Spatial Planning for Conservation and Sustainable Development in Sabah

On 23 May, Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice) attended a day-long meeting on spatial planning for conservation and sustainable development in Sabah, Malaysia, which was organised by Hutan and the Malaysian branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Malaysia). With an overall emphasis on establishing the technical information-base for a holistic landscape approach to planning, participants highlighted the following points, among others:

• The need for a multi-stakeholder integrated approach with a common vision and concerted strategy that focuses on connectivity, viability, complementarity, target-setting, and cost-efficiency (known as 'systematic conservation planning'),
• The need to fill knowledge gaps in the spatial data such as location of 'good quality' forests, social-cultural values, and distribution of biodiversity and threats to it,
• The importance of providing technical inputs into the draft 20-year Sabah Structure Plan, including social safeguards in line with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and
• The importance of also planning for governance, management, implementation, and enforcement.

Participants also discussed unique considerations required for marine spatial planning, impacts of climate change (particularly on plant life), implications of different definitions of 'forests' (for example, if oil palm plantations were to be included), and the need to protect islands and mangroves from further developments.

Online Debate on RSPO and Palm Oil Sustainability

Darrel Weber, RSPO Secretary General

On 21 May, Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice) joined an online debate hosted by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) on a range of questions concerning palm oil sustainability. The debate was moderated by acclaimed writer and journalist Fred Pearce and the speakers included Darrel Weber (Secretary General, RSPO), Robert Hii (Outreach Manager, Palm Oil Consumers Action), and Lorinda Jane and Michelle Nicol (Products on Australian Shelves that Contain Palm Oil).

The discussion revolved primarily around the following topics: 

• Challenges, including the complexity of the supply chain, lack of consumer confidence in RSPO-certified palm oil in certain 'developed' markets, and the overall balance that needs to be struck in multi-stakeholder processes between high standards and participation of key players in an evolving industry;

Participatory photography workshop held in Melangkap, Sabah

On 16 May, Borneo Conservancy Initiative and Natural Justice co-organised a participatory photography workshop with the five villages of Melangkap in Sabah, Malaysia. The workshop was facilitated by Remmy Alfie Awang, a Global Diversity Foundation community researcher from the nearby village of Bundu Tuhan. Remmy led the community participants through an introduction to digital cameras, the basics of taking pictures, and a practical session around Melangkap Kapa. The participants will be using photography to document and communicate various aspects of their communities, traditions, and ways of life as part of a broader process to develop a community protocol, which is supported by the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme of Malaysia. Additional workshops on photo editing as well as participatory video and mapping are currently being planned.

We are very grateful to Remmy for leading such an excellent workshop and to all of the participants and our hosts in Melangkap Kapa!

Natural Justice Attends Meeting of the Working Group on Extractive Industries

Following the Secretariat of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights' press release on 25 April 2013, Stephanie Booker of Natural Justice attended a meeting of the Working Group on Extractive Industries, Environment and Human Rights Violations in Pretoria, South Africa on 6 May.

In line with the Working Group's mandate to request, gather, receive and exchange information and materials, participants gathered from a number of civil society organisations around Africa to provide inputs into discussions on impacts of extractive industries in South Africa.  It was also an excellent opportunity to learn more about the mandate of the Working Group, and its work plans in the coming years.

Deulahudi Villagers Map Their Claim Under Forest Rights Act

Deulahudi, a small tribal village in Hrichandanpur Block of Keounjhar District n Odisha, India assembled for a participatory mapping exercise of their Community Forest Resources on 28th April 2013. The gathering was a field exercise carried out in their traditionally protected forest. The village is inhabited by the Kolha (also known as Munda or Ho) Tribe, recognized as one of the 62 Schedule Tribes in Odisha. According to village elders, the village consists of 40 households which are the descendants from 12 original families that settled in the village four generation back. The livelihood of the community is mostly based on gathering forest products.

Damburu Munda, Secretary of Forest Rights Committee of the Village, shared that while 59 individual forest rights claims were filed, only 44 titles were issued to the claimants for cultivation on forest land by district administration. They do not know the reason why the rest of the claims were not recognized.The villagers identified their Traditional Boundary with the prominent land marks and put it in the Sketch Map. They are collecting around 32 different minor forest products such as the mahua flower, mushrooms, char seed, siali and sal leaf (used as leaf plate), bamboo, tendu (fruit and leaf) within their customary boundary. The Forest Protection Committee is named after the village deity, Maa Disauli.

Conservation & Society Special Section on Community-based Conservation

The latest issue of Conservation & Society (an open-access interdisciplinary journal exploring linkages between society, environment and development) contains a special section on community-based conservation. The introductory article, entitled "Conservation as if People Also Mattered: Policy and Practice of Community-based Conservation" by Ashish Kothari, Philip Camill, and Jessica Brown, sets the stage with the following abstract:

"Community-based conservation is being increasingly recognised as a major global force in the protection and sustainable management of ecosystems and species. Yet documentation of its main achievements and shortcomings, and the key issues it faces, is still at a nascent stage. This paper introduces the concept and experience of two forms of community-based conservation: Collaborative Management of Protected Areas (CMPA), and Indigenous Peoples' and Local Community Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCAs). It explores the emergence of these approaches in the context of global international conservation policy. Reviewing four case studies that were presented at a symposium convened at the Bowdoin College (Maine, USA, in November 2008), and drawing from the discussion during that session, it identifies some key lessons and principles that are likely to be applicable to community-based conservation across the world."

Natural Justice Facilitates Biocultural Community Protocol Training for the Ogiek Community

On 17 April, Natural Justice facilitated a biocultural community protocol (BCP) training workshop for the Ogiek Community in Nakuru, Kenya.  Lack of recognition of their status as indigenous peoples, an increase in wildlife conservation and development in the region has caused displacement from their traditionally-owned lands.  The Community have brought their issues to the African Court on Human and People's Rights, with the African Court recently providing interim measures to stop the eviction of the Ogiek from the Mau Forest by the Government of Kenya.

The BCP training was attended by a variety of community members including women, youth, elders and the NGO supporting the community.  The development of the BCP will complement the Community's advocacy work within the region and will, amongst other things, highlight the community's history and customary laws and norms and rights at a local, regional and international level. See here for the interim measures. 

Release of "Guidelines for Environmental Protection in Foreign Investment and Cooperation" by Chinese Ministries

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Environmental Protection recently released its "Guidelines for Environmental Protection in Foreign Investment and Cooperation".  The Guidelines are to "guide enterprises in China to raise their environmental protection awareness, and to understand and observe environmental protection policies and regulations of the host country in foreign investment and cooperation, so as to realize mutual benefits".

Based on recommendations by a Chinese NGO, Global Environmental Institute, the Guidelines consider a range of topics, including respect for community religious beliefs, cultural traditions and national customs, international standards, environmental protections and environmental impact assessments. The Guidelines are non-binding, but do provide civil society groups with an opportunity to hold Chinese companies responsible for their actions overseas. The Guidelines can be found here.

"FPIC and the Extractive Industries: A Guide to Applying the Spirit of Free, Prior and Informed Consent in Industrial Projects

The International Institute for Environment and Development has published a resource on free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) as it relates to extractive industries. FPIC and the Extractive Industries: A Guide to Applying the Spirit of Free, Prior and Informed Consent in Industrial Projects points out that corporations are increasingly aware of the need to secure and maintain a ‘social license to operate’ because implementing a project without the support and trust of local communities can lead to operational delays, financial costs and litigation; even project closure, violence and loss of life. The Guide is targeted primarily at companies, and those working with them, who are looking to engage with FPIC in a meaningful way. It advocates respect for communities’ customary practices, and sets forth a three-point framework for companies to follow that seeks to move companies beyond compliance with minimum standards to achieving the spirit of FPIC with all communities. Among the resources for “flexible systems for participation and deliberation [that] will provide companies with guidance on how to achieve the spirit of FPIC” the Guide lists the Biocultural Community Protocol Toolkit developed by Natural Justice for community facilitators. The publication can be found here. 

World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty Stresses Land Governance

Photo: World Bank

From 8-11 April 2013, the World Bank Group held its annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty in Washington, DC. The theme for this year’s conference was “Moving towards transparent land governance: Evidence-based next steps” and stressed the importance of land governance and its relationship to agriculture productivity and food security. The conference aimed to share good practices and advance reforms in six thematic areas:

• Securing land rights and improving land use at the grassroots; 
• Adjusting laws and institutions to address urban expansion and governance; 
• Innovative approaches towards spatially enabling land administration and management;
• Supporting a continuum of rights in a decentralized environment; 
• Mobilizing the private sector to improve land governances; and 
• Sharing benefits from exploitation.