated at a national government level. I hope that the [University of the Philippines Los Baños] will be able to help in studying and researching CBFM,” Collado said.
Other POs from Nueva Vizcaya and Bulacan also expressed their wish to lobby the CBFM into legislation. They also raised their concerns on how environmental projects by the governments fail to reach CBFM areas.
As the session closed, Fabro gave his gratitude to the community that accommodated his stay during the study. The community’s income and patrolling of the area was affected by Typhoon Odette. He wished for support from LGU and the DENR so that the people can recover quickly. Fabro’s team deployed a drone in Macatumbalen and later published an article in the community’s experience on the international environmental news outlet Mongabay.
Before the final day of the training ended, Ruth Canlas, executive director of NTFP-EP Philippines, explained how the Business Model Canvas works and why it is important in securing funding. The ASSERT CBFM Call for Proposals was then opened for communities looking for funding their forest and ecosystem-based livelihood projects.
This capacity building and learning course was organized by NTFP-EP Asia, NTFP-EP Philippines, and DENR-FMB, as part of the ASSERT CBFM Project collective learning course. We thank the Forest Foundation Philippines for supporting this initiative.
Article written by Sophia Dulay, TRG intern for NTFP-EP Asia.
The ceremony participants with the community awardees. Photo by: Femy Pinto.
PHNOM PENH – Three members of the Cambodian Federation of Bee Conservation and Community-based Wild Honey Enterprises (CBHE) from Kratie, Prey Lang, and Stung Treng provinces received their Certificates of Compliance for the Khmum Prey wild honey protocols and standards in Phnom Penh on August 17, 2022.
The certificates were presented following two visits by an expert and peer external audit team to verify the members’ adoption of the Khmum Prey protocols and standards under the requirements of CBHE’s participatory guarantee system (PGS). Each CBHE member will be able to market their wild harvested honey under the Khmum Prey label.
The CBHE is Cambodia’s first wild honey network with 780 honey harvester members from six different provinces. CBHE’s network commits to the implementation of sustainable harvesting protocols and forest management practices and ensures fair price to honey gatherers and quality honey to consumers.
CBHE member harvesters and consolidators who comply with the standards under the Khmum Prey label receive a price premium of up to 30 percent. The Khmum Prey label guarantees that consumers are purchasing sustainably harvested wild honey that has been handled hygienically, does not contain any harmful chemicals, and can be traced to the Cambodian province of origin.
“We are pleased to confirm and verify our three members from the Prey Lang provinces of Kratie, Preah Vihear and Stung Treng. Our protocols and standards for sustainable forest honey collection still hold strong today,” said Khorn Sokhom, a honey harvester and trader from Mondulkiri an current president of CBHE.
“The trust-based relationships on which the wild honey groups and the honey value chain were established are still perceptible throughout the value chain. Presenting these CBHEs with their deserved certificates of compliance will give them the recognition and incentives for good practice that they deserve,” said Eric Guerin, sustainable beekeeping expert, native bee conservation advocate, and PGS peer auditor team lead.
With the support of USAID Greening Prey Lang, NatureWild Co. Ltd led the two compliance audits and provided technical advice as well as peer support to the CBHEs. The Certificate of Compliance received by each CBHE member applies to all of their harvested and processed wild honey products in accordance with the Khmum Prey protocols and standards. Other member verifications are currently in progress.
The Khmum Prey brand
Khmum Prey Wild Honey originates from five Cambodian provinces. Launched in 2010, each Khmum Prey jar contains sustainably harvested honey from Apis dorsata bees, also known as the giant Asian honey bee. With a known brand that represents sustainable, traceable, good quality, fairly priced and fairly traded forest honey, the CBHE collective mark – found in every jar of Khmum Prey wild honey – represents a collective practice captured in the Khmum Prey protocols and standards of sustainable harvesting of wild honey and management of apis dorsata bees and their forest habitats.
Honey jugs with Khmum Prey honey from different provinces during the awarding ceremony on August 17, 2022. Photo by: Femy Pinto
The Khmum Prey protocols and standards puts the knowledge of traditional honey hunters and collectors about the forest and the bees into a collective system and practice. It also indicates how both can be protected and sustained while ensuring that quality, healthy, pure, and natural wild honey is delivered and consumed by end consumers. With the assistance of CBHE partners and facilitators such as forest livelihood and conservation NGOs, NTFP-EP Cambodia and its market intermediary, the NatureWild Co., CBHE was established along with their collective mark and the Khmum Prey protocols and standards to which they have been identified to this day.
Forest honey situation in Cambodia
The 2019 UN Human Development Report for Cambodia has cited the importance of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) to keeping the integrity of forest ecosystems and for the services they provide to human life, as well as directly to community livelihood. Around 3 million households in Cambodia depend on NTFPs for their subsistence and income. The 2014 data estimated around 31,000 rural households were involved in forest (wild) honey collection in 10 provinces in Cambodia, with the most significant presence around the dry lowland and evergreen forests of Cambodia notably in the eastern and northern plains including the Prey Lang forest landscape, which covers the provinces of Preah Vihear, Kratie and Stung Treng.
Verification of sustainable wild honey collection in Stung Treng province. Photo by: Eric Guerin
Honey collection contributes to at least 40 percent of household income and is vital in times of food shortage. Collection of wild honey particularly from the Apis dorsata and Apis cerana species entails intimate knowledge of the bees’ habitat and character as well as traditional honey-hunting skills.
Forest honey collection is seasonal; usually done for three to four months in a year and conducted based on customary rights to forests. Thus, having the rights to access and collectively manage forests become crucial in maintaining this traditional practice while at the same time ensuring that the bee habitat is also protected.
The total national market estimate of wild honey is 500 tonnes, with the high-value segment and tourist markets estimated at 55 to 75 tonnes per year, equivalent to US$3.2 million per year. Since wild honey collection is seasonal, supply is generally limited and market segments are particular. While the sector is relatively small, the market for honey in general can be highly competitive; yet the wild honey market in particular has a high potential for growth in Cambodia when factoring in the high-value benefits for the forest honey collectors themselves, their communities and consumers.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, the wild honey market had been disrupted for over two years especially with the slowdown of tourism and foot traffic to mainstream markets such as food marts, shops and grocery stores. On the other hand, it has been more important during this time to consume products that are essential to health – to have high immunity and resistance to sickness and for these to come from natural (or organic) sources as much as possible. Essential benefits from wild honey products are highlighted by CBHE and NatureWild in Khmum Prey wild honey products and the values and good practice observed in sustainable honey harvests and forest conservation.
For more information, contact NatureWild: Uch Sophay via Telegram +855 9328 6306 Pha Pech via Telegram: +855 7839 8886 Email: contact@naturewild.info
Under the key theme “Building a Green, Healthy and Resilient Future with Forests”, the fifteenth World Forestry Congress, held from 2 to 6 May 2022 in Korea, provided a platform for around 10,000 participants from all over the world to discuss the fundamental role of forests in the global sustainable development agenda.
Within the conference sub-theme, “Nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation and mitigation and biodiversity”, the side-event “Communities Speak: Indigenous Peoples’ Local Actions and Initiatives are Vital to Implement the Paris Agreement and the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework” was co-organized by the Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA), Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), and the Non-Timber Forest Products-Exchange Programme (NTFP-EP) on 5 May 2022, as part of their #CommunitiesSpeak advocacy agenda. #CommunitiesSpeak is an advocacy agenda that weaves together the voices and experiences of a network of smallholders, community forest and farm producers and enterprises, Indigenous Peoples, and Local Communities living in forests and forested landscapes.
The hybrid side event, attended by around 60 participants from across the world, opened space to reflect on the essential roles and contributions of Indigenous Peoples to the global fight against climate change and biodiversity loss, as well as to explore advances, challenges and recommendations in relation to Indigenous Peoples’ biodiversity and climate change engagement at different levels, in particular, in relation to the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Moderated by Lhakpa Nuri Sherpa, Head of the Environment Programme of AIPP, the event featured indigenous speakers from different organizations and communities from Nepal, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia. While the first three presentations provided the audience with insights on climate and biodiversity action and advocacy from an international, regional and national perspective, this broader focus was complemented by local stories from two Indigenous Women leaders on biodiversity protection and climate change resilience in their communities.
In her presentation “Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP): Opportunity to amplify the stories and initiatives of Indigenous Peoples”, Ms. Pasang Dolma Sherpa, Co-chair of the Facilitative Working Group (FWG) of the LCIPP, and Executive Director of the Center for Indigenous Peoples’ Research & Development (CIPRED), highlighted that Indigenous Peoples, while comprising only around 6% of the global population, safeguard more than 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity, and thus, play a key role in climate protection.
Ms. Sherpa shared that, for the first time in history, the 2022 report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability refers to the recognition of the inherent rights of Indigenous Peoples as integral to successful forest adaptation in many areas. According to the speaker, the recognition and protection of their inherent rights forms the basis for Indigenous Peoples to continue their traditional resource management and thus, to contribute to solutions to current global crises. However, present forest regimes continue to neglect Indigenous Peoples’ rights and values, and fail to recognize their significant contributions to biodiversity protection and climate change mitigation. In particular, the 30x 30 initiative, a plan to conserve 30% of planet’s land and sea areas by 2030, is posing threats to Indigenous Peoples and their traditional livelihoods. Ms. Sherpa stressed that a human rights-based approach is the only solution to ensure sustainable conservation, not only as a necessary means to protect indigenous knowledge systems, and to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and climate change, but also as the most cost-efficient way of conservation.
In the second part of her presentation, the speaker shared in-depth insights in Indigenous Peoples’ engagement in global climate change processes. She introduced the work of the FWG, established in 2018, with the objective of further operationalizing the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP), and of facilitating the implementation of its three function of knowledge exchange, capacity building, and the design and implementation of climate policies and actions. She elaborated on the different layers of activities of the FWG within the UNFCCC, including various meetings and dialogues bringing together Indigenous Peoples, Local Communities (IPLC), and state parties, to ensure an equal footing and a holistic approach to climate solutions.
Finally, Ms. Sherpa reflected on the key achievements and opportunities of FWG-LCIPP: the body, with half of its members from Indigenous Peoples’ organizations, has created an unprecedented space for the promotion and recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge, cultural practices and governance systems, successfully ensured the coordination and communication with bodies under and outside the UNFCCC, and adopted a second 3-years work plan at the COP26.
A human rights-based solution is not only for the protection of our knowledge system and cultural values, and contributes to climate change resilience and biodiversity, but it is also the cheapest way of conservation in comparison to the investment by the State Parties on the protection of the national parks and conservation.
Ms. Pasang Dolma Sherpa, Executive Director of CIPRED, Nepal
In his presentation on “The Implementation of the Paris Agreement: Regional Overview of Asian Indigenous People” Mr. Kittisak Rattanakrajrangsri, Chairperson of AIPP, discussed how indigenous rights and knowledge are taken into account in Asia, in particular in the context of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and REDD+. The speaker opened his presentation by giving an overview of the general status of the Indigenous Peoples in 10 countries in Asia – Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. While all countries, except Bangladesh, have adopted the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and UN Human Rights treaties, the legal recognition and implementation of Indigenous Peoples’ collective rights on the ground varies significantly, with some positive examples from the Philippines and Indonesia. The speaker identified common challenges for Indigenous Peoples across the region, in particular, ongoing social, political, cultural and economic discrimination and threats to traditional land, forests and waters. Indigenous communities are also disproportionately impacted by climate change.
Mr. Rattanakrajrangsri underlined the successful advocacy work of Indigenous Peoples in the context of the Paris Agreement and pointed out its most relevant articles for IPLC, as well as government-supported activities on the ground, most importantly, the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), REDD+ and the National Adaptation Plans (NAP). Against this backdrop, he introduced a study conducted by AIPP, the United Nations Development Programme (UNPD) and the Forest People Program (FPP) on how the rights, roles and knowledge of IPs are addressed in national-level climate action plans and policies in 10 Asian countries. The analysis revealed that Indigenous Peoples are often invisible as rights holders, knowledge holders and agents of positive change. Mostly, policies fail to make specific reference to Indigenous Peoples, with a few positive exceptions, e.g. Cambodia, Nepal, and the Philippines. With regard to REDD+ policies and activities, the study shows that policies and plans consistently contain language and provisions for Indigenous Peoples and their rights, likely due to the requirements of the Cancun safeguards and other guidelines.
The study also identified concerns of Indigenous Peoples in relation to existing national climate change policy, in particular, the lack of recognition of customary land rights, with some policies even criminalizing traditional practices. Moreover, Indigenous Peoples, continue to lack of broad and effective participation in decision-making processes. The speaker concluded his presentation by stressing the vital contributions of Indigenous Peoples to climate change adaptation and mitigation, through the protection of forest and biodiversity, the maintenance of knowledge on adaptation to harsh climatic conditions, and the provision of examples for food system resilience, e.g. during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“From the study we also found that the climate change policy exclusively fails to address the land tenure insecurity caused by the lack of legal recognition of customary land rights and the related threats to traditional livelihoods faced by Indigenous Peoples. In several instances, the policies even contribute to the criminalization of traditional sustainable practices, by defining them as drivers of deforestation.”
Mr. Kittisak Rattanakrajangsri, Chairperson of AIPP
Ms. Dewi Sutejo, Vice National Coordinator of the Indonesia Community Mapping Network JKPP, and Member of the Regional Council of ICCA SEA, and Mr. Giovanni Reyes, President of the Philippine ICCA Consortium and Member of the Indigenous Peoples’ Advisory Group of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), gave a joint presentation on “Why Human Rights Based Approach Essential for Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework?”.
In the first part of the talk, Ms. Sutejo presented an overview of the work and dedication of the ICCA Consortium to promoting the recognition of Indigenous Communities Conserved Areas (ICCAS) and to scaling up a human rights-based approach in the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, particularly in light of the planned 30×30 initiative. The speaker showed that around half of all recorded agrarian conflicts in Indonesia in the first quarter of 2022 occurred in protected areas and conservations forests, many of them in customary areas in national parks. In this context, she stressed the lack of recognition of IPLC territories by governments in Southeast Asia, with only 8.7% of them being legally recognized across the region. To address these challenges, the rights-based approach of the ICCA Consortium in Southeast Asia focuses on three key areas: 1. the documentation of the land use of IPLC in order to secure rights over lands and resources, and to FPIC; 2. the sustenance of livelihoods, including the protection of IPLC natural resource management, food systems, and governing institutions, and 3. environmental protection, including the protection of IPLCs in the frontline of the defense of forests. Ms. Sujeto highlighted the lack of the recognition of ICCAs in Southeast Asia at the example of Indonesia where the Working Group ICCA has registered 104 spots of ICCA, but only 25 ICCA are legally recognized by the government.
“22 million hectares in Indonesia have been mapped by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, out of which 17 million are actually under IPs territory (…) From the total 17 million, (…) only like 2 million hectares have already been recognized by the government, so it’s still small portion, there is a lack recognition by the government of the Indigenous People and Local Communities’ area. So we still have long work and homework with the working group ICCA, to ensuring the documentation of ICCAs.”fining them as drivers of deforestation.”
Ms. Dewi Sutejo, Vice National Coordinator of the Indonesia Community Mapping Network JKPP, Indonesia
In the second part of the joint presentation, Mr. Reyes described how, in the documentation process, the rich traditional knowledge of Indigenous Peoples is translated into maps, which are then used by Indigenous Communities to enhance their positions in negotiations. To ensure the application of a rights -based approach, Mr. Reyes emphasized the need to strengthen the merging of indigenous knowledge with scientific methods. He described that an analysis of mapping findings in 10 ICCA Pilot sites in the Philippines by the World Resources Institute showed that these 10 sites are able to hold at least 10.5 million tons of carbon, an amount equivalent to the emissions of 7 million cars annually. Using this example, he stressed that the enormous contributions of Indigenous Peoples to climate change mitigation remain largely invisible and neglected. The speaker recommended, inter alia, that the post 2020 GBF negotiations need to address Indigenous Peoples’ rights to land and resources, including FPIC, consistent with internationally recognized human rights standards, and that strong accountability mechanisms and access to justice need to be established. Mr. Reyes concluded that there is no future for the world’s forest without Indigenous Peoples standing.
“Indigenous Peoples’ contribution in conserving 80% of the world’s biodiversity areas is unparalleled. Ensuring a rights-based approach will scale up mainstream forestry and will prevent the destruction of forests. Support for Indigenous Peoples means support for forests, disrespect for their rights, do it at your own peril.”
Mr. Giovanni Reyes, President of the Philippine ICCA Consortium
The remaining two presentations featured stories from the ground by Indigenous Women leaders from Thailand and the Philippines.
Ms. Nor-Aeri Thungmueangthong, Chief of the Pgaz K’Nyau community Huay E-Khang Village, Thailand, started her powerful presentation “Indigenous Women Leadership on Climate and Biodiversity Protection” by emphasizing the crucial role of Indigenous Women as knowledge holders and agents of change in biodiversity conservation and climate action. She described the women’s deep respect for the forest as the foundation of all life and as dwelling place of spiritual beings. Ms. Nor-Aeri depicted the customary land management of her community, which is based on traditional beliefs, knowledge and modern scientific approaches, such as community mapping. The community’s management system, which also includes protected areas, mirrors the deep relationship between humans, nature, and the supernatural. An example is the umbilical cord ceremony De Po Htoo in which the villagers tie a bamboo container with the umbilical cord of a newborn to a tree, symbolizing that the spirit of this person is living in this tree, which cannot be cut. Traditional knowledge, passed down between generations, has ensured the conservation and protection of the forest for the more than 500 years. Ms. Nor-Aeri shared how the Indigenous Women in Huay E-Khang have revived their Indigenous Women’s forest, a learning space and source of health and well-being, food and income for the women, even in time of crisis, like the Covid-19 pandemic. She presented various community initiatives on forest conservation and maintenance, including forest monitoring, community mapping, fire management practices, and the creation of a community fund for forest protection.
The presenter pointed out that women as knowledge holders play a key role in combatting climate change, in particular, in terms of the conservation of native seeds, the majority of which are derived from rotational farming, a practice often criminalized as ecologically harmful. As owners of the seed, Indigenous Communities are able to retain independence from commercial seed suppliers and thus, food sovereignty. The speaker stressed that the recognition of land rights is essential to ensure the transmission of Indigenous Knowledge which is crucial to tackle the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.
“Indigenous Women are playing a crucial role in protecting native seeds and (…) we need to pass this knowledge on to future generations. But this knowledge cannot be passed down or continued if there is no recognition of land rights. To recognize our rights to land is very crucial to continue our practices and to contribute to the climate change and the global framework of biodiversity, with women at the center of it.”
Ms. Nor-Aeri Thungmueangthong, Chief of Huay Ek Khang Village, Northern Thailand
Ms. Conchita Calzado, President of Kababaihang Dumagat Ng Sierra Madre (K-GAT), Philippines, introduced the work of K-GAT, a startup agricultural cooperative led by Dugamat women in the Philippines. K-Gat’s key aims, the protection of the environment and of indigenous culture, guide the project activities of the federation, e.g. for women, the production of vegetables, fruit crops and handicraft. Farming is done in a sustainable way, based on traditional practices and harvesting rules that ensure the long-term sustainability of natural resources.
The speaker highlighted challenges facing the Indigenous Women, in particular, the improper implementation of government policies, e.g. related to FPIC. In many parts of the country, environmentally destructive projects are prioritized by the government, such as dam construction, mining, or large-scale tourism projects. The Dugamat women have been actively engaging in dialogues with local officials, government agencies and private companies in order to push for their rights to ownership and possession of their ancestral domains. Even though the Indigenous Community has developed an Ancestral Domains Sustainable Development and Protection Plan (ADSPP), it remains unrecognized by the National Commission of Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and local government units. Another key challenge for the Indigenous Women members of K-Gat is the indigenous political structure of their group. Although traditionally, women do not engage in governance and decision-making processes, the Dugamat women continue to assert their rights, and to make their voices heard.
“We believe that as Indigenous Peoples, we cannot be separated from our ancestral land and environment because it forms part of our identity. We cannot be called Indigenous Peoples if we are outside our indigenous land, and if we are far from our environment which we are born into. This is why we have this burning desire to protect our land, especially the forest.”
Ms. Conchita Calzado, President of Kababaihang Dumagat Ng Sierra Madre (K-GAT), Philippines
While each presenter offered unique insights into Indigenous Peoples’ actions and initiatives at different levels, some common messages emerged across the diversity of voices: All speakers stressed that Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge, values, customary laws and governance systems fundamentally contribute to biodiversity protection, climate change mitigation and adaptation. At the same time, their huge contributions, their customary land tenure and land rights remain inadequately recognized by governments at national and local levels. Although there is an increased presence and influence of IPLCs over global climate negotiations, with unprecedented space opening up for dialogues between governments and IPLCs, the latter continue to lack of broad and effective participation and equitable representation in the decision-making spaces of global environmental governance. Accordingly, it was echoed across the contributors that only a human-rights based approach to conservation, which fully recognizes and respects the knowledge and rights of Indigenous Peoples, particularly their rights to land territories and resources, can enable the guardians of the world’s ecosystems to continue their customary governance and institutions which form the foundation of their sustainable resource management, and which offer solutions to the intertwined global biodiversity and climate crises.
For more information, please contact the following members of Environment Programme of AIPP:
Lakpa Nuri Sherpa, Environment Programme Coordinator at nuri@aippnet.org
Pirawan Wongnithisathaporn, Environment Programme Officer at pirawan@aippnet.org
Prem Singh Tharu, Environment Programme Officer at prem@aippnet.org
