Guide on Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples

including indigenous peoples and AMAN. Around 200representatives from civil society, indigenous peoples and governmentrepresentatives from different departments and sectors are takingpart. There is a draft framework for a Strategic Environmental andSocial Assessment which covers the issues raised by AMAN andother NGOs, the PC, the donors and the NGOs. AMAN is hopefulthat with these efforts they will be able to change the laws andpolicies related to their rights and REDD. 30 In a recent decision, the International Finance Corporation (IFC),the private arm of the WB Group, suspended its funding forthe palm oil sector, in particular, the loans and investments forWilmar International (the world's top producer of palm oil). 31This is the result of many years of cumulative work of AMANand Sawit Watch. In 2007 AMAN convinced the UNPFII to makea report on the “Oil Palm and other Commercial Tree Plantations;Monocropping: Impacts on Indigenous Peoples Land Tenure andResource Management Systems and Livelihoods.” 32 The expansion ofoil palm plantations in Indonesia was taking place as the demand forbiofuels for renewable energy has increased. The rights of indigenouspeoples to their lands were seriously threatened because of this; so amass campaign was launched to stop expansion efforts. AMAN fileda complaint with the CERD in 2007 and the CERD came up with arecommendation that the expansion programme of the governmenthas to be stopped. The Forum report was used to strengthen the case.Nineteen local indigenous organizations, small holder plantationowners and environmental NGOs filed a complaint to the IFCOmbudsman in 2007 over Wilmar's business practices in Sumatraand Kalimantan. An audit was performed by the Ombudsmanand found that Wilmar International violated IFC's proceduresand environmental and social standards. The IFC Ombudsmanreport was released in September 2009 and the decision to suspendwas announced inSeptember 14, 2009.This latest move is aboost to the efforts ofindigenous peoples inIndonesia to get thegovernment and thecorporations to respecttheir basic humanrights.By using the issue of forests - whichhas become very prominent againbecause of REDD and climate change- the indigenous peoples managedto open up more spaces to push forchanges in the forest and agrarianlegislation and the way the governmentis dealing with indigenous peoples’rights and identity issuesPART V: REDD/REDD+ and Indigenous Peoples 87