UNDRIP Report - English FINAL - International Forum on Globalization

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Aguto conceptually supported the development of a network for implementation, but questioned the extent to which he or other participants could be involved, due to their current involvement in existing networks. As an overall message, he believes that indigenous people “define sustainability,” as reflected by their close relationship with the earth for thousands of years, and are the best people to act as stewards. According to Aguto, indigenous peoples’ presence in REDD discussions is non-negotiable, “and that message, in terms of the indigenous peoples’ inherent sustainability in their practices, needs to be elevated when we are talking about a new way of thinking about the world, either economically or in the way we deal with Mother Earth. Indigenous peoples have that first message, which needs to be carried forth.” In addition, Aguto echoed previous comments regarding indigenous diplomacy and expressed the importance of elevating indigenous peoples’ roles in international negotiations. He cited Barack Obama’s recent telecast, where he affirmed a nation-to-nation relationship when dealing with indigenous peoples. Aguto also expressed a sense of urgency in communication and outreach efforts to civil society regarding the current effects of climate change on indigenous peoples. “We have 186 of the 226 Alaskan native villages which are threatened by climate change right now. And this is a GAO report, this is a federal government report… they are being flooded, and the people are being relocated because of climate change. Their very culture, what they have been practicing for 13,000 years, is being taken out from under them…this essential indigenous identity…” said Aguto. Teresa Buppert of Conservation <strong>International</strong> followed up on Atossa Soltani’s comment regarding the importance of internalizing <strong>UNDRIP</strong> into participant organizations. Conservation <strong>International</strong> has policy similar to that of the WWF, and Buppart will be embarking on a policy revision process. She expressed interest in hearing about the experiences of other organizations: how they have gone about internalizing the Declaration, where they have met with success, and what lessons they have learned. Buppart supported either an informal or a formal network, and stressed the importance of personally embodying the principles of <strong>UNDRIP</strong> within everyone’s own organizations as an essential starting point. Daphne Wysham, the director of the Institute for Policy Studies’ Sustainable Energy & Economy Network, said that she has been working Capitol Hill with the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and developing principles with John Fitzgerald and others on climate action that includes principles that incorporate environmental justice and avoiding offsets as part of the solution. “It also includes a carbon-free, nuclear-free set of principles and we are going to resuscitate it in the next Congress, and we really look forward to working with people who would like to be part of the coalition, both domestically and to get input from the international folks, and see how we can also implement <strong>UNDRIP</strong> through that vehicle as well,” she said. Trevor Stevenson, the co-director of the Amazon Alliance, clarified a comment he had made previously about a possible network. “When I was explaining the difficulties of running a network, I wasn’t intending to say we shouldn’t make one,” he explained. “I was trying to offer a dose of reality about what that means, versus having convening meetings to exchange ideas. So it may actually be very important for us to build a network that exclusively focuses on developing <strong>UNDRIP</strong>, but it is an enormous undertaking, so I just wanted to put that forth.” “One of the things that we are doing is setting out a set of principles that all members are expected to comply with, which essentially can be reduced to one, which is to implement <strong>UNDRIP</strong> within your organization and within your work,” Stevenson explained. “So we are looking at doing that, and how you do that in terms of managing and evaluating whether people are doing that, and helping them coordinate with each other, and so on.” He added that although it has a long way to go to accomplish this, the Amazon Alliance hopes to build this within its network. He added that the meeting had been extremely useful, and thanked the IFG for “pulling it together. You have held a number of events like this, sort of idea exchange events that have been really useful, certainly to us and to many of our members, in thinking about things in new ways and getting new ideas and forming new connections, and I think that’s great,” he said. 71
Aaron Goldzimer of the Environmental Defense Fund explained, “I work mostly on rainforest and indigenous peoples’ issues, more on the ground in Peru and other places and on other global issues. So my chief interest, with respect to the Declaration, is basically how I can use it and how my partners in Peru can use it to help advance their rights.” Goldzimer said that the meeting had been extremely useful and that he looks forward to finding out as much more as possible. Athena Ballesteros of the World Resources Institute explained that the focus of her team’s work is on financial institutions. “We have a couple of policy research [reports] planned on FPIC (free prior informed consent), and I will make sure my team that is watching the review of the performance standards will have <strong>UNDRIP</strong> implementation and the actualization of the Declaration in our minds,” she said. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz thanked everyone for attending the conference on behalf of her organization, Tebtebba, and the UN Permanent <strong>Forum</strong> on Indigenous Issues. “I think that it has really been a very substantial discussion that we had, and definitely we cannot put on paper all the power of all of the things that we have had,” she said. Tauli-Corpuz urged the IFG to make a Listserv, which she thinks would be useful because it would “bring people to link more with each other while the memory is still fresh, in terms of what [had been] discussed.” She views aListserv as an effective way to shape ideas and put more form into the language that the organizations would like to put forward. “My suggestion is that it would be good if we could circulate the Rainforest Foundation’s statement in relation to REDD, where they clearly said that <strong>UNDRIP</strong> should be a central framework that should be there,” she added. She suggested circulating the statement to get more signatories, so that when it gets to Poznan, there is already a statement that is not just a Rainforest Foundation statement but something that has been supported by others. She urged organizations that had already made submissions or statements to pass them around and get others to sign on who feel that they would like to endorse or support it. “It would really get better traction in terms of getting the attention of government, and that is the way that we operated in the past, and it worked,” she explained. Tauli-Corpuz reminded the participants that Tebtebba would follow up with indigenous peoples’ meetings, and that there is an upcoming conference on extractive industries, which she called “a major issue for indigenous peoples all over the world.” “We are extending our invitation to NGOs that are very much involved in the work around extractive industries, because that is really an opportunity for us to shape the exact recommendations that should come out in relation to the UN Declaration and extractive industries,” she added. Evelyn Arce-White, the executive director of <strong>International</strong> Funders for Indigenous Peoples, noted that in all the education that had happened, what she saw was almost a “transformation in people,” that they “recognize the importance of <strong>UNDRIP</strong>.” As to the philanthropic world, she urged NGOs to educate donors about <strong>UNDRIP</strong>. “Promoting and safeguarding indigenous peoples is critically important, because ninety-five percent of the cultural diversity is indigenous people,” she explained. “Eighty percent of the remaining biodiversity is on indigenous territories. Basically, this is not just about indigenous peoples, this is about Mother Earth. This is about all our children, our great-grandchildren, and our future.” Arce-White added that she thinks to put it into that kind of framework, that we are here not just to support indigenous peoples, but we are also here to support our Earth and support ourselves, “It is OK to be a little selfish, to think about our children, our great-grandchildren,” she said. “This is about all of us as human beings, basically. So please talk to other NGOs, talk to your colleagues, [and] internalize this, because it is extremely, extremely important.” Nurzat Abdyrasulova, the director of the civic environmental foundation UNISON in Kyrgyzstan, added that one more important thing to think about is how to implement <strong>UNDRIP</strong>on the local level. “That is why it is very important also to build the capacity of the local NGOs, of the local people who will be benefiting from this and are tackling these issues,” she said. Abdyrasulova believes that the knowledge she gained from the meeting, and would gain through a Listserv, will enable her organization to bring this information to the local level, distribute it, and also to try to approach the government about 72
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[Strategy Session] IMPLEMENTING THE
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[ S U M M A R Y R E P O R T ] I M P
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INT ROD UCT IO N Victor Menotti of
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determine the Alliance’s prioriti
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spiritual practices that are not bu
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Discussion Trevor Stevenson of the
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utilize members of the indigenous S
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their rights had been violated when
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their climate change impact, and ar
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change conference in Bali, Indonesi
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concerns and explaining why they we
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Page 35 and 36: and indigenous issues.” He told t
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Page 39 and 40: Secondly, Ole Simel made the point
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Page 57 and 58: could [potentially] generate $50 bi
Page 59 and 60: Discussion Athena Ballesteros of th
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Page 81 and 82: LIST OF PA RTICI PA N TS Brazil Ms.
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