Too little and too late? Realising the Rights of Indigenous People in Conservation

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A side event by Natural Justice and the Forest Peoples Programme during this year’s UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues called “Too little and too late? Realising the Rights of Indigenous People in Conservation” took place on Friday, 28 April, 2017, with the aim of pushing for a renewed focus on the issues surrounding conservation and human rights.  

While over the last few years we have seen an increasing recognition of the crucial role indigenous people play in conservation, highlighting the linkages between community rights to land and resources and biological diversity, the conservation sector continues to be accused of infringing the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities. 

From the first denials of access of Native Americans to Yellowstone National Park in the 1860s to the on-going plight of the Sengwer community in Kenya (see photo above), there are many documented cases of indigenous peoples being evicted and subjugated in the name of conservation. A 2016 report on the matter by UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Vicky Tauli-Corpuz (see photo left), states that worldwide, 50% of Protected Areas were established on the territories and lands of Indigenous Peoples. This incidence is as high as 90% in Central America. 

Conservation interventions can impact on indigenous and other local communities in a number of ways, including: denial to the right to self determination, denial of free, prior and informed consent; lack of engagement by outsiders with indigenous institutions; eviction; unjust resettlement; destruction of property and livelihoods; denial of access and use of natural resources; intimidation and physical harm; and exploitative employment.

Recently, increasing attention has been paid to these kinds of infringements, including by the reports by two Special Rapporteurs, namely the aforementioned Ms Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, and Professor John Knox, Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment.

It should be noted that these injustices have not been ignored by the conservation sector. Indeed, the adoption of the Durban Accord at the World Parks Congress in 2003 marked a shift as the conservation movement adopted a new paradigm of ‘People and Parks’ which recognised the central role of indigenous peoples in the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.

On top of that the conservation community has adopted some principles and policies recognising its legacy and the on-going human rights violations in many protected areas. These include:

• IUCN initiated the Whakatane Mechanism in 2011 to enable visits to assess, address and redress injustices carried out in the name of conservation against indigenous peoples and local communities, on the ground.
• A number of the larger conservation NGOs have established the Conservation Initiative on Human Rights.
•  Several conservation NGOs have set up indigenous advisory groups or working groups on Human Rights

However, in spite of this improved rhetoric, implementation on the ground continues to be problematic, with on-going cases of human rights violations in the name of conservation.

The aim of the side-event was to build momentum towards a new focus on conservation and human rights by linking recent UN reports and recommendations with local experiences and proposals for ways forwards.

Speakers included Ms Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, who spoke about the recommendations coming out of her report on the matter; Ms Milka Chepkorir, who spoke about the plight of the Sengwer community in Kenya, which is suffering abuses  at the hands of the Kenya Forest Service; Mr Onel Maserdule, who spoke about conflicts between indigenous peoples and conservation initiatives in Panana; and Ms Tuhi Martukaw, from the Kasavakan Community, who added additional examples of such conflict from Taiwan (ROC).

Before opening up the floor for discussion, Milka Chepkorir also read the recommendations that were included in a formal submission called “Joint Submission on the Lack of implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the context of conservation policies and practices” to the Forum during its first week of deliberations. The submission was endorsed by a range of indigenous peoples organisations and their supporting organisations.

The recommendations are as follows:

We call on the Permanent Forum to:

a)   Take the lead in convening an Expert Group Meeting on Conservation and Human Rights in 2018, in collaboration with the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, to further explore options for UN action to promote and protect the rights of indigenous peoples in the context of conservation activities, recognising that conservation science makes very clear that securing indigenous peoples’ collective tenure rights is the surest basis for effective, as well as just, conservation;

b)   Develop an Expert Report on Conservation and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to follow-up the recommendations and reports of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the UN Special Rapporteur on Environment and Human Rights and to inform the work of relevant UN agencies and conventions;

c)  Pursue its recommendations to key global conservation organisations, with a focus on the members of the Conservation Initiative on Human Rights, and to request CIHR members to report in 2018 to the Forum on the implementation of the Initiative;

d)  Urge the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to establish a joint Task Force on Conservation and Human Rights to work with indigenous peoples' organisations to clearly articulate the rights of indigenous peoples in the context of conservation initiatives, and to continue to promote grievance mechanisms and avenues to redress in the context of conservation action, including the Whakatane Mechanism (in turn, contributing to implementation of IUCN Resolution 6.072)[1];

e)  Urge International Financial Institutions, the European Commission, the Global Environment Facility and other donors to apply the strongest possible safeguards in the financing of conservation programmes and projects, including climate change mitigation and adaptation actions, and to recognise collective tenure as the most effective basis for effective conservation and sustainable use of natural resources;

We also call the attention of the Permanent Forum to the following specific case and associated recommendation:

f)   Recommend to the European Union and the Government of Kenya that financing and planned actions in the Cherangany Hills in western Kenya be contingent on the recognition and formal protection of the rights of the forest indigenous peoples, including the Ogiek and the Sengwer, to their lands, as provided for under the Community Land Act, 2016, and the 2010 Constitution, especially Article 63 (2) d ii.

[1] https://portals.iucn.org/library/node/46489

CAPE TOWN HUB: SKILL SHARE SESSION: ‘Conservation Standards’: From rights to responsibilities

Skill Share Presenter: Harry Jonas

With the recognition of the scope for human rights violations in the name of conservation, Harry Jonas and Jael Makagon, set out to produce a set of ‘Conservation Standards’. Harry Jonas, our Program Director, shared the work they produced at the monthly Skill and Information Sharing Session.  

He set out the purpose of these ‘Conservation Standards’  to serve as guidance to right-bearers and stakeholder groups involved in conservation interventions. It aims to be as clear as possible on what precisely are the standards to be complied with when undertaking conservation initiatives. These standards are specifically based on the rights of indigenous peoples, with a focus on the law as it is stated in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This declaration is an articulation of already established customary international norms and standards as found in international law.

He also discussed the importance of the Whakatane Mechanism in relation to the Conservation Standards. The Whakatane Mechanism serves as a redress mechanism in assessing disputes arising in different protected areas around the world.

Natural Justice presented these ‘Conservation Standards’ at the World Conservation Congress in Hawaii early September 2016. It is also currently being discussed at a meeting in Geneva hosted by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, and will be further discussed at a meeting focusing on the Whakatane Mechanism in October.

Conservation Standards

Whakatane Mechanism

IUCN World Conservation Congress

The 6^th IUCN World Conservation Congress was held from 1-10 September in Hawai’i (USA). Harry Jonas launched the first draft of the Conservation Standards at an event co-hosted with Gina Cosentina, which was attended by the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples and the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, among others. As a Co-Chair of the IUCN Task Force on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs), he also presented on early guidance on OECMs at an event hosted at the Protected Planet Pavilion. A number of important resolutions were adopted at the Congress’s Assembly, including on: a) recognition and respect of indigenous peoples’ and community conserved territories and areas (ICCAs) overlapped by protected areas, and b) Enabling the Whakatane Mechanism to contribute to conservation though securing communities’ rights. 

UN Special Rapporteur Holds Dialogue on Indigenous Peoples' Rights and Conservation Activities

On 11 May 2016, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, held a dialogue on Indigenous peoples’ rights and conservation activities with conservation NGOs during the 15th UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The Dialogue provided an opportunity for conservation NGOs to provide the Special Rapporteur with information for a report on the issues that she will be submitting to the UN General Assembly in 2016. The Special Rapporteur will also transmit her recommendations on conservation and indigenous peoples' rights to the IUCN World Conservation Congress in September 2016.

Several large conservation NGOs, as well as Natural Justice, attended the Dialogue. Among many issues addressed, one organization mentioned the need for practical guidance on multi-actor involvement in conservation initiatives, and, in particular, best practices regarding indigenous peoples. Another noted that there is a continuing gap between policies--both international and organizational--and project design, implementation and monitoring. Related to this it was noted that there is a need to develop a better understanding of customary governance of the environment and the natural resources that indigenous peoples steward and rely upon. Others agreed that monitoring and evaluation of conservation activities represents a challenge.

Natural Justice had the opportunity to intervene, and we noted the work we are doing to, among other things, identify the international human rights responsibilities and obligations of conservation actors. It is generally accepted that States have the primary duty to protect human rights. However, NGOs have a responsibility to respect human rights that is analogous to the responsibility of businesses to respect human rights as enumerated in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

We noted that this conclusion is important for two reasons. First, it means that the policies of conservation NGOs regarding indigenous peoples should flow from international human rights sources, such as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and ILO Convention No. 169. In other words, conservation NGOs should develop such policies not as a voluntary exercise but rather as part of satisfying their international human rights responsibilities. Second, if NGOs take the position that they do have the responsibility to respect human rights as enumerated in the UN Declaration and other international instruments, there could be a positive influence on States as well, which often ignore these instruments despite the fact that they have adopted or ratified them.

The Dialogue closed with the Special Rapporteur noting that there have been positive outcomes of indigenous peoples allying themselves with conservation organizations. At the same time, the reality is that problems regarding conservation activities are occurring as well. The Special Rapporteur looked forward to continuing discussions as she works toward finalizing her report for the UN General Assembly.

Beyond Protected Areas

A side event was held at the twentieth meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity's Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice on 'other effective area-based conservation measures. On Monday 25 April, the WCPA Task Force on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) and the Secretariat of the CBD (SCBD) hosted a side event on OECMs. The event was chaired by Kathy MacKinnon (Chair, WCPA/Co-Chair, Task Force on OECMs) and was opened by Braulio Dias (Executive Secretary, SCBD) who underscored the importance of developing guidance on OECMs as a means of contributing to the security of biologically diverse areas that lie beyond the current protected area estate. Trevor Sandwith (Director, Global Protected Areas Programme, IUCN) suggested that the development of guidance on OECMs provides an important opportunity to consider the factors that lead certain areas that are currently not considered to be protected areas to support the conservation of biodiversity and to explore means of enhancing those qualities. Harry Jonas (Natural Justice/Co-Chair, Task Force on OECMs) presented an overview of the Task Force, the roadmap developed in Cambridge (January 2016) and the Task Force’s progress to date. David MacKinnon (Canadian Council on Ecological Areas - CCEA) presented on the CCEA’s work on OECMs, including a screening tool. Questions were raised by, among others, Puri Canals (Mediterranean Protected Areas Network), Simone Lovera (Global Forest Coalition) and Sarah Pearson Perret (Switzerland). Further information about SBSTTA-20 is available here.  

Seeking Feedback on New Publication: Human Rights Standards for Conservation (Part I)

A Bajau Laut child begging from tourists near Tun Sakaran
Marine Park, Malaysia. (cc Harry Jonas)

Despite increased recognition that conservation initiatives can violate the human rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities, addressing 'unjust' conservation remains a contemporary problem. The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and Natural Justice are seeking feedback on a series of technical reports that aim to provide clear guidance about the human rights obligations of conservation actors, and specific details of the rights and forms of redress available.

Upcoming Book: Indigenous Peoples, National Parks, and Protected Areas

The University of Arizona Press, is set to release a new book, “Indigenous Peoples, National Parks, and Protected Areas”. This passionate, well-researched book makes a compelling case for a paradigm shift in conservation practice. It explores new policies and practices, which offer alternatives to exclusionary, uninhabited national parks and wilderness areas and make possible new kinds of protected areas that recognize Indigenous peoples’ rights and benefit from their knowledge and conservation contributions. The author, Stan Stevens, has spent more than 30 years working with the Sharwa (Sherpa) people of Nepal, whose homeland is a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site.  

A vast number of national parks and protected areas throughout the world have been established in the customary territories of Indigenous peoples. In many cases these conservation areas have displaced . This book breaks new ground with its in-depth exploration of changes in conservation policies and practices—and their profound ramifications for Indigenous peoples, protected areas, and social reconciliation.

Report on Africa Regional Symposium for Community Land and Natural Resources Protection

Following the highly success Africa Regional Symposium for Community Land and Natural Resources Protection, co-hosted by Natural Justice and Namati in Cape Town in November 2013, a report on the outcomes of the Symposium have been released.

Community Land and Natural Resource advocates from around Africa gathered together at this symposium to discuss challenges and brainstorm solutions based on their own experiences, revolving around the following 8 key themes:

• Community definition;
• Conflict resolution;
• Governance and Leadership;
• Equity and Gender;
• Conservation and Stewardship;
• Investor-Community Relations;
• Government Barriers to Implementation;
• Policy advocacy and Law-Making.

The organisers look forward to building the momentum created during the symposium. 

Governance of Protected Areas - New IUCN Publication

“Governance of Protected Areas: From understanding to action” - a new publication produced by IUCN, the ICCA Consortium, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the CBD Secretariat, provides an important tool to help enhance governance diversity and quality of the world’s protected area systems.

Addressing an issue that was barely recognised until recently, the Guidelines “Governance of Protected Areas: From understanding to action” represent an important step towards integrating good governance into the conservation agenda. Over the past decades there has been a dramatic change in understanding about how governance of protected areas impacts on the achievement of their conservation goals. IUCN has defined four different forms of governance of protected areas. Along with the familiar state-run protected areas, managed by government employees, there are protected areas established and managed by indigenous peoples, local communities, ecotourism organisations, nonprofit trusts, private individuals, commercial companies and religious institutions, as well as a wealth of shared-governance arrangements between them. Finding the right mix of governance types within a protected area system and improving the quality of governance of individual sites remains one of the key challenges for bridging the implementation gap in CBD’s Programme of Work on Protected Areas, particularly in relation to effective participation, human rights, equity and benefit sharing.

Conservation and Land Grabbing

Salamander in the
reptile house at London Zoo
(Courtesy of Harry Jonas)

Harry Jonas (Natural Justice) attended a workshop in London (26-27 March) entitled: “Conservation and Land Grabbing: Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution?” The meeting was hosted by IIED, the International Land Coalition, Maliasili Initiatives and the Zoological Society of London and was held at the London Zoo. Harry Jonas presented on the ICCA Legal Review and the Living Convention on Biocultural Diversity. Other presenters included: Lorenzo Cotula (IIED), Fiona Flintan (ILC), Guy Counga (CISDL), and Dorothy Nyingi (National Museums of Kenya). The workshop concluded with a number of tentative conclusions and ways forwards. Harry thanks the organizers for the opportunity to present and looks forward to contributing to the Poverty and Conservation Learning Group.

ICCA Consortium Holds Mesoamerican Regional Meeting in Guatemala

Courtesy of Eli Makagon

On March 23, 2013, the ICCA Consortium held a Mesoamerican regional meeting in Totonicapán, Guatemala. The meeting, held from March 23 to March 27, brought together representatives from a range of different organizations and community groups working on ICCAs in the region. Presentations were made on efforts underway in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama and El Salvador regarding ICCAs. Participants shared experiences regarding successes they have had and challenges they continue to face. In Tarcoles, Costa Rica, for example, a local fishing community has created a marine reserve where decisions are made at the local level, with government oversight, that has helped increase fish stocks in the area. Other ICCAs in the region have had varying levels of success in obtaining recognition and enforcing local rules. The biggest challenges remain government actions without prior consultation of those affected and lack of respect for customary methods of conservation management.

Several other issues were also addressed at the meeting, including the United Nation’s Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) programs, the effects of payments for ecosystem services that governments in the region are increasingly offering, and the selection of an ICCA Consortium coordinator for the Mesoamerican region. Eli Makagon, with the assistance of Joseph Kuper, presented on the international legal landscape surrounding ICCAs, noting that ILO 169 is a particularly effective treaty in the region given that twelve Latin American countries have ratified it. At the close of the meeting a public event was held to share results and ways forward. It is clear from the experiences shared that despite significant challenges, a robust system of ICCAs exists in the Mesoamerica region and that more and more communities are seeking and obtaining recognition of their conserved areas.

ICCA Consortium Newsletter Recaps 2012

The Indigenous Peoples’ and Community Conserved Areas and Territories (ICCA) Consortium has released the third edition of its newsletter, which focuses on Consortium events and activities from the final months of 2012. The newsletter blends coverage of work at the international and regional level with activities in specific countries and locations. The newsletter highlights the continued emergence of the ICCA Consortium, especially at the 11th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, as an influential actor representing various coalition partners supporting ICCAs. The steady expansion of national-level work from supporting individual ICCAs to developing nation-wide coalitions is also emphasised. Finally, the success of Consortium members in forcing policy conversations on conservation to always consider ICCAs, something unimaginable 10 years ago, is underscored. 

The newsletter can be downloaded here.

National Geographic Post on Biocultural Diversity

Via nationalgeographic.com

Gleb Raygorodetsky of Natural Justice-partner the Sacred Sites Initiative has drafted a post at National Geographic on the intensifying erosion of the earth’s biodiversity entitled "Pulsating Heart of Nature: How to Ensure Our Collective Bioculturally Resilient Future." He notes the limits in the capacity of linear, reductionist thinking in seeking solutions to this degradation and encourages integrative fields of inquiry to develop new and more meaningful responses. 

He concludes by emphasising the need for a more holistic worldview based on valuing biocultural diversity, and lays out the following requirements for achieving this transformation: 

 “We must embrace change as an inalienable part of life, rather than trying to avert it at any cost. We must be realistic about the scope and scale of what should be done to correct the course, as well as what each of us is capable of doing him or herself. We must also expand our notion of community from a group of people united by their geographic or genetic proximity, to a broader global community inclusive of other like-minded individuals and groups united by their recognition of the value of biocultural diversity as the very ‘pulsating heart’ of Nature. We must work towards a biologically and culturally rich world not only through our work, but more importantly by changing our own thinking and actions.” 

 The post can be accessed here.

Blog Post on Conservation and Human Rights

From its origins in seeking to protect disappearing wildlife at the behest of big-game hunters, conservation has evolved unpredictably and substantively over the past century. With a firm conviction that the practice of conservation, to paraphrase Dr Martin Luther King Jr, is long but ‘bending toward justice’, Dr Kent Redford recently traced the developments in conservation practices and the increasing emphasis on the need to incorporate human rights discourses and practices into conservation in a blog post for Just Conservation.

According to Dr Redford, “change also came about at the turn of the last century because of the issue of justice. The arc of conservation was bending with the realization that our moral argument for the value of conserving biodiversity was seriously flawed if we ourselves were acting immorally towards people. Seeking one justice did not justify abrogating another. So conservation entered the period of accommodation, of self-examination, and of change. It was clear that we needed to seriously consider how our actions, taken in pursuit of conservation goals, affected the rights of the people impacted by those actions.” 

Find the full blog post here.

Natural Justice at 5th IUCN WCC

Harry Jonas and Holly Shrumm of Natural Justice are in Jeju, South Korea, to participate in the Fifth World Conservation Congress of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The Congress will take place from 6-15 September and will be preceded by meetings of the volunteer Commissions. Natural Justice will present at and participate in a range of events related to Indigenous peoples' and local communities' conserved territories and areas (ICCAs), sacred natural sites, biocultural diversity, rights-based approaches to conservation, governance and management of protected areas, the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, and access and benefit sharing, among others. The official Congress programme is available here. Updates will be provided on this blog throughout the Congress. Find ways to engage with the Congress from anywhere here.