UNDRIP Report - English FINAL - International Forum on Globalization

implementation of <strong>UNDRIP</strong> via the recently formed
Indigenous Peoples’ Network for the Implementation
of the Declaration, has worked to unite the
indigenous peoples, even though they are often very
divided politically. Tauli-Corpuz remarked that the
implementation of <strong>UNDRIP</strong> is evident every day in
indigenous peoples’ lives. She gave as an example
the action plan on indigenous peoples’ right to
education and how it has helped bring awareness to
the high illiteracy rates among indigenous peoples,
which is an issue that really speaks to indigenous
peoples’ everyday lives. She expressed that she felt
that these action plans are great ways to use <strong>UNDRIP</strong>
to unite indigenous peoples rather than highlight
their divisions. She commented that if one is more
positive then more could be achieved.
Regarding positive case studies on the
implementation of the CBD, Tauli-Corpuz explained
that on the CBD website there are examples of case
studies on how the ecosystem approach is being
applied in different countries. These studies were
submitted not only by the government but also by
NGOs and indigenous peoples, she added. Also,
after any training on the implementation of <strong>UNDRIP</strong>
that the Tebtebba Foundation puts on, their staff
produces publications reporting on these trainings,
and then they post them on Tebtebba’s website.
These books are useful because they contain all of the
questions that IP have raised and the experiences
they have undergone in their own countries, Tauli-
Corpuz explained.
As far as REDD and the ecosystem approaches, it is
important to incorporate all the neighboring
countries into the same conservation practices, Tauli-
Corpuz stated. She then gave the example of forests
in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which
actually cover land in Cameroon as well as in Gabon.
So if deforestation is allowed to occur in Cameroon
and Gabon but not in the DRC, then the conservation
of the forests in the DRC will not actually help
decrease CO 2 emissions overall. All of the carbon
emissions saved in these forests in the DRC will leak
into these neighboring countries. “Leakage is not
something that is bound by national boundaries,”
Tauli-Corpuz said. She suggested that the groups
working on REDD really need to address how to
work around national boundaries, as in the example
above. REDD really needs to be addressed with an
ecosystem and a human rights approach, Tauli-
Corpuz believes.
Chief Kokoi responded to Tauli-Corpuz’s comments
about case studies. He remarked that there were
some case studies in Article 10c of the CBD. Chief
Kokoi believes that “these case studies are interesting
in the countries that they are being done—it’s just
that the governments are not paying attention to
them.” But, because they were done by indigenous
peoples, and because they would lead to a resource
management plan, which would eventually lead to a
territory for indigenous peoples, governments would
not support such a thing, he added. Chief Kokoi
believes that an exchange of information via
documentaries would be very useful. “Because in
some areas especially in the Amazon you have very
good actions that were taken. If you can put them in
documentary form and send them to other
indigenous communities, they can see what other
indigenous peoples are doing in other parts of the
world,” he explained.
Chief Kokoi said that within his community in
Guyana (an <strong>English</strong>-speaking country) they
sometimes feel that they “are the only ones trying to
fight the big bad government.” He went on to say
that his community does not know that others are
fighting as well because they do not have access to
radios or newspapers (except that on occasion they
receive a newspaper that is one month old). “We
don’t have access to anything,” said Chief Kokoi, “so
we are living in our own little world.” He remarked
that the only radio broadcasts that they receive are
from Brazil (in Portuguese), or from Spanishspeaking
neighboring countries—all in languages
that they don’t understand. It is very important to
disperse this information as widely as possible,
because it would let indigenous peoples know that
their struggle is worldwide, he concluded.
Trevor Stevenson of Amazon Alliance added, “There
is a lot of talk about participation, and within the
CBD there is a formal mechanism by which
indigenous peoples participate, an indigenous
peoples’ caucus. Within the UN climate change
negotiations there is not.” He claimed that
indigenous leaders are complaining about this. He
asked the presenters, “What do you all think works
well within the CBD’s indigenous peoples’ caucus—
the indigenous peoples’ mechanism for
participation—and what would you want to improve
or change if we were going to make an indigenous
peoples’ mechanism in the climate change
negotiations?”
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