ICCA Global Support Initiative – Legal Support

Natural Justice is proud to announce that it will be coordinating the ICCA Global Support Initiative’s work on legal and policy change. The work is a follow up to the 2012 Legal Reviews also coordinated by Natural Justice. The overall object is to ensure greater recognition of and support for territories and areas conserved by Indigenous peoples and communities (ICCAs) through appropriate legal/policy reforms at national, regional and global levels in order to enhance local livelihoods and conservation effectiveness. Activities will include: the development of up to 20 national legal reviews, an international review and a synthesis report; submission of insights from the national level reviews to regional and international legal and policy processes; production of a number of policy briefs on important and emerging issues, such as ‘other effective area-based conservation measures;’ and the facilitation of policy platforms and in-country processes. Natural Justice looks forward to working with the Secretariat of the ICCA Consortium and its members, the GEF-Small Grant Program, IUCN and other partners in this important endeavor. More information and updates will be posted to this blog and on the consortium’s website: www.iccaconsortium.org

Recognizing and Supporting International Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs) and Other Community Conservation Initiatives within the Convention of Biological Diversity

Street Art, Montreal, Canada

Natural Justice’s Cath Traynor recently joined Global Forest Coalition (GFC), the Indigenous Peoples’ and Community Conserved Area (ICCA) Consortium, and the Community Conservation Resilience Initiative (CCRI) at the Twentieth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA), 25-30 April and the First meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI) 2-6 May, Convention on Biological Diversity in Montreal, Canada.

Both SBSTTA and SBI considered a range of agenda items relevant to indigenous peoples’ and community conserved territories and areas and other forms of community conservation. Position papers were produced for both meetings and for each key agenda item the papers highlighted key issues and additional documents and identified how to strengthen the draft recommendations to more appropriately recognise and support ICCAs and other forms of community conservation. During both meetings GFC, ICCA Consortium and CCRI members actively followed key items, presented statements, and submissions to the Secretariat and hosted a Side Event. An important item under consideration was the mainstreaming of biodiversity and ahead of the meetings GFC released a Briefing Paper on ‘Mainstreaming Biodiversity and the Resilience of Community Conservation’ which outlines how mainstreaming requires reforming a diverse range of sectors and processes that are currently harming biodiversity and the peoples and communities who depend directly upon biodiversity for their survival, livelihoods and culture. The paper illustrates how ICCAs and other forms of community conservation can play a key role in the process and considers challenges, the importance of governance, mainstreaming in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors and provides recommendations.

Both SBSTTA and SBI produced recommendations which will be considered at the Thirteenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity will take place 4-17 December, 2016, Cancun, Mexico.

Natural Justice and ICCA Consortium Host Event at EMRIP-7

On Monday 7 July, Natural Justice and the ICCA Consortium co-hosted a lunch-time event at the 7th Session of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP-7) on access to justice, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and Indigenous peoples' and community conserved areas (ICCAs).

Holly Jonas (Natural Justice and ICCA Consortium International Policy Assistant) provided an introduction to ICCAs and access to justice. Emma Courtine (ICCA Consortium Programme Assistant) and Golshan Chahian (Cenesta, pictured at right) presented on a process for implementing rights-based approaches with the Indigenous nomadic tribes of Iran, which includes ICCA recognition, biodiversity conservation, sustainable livelihoods, and re-empowerment. On the latter in particular, Cenesta has a legal work group that aims to achieve nomad-friendly national laws and consists of four main bodies: tribal elders with knowledge of customary laws as legal advisors, lawyers, advocacy, and barefoot lawyers. Through this process, for the first time in national legislation history, Indigenous peoples and local communities in Iran provided suggestions for review and revisions of key national laws, which led to the inclusion of a new chapter on peoples’ participation and rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities.

Natural Justice and ICCA Host Side Event at SBSTTA 18

On June 26, 2014, Natural Justice and the ICCA Consortium held a side event during SBSTTA 18 on Indigenous peoples’ and community conserved territories and areas (ICCAs) and how they can help in achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. The side event focused in particular on Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs), a type of ICCA that encompasses coastal and ocean territories and areas. This topic was particularly relevant given SBSTTA 18 Agenda Item 4 on marine and coastal biodiversity (link to agenda).

The side event featured two speakers, Onel Marsadule, Executive Director of the Foundation for the Promotion of the Indigenous Knowledge, and Taghi Farvar, President of the ICCA Consortium. Onel's presentation focused on the Kuna Yala people of Panama, whose territory includes a large marine ecosystem on Panama's Caribbean coast. Onel noted that the Kuna people have their own system of governance for the protection of marine and coastal biodiversity of their territory. For the Kuna, the importance of protecting marine resources and ecosystems is not only food dependency, but also on a holistic, cultural and spiritual relationship with the marine ecosystems. The Kuna have codified their customary laws into a written text, and one provision requires any project or activity affecting natural resources and biodiversity (which would include marine resources and biodiversity) to have an environmental impact study. He concluded by observing that it is essential to recognize indigenous resource management of marine ecosystems and called on Parties to strengthen customary laws and practices of conservation and traditional institutions.

UNPFII 13 Side Event – Indigenous Peoples' and Community Conserved Territories & Areas (ICCAs)

On Wednesday 14 May 2014, the GEF Small Grants Program hosted a side event jointly with UNDP, Natural Justice, the ICCA Consortium, WAMIP, UNINOMAD Iran and Cenesta to address ICCAs and how they support appropriate governance in line with Articles 3 to 6 and 46 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN Declaration). The event highlighted experiences from the field, with case studies from Iran, Chile, and Australia.

Community Protocols Featured in Land Watch Asia Skill-share

The Land Watch Asia campaign of the Asian NGO Coalition (ANGOC) hosted a skill-share and learning session on 17 January at the University of the Philippines-Diliman. It took place immediately following the Asian People’s Tribunal and included participants from a range of ANGOC partners across the region. The session focused on sharing community experiences with threats to their land rights, sharing existing mechanisms for protecting land rights, and drawing out effective strategies for defending communities’ land rights.

Following opening remarks by facilitator Catherine Liamzon (ANGOC), Dr. Sadeka Halim (Information Commission Bangladesh) presented on the Right to Information Act, underscoring the fundamental importance of access to information in securing further procedural and substantive rights. Sam Pedragosa (Philippine Association for Intercultural Development and Southeast Asia regional coordinator for the ICCA Consortium; pictured above) then gave a critical overview of community experiences with free, prior and informed consent in the Philippines, with particular emphasis on how the spirit of this process has been manipulated by project proponents (primarily mining companies) for their own benefit and to the detriment of the Indigenous peoples and communities concerned, despite being enshrined in the 1997 Indigenous Peoples Rights Act.

ICCA Consortium and Natural Justice at WILD 10

From the 8th to the 10th of October the ICCA Consortium representatives and Natural Justice attended the 10th World Wilderness Congress, Wild 10, in Salamanca, Spain. Approximately 1500 people, including indigenous peoples and local communities, conservation organizations, government and business representatives attended the conference during which experiences were shared on conservation measures across the globe. An Indigenous and Community Lands and Seas Forum was also held during which members of the ICCA Consortium spoke of their territories and resources and the challenges faced to protect and conserve them. 

Gino Cocchiaro (Natural Justice) was invited to speak about community protocols and highlight examples as to how such protocols are being used to foster dialogue and agreement between communities and protected area authorities. 

International Meeting of the ICCA Consortium

The Indigenous Peoples' and Community Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCA) Consortium held its annual international meeting, including its General Assembly from the 4th-6th of October, in Valdeavellano de Tera, Spain. 

Natural Justice is a founding member of the ICCA Consortium and Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice) and Lesle Jansen (Natural Justice) are its International Policy Adviser and Co-ordinator for Southern and East Africa respectively. 

During the 3 days, members of the Consortium from Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe shared their experiences on work with ICCAs. Among the discussions were experiences from Philippines and Europe in which communities have been able to successfully protect their ICCAs.

Indigenous Peoples and Community Conserved Territories and Areas in Kenya

On the 14^th of June 2013, Natural Justice participated in a meeting in Nairobi, Kenya on Indigenous Peoples Community Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCA). The meeting was organized by the ICCA Network in Kenya, with support of by the GEF Small Grants Programme, and attended by a number of civil society representatives in Kenya. Participants in the meeting heard from Grazia Borrini-Feyerabend, General Secretary of the ICCA Consortium, Kanyinke Sena, a indigenous peoples rights lawyer and member of the UNPFII and Clement Lenachuru, Commissioner of the Kenyan National Land Commission. The Kenyan ICCA Network also discussed with participants their plans to raise awareness on ICCA’s and highlight various Kenyan ICCA examples over the next year. Natural Justice, as members and southern and eastern African representatives the Consortium have been asked to support to the ICCA Network in this process.

ICCA Toolkit Now Available

The UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) has recently released a new resource entitled "A Toolkit to Support Conservation by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities: Building capacity and sharing knowledge for Indigenous Peoples’ and Community Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCAs)". The toolkit documents sixteen case studies and a diverse set of innovative tools and approaches developed to help Indigenous peoples and local communities address critical challenges that affect their natural and cultural resources. The resources are organised around five key themes: documentation, management planning, monitoring and evaluation, communication, and finance and values. It also sets out tools to support the effectiveness and viability of ICCAs as governance structures for the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems. Our review of international law and jurisprudence, the Convention on Biological Diversity's Technical Series No. 64 on recognising and supporting ICCAs, and the toolkit and website on biocultural community protocols are highlighted as tools for legal empowerment and securing legal recognition.

In addition to UNEP-WCMC, the toolkit was developed with the support of and in collaboration with the UN Development Programme, the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme, the Government of Norway, the German Agency for International Cooperation, and the ICCA Consortium. It is available for download in English here.

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.

Major Geotagged Report on Oil Palm in Palawan, the Philippines

Ancestral Land/Domain Watch (ALDAW) has just released a major report on the environmental and social impact of oil palm expansion on the Palawan UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the Philippines, with the support of Rainforest Rescue and the World Rainforest Movement. Part I of the report contains information about the biocultural diversity and Indigenous peoples of Palawan, the institutional and legislative framework for the oil palm industry, company strategies to gain official permits and control, the status of plantations in several municipalities, civil society opposition, and ongoing challenges and future trends. It then provides recommendations to a range of key actors, including the national and provincial governments, the Philippine Coconut Authority and Department of Agriculture, the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, international organisations and donors, and civil society in the Philippines.

Part II of the report contains samples of geo-coded photos of oil palm locations and impacted areas (geotagging is the process of associating photos with specific geographic locations using GPS coordinates).

ALDAW is a Philippines-based advocacy campaign network of Indigenous peoples defending their ancestral land and resources from mining corporations, oil palm companies, top-down conservation schemes and all forms of imposed development, on Palawan Island and a fellow member of the Indigenous peoples' and community conserved territories and areas (ICCA) Consortium. Please visit ALDAW's Vimeo page, read other geo-tagged reports from Gantong and Bulanjao (Palawan), and consider signing the following petitions:

• To stop the plundering of Indigenous territories,
• To stop palm oil expansion in the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and
• "No to Mining in Palawan".

Launch of the Philippines ICCA Consortium

In the Philippines, the future of conservation is directly linked to Indigenous peoples. Recent spatial analysis shows that the vast majority of the country's remaining forests and key biodiversity areas are located within Indigenous peoples' ancestral domains. From 19-21 February, Koalisyon ng Katutubong Samahan ng Pilipinas (KASAPI, the national Indigenous peoples' coalition of the Philippines) and the Philippine Association for Inter-cultural Development (PAFID) co-hosted a workshop to establish the foundation for a national consortium on Indigenous peoples' and community conserved territories and areas (ICCAs). This initiative was in direct response to the Manila Declaration, which emphasises Indigenous peoples’ rights to lands and resources and the strengthening of traditional governance systems and sets out guidelines for Indigenous peoples, government and support organisations. The Declaration was agreed at the first national conference on ICCAs, held in March 2012 at the University of the Philippines.

Workshop participants were comprised of Indigenous leaders from the 7 ethnographic regions of the Philippines. Dr. Grazia Borrini-Feyerbend (Global Coordinator, ICCA Consortium), Samson Pedragosa (PAFID and ICCA Consortium Southeast Asia Regional Coordinator), and Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice and ICCA Consortium International Policy Assistant) served as resource people on successes, challenges, and lessons learned from ICCAs around the world and in international law and policy. Other speakers included Honourable Teddy Baguilat (Chairman, Committee on National Cultural Communities, House of Representatives of the Philippines), Folay Eleazar (Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources), and Toshihiro Tanaka (Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP).

Many thanks to KASAPI, PAFID and PAWB for their generous hospitality and congratulations to the Indigenous leaders on this exciting initiative!

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.

ICCA Consortium Reports from IUCN Congress and CBD COP11 Available

Two participants' reports are now available from the ICCA Consortium that detail the events and outcomes of the International Union for Conservation of Nature World Conservation Congress (IUCN WCC), held in Jeju in September 2012, and the 11th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP11), held in Hyderabad in October 2012. Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice) co-authored the reports in her role as the Consortium's International Policy Assistant.

The IUCN WCC report is available here and more information about the ICCA Consortium's activities in Jeju can be explored here. The CBD COP11 report is available here; more information about the Consortium's activities in Hyderabad can be found here; and an overview of key COP11 outcomes for Indigenous peoples and local communities is available here.