Call for contributions for the forthcoming book "Indigenous Perspectives on Living with Sacred Heritage (2016)"

A forthcoming book aims to amplify Indigenous custodians voices in a publication entitled "Indigenous Perspectives on Living with Sacred Heritage (2016)".

The book will look to the notion of a sacred site as defined by its indigenous custodians. The primary interest of the volume is to provide a platform for indigenous custodians to explain how they view and treat the sacred through a written account that is available to a global audience.

The volume seeks contributions that provide examples of indigenous sacred sites governance and management, with each example treated as a separate chapter. The goal is to highlight indigenous approaches and present concerns regarding sacred natural site management. The prefereance is to encourage indigenous authors, but all voices that further the proposed goals of the book are invited.

Authors should indicate their expression of interest by 30 June 2016. Please seethe Sacred Natural Sites page here for more details.

Stewarding the Earth: Rethinking Property and the Emergence of Biocultural Rights. A New Book by Kabir Bavikatte

The recent Oxford University Press, Stewarding the Earth: Rethinking Property and the Emergence of Biocultural Rights seeks to theorize some of the most significant experiences of Natural Justice since its inception. Written by Kabir Bavikatte, a co-founder and former member of Natural Justice, the book makes a strong case for the right to stewardship of Nature through biocultural rights. 

Weaving a fascinating tapestry of law, economics, anthropology and philosophy, Kabir maps and argues for biocultural rights of communities through compelling examples of environmental agreements, legislation, judicial decisions, and community practices. While most books on environmental jurisprudence tend to be expensive and dense tomes directed at academia, Kabir has made good on his promise of writing a low-cost, engaging book that theorizes the work of Natural Justice and its partners. Informative and stimulating, Stewarding the Earth is bound to have a profound impact on the environmental lawscape.

CBD Alliance Publishes an Activists' Guide to the CBD

The CBD Alliance is proud to announce the publishing of the "Activists' Guide to the CBD". The guide describes the work of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), its structures, its protocols, cross cutting issues, among other valuable resources. The  guide is intended to provide a simple and accessible introduction to the Convention on Biological Diversity and current efforts to protect biodiversity. It aims to reflect a range of views held by members of the CBD Alliance, and includes summaries of CBD materials and other resources. The guide is aimed at those new to the CBD processes, as well as anyone wishing to deepen their understanding of the work being undertaken by different parties at an international level.

Terralingua Publishes Biocultural Diversiy Toolkit

With a view to making the concept and some of the applications of biocultural diversity more widely known to researchers, professionals, policy makers, and the general public, Terralingua has published the Biocultural Diversity Toolkit.

Since 1996, Terralingua has spearheaded research and applied work that have helped forge an integrated biocultural perspective on nature conservation and sustainable development: an approach that respects diversity in both nature and culture, and that recognizes the inextricable link between humans and the natural environment as vital to achieving human development in balance with nature. There are many hopeful signs of growing awareness of the critical importance of biocultural diversity for the vitality and resilience of our planet. Yet, stemming the continued erosion of life systems in both nature and culture requires a decisive effort to communicate, educate, share insights, and promote a new vision for human futures.

Indigenous World 2014 Published, with Chapter by NJ's Lesle Jansen

Natural Justice’s Lesle Jansen has contributed a chapter on South Africa to the International Working Group on Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) annual publication, Indigenous Affairs. The 2014 edition contains a comprehensive update on the current situation of indigenous peoples in 73 articles written by indigenous and non-indigenous scholars and activists.

The chapter on South Africa is one  of 58 country reports and 15 articles on international processes, reflecting ongoing worldwide human rights violations, especially with regards to indigenous peoples’ land, territories and resources.

The reports also reflect indigenous peoples’ path towards the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, their participation in climate change negotiations, engagement with the Post 2015 Development Agenda, and their local struggles for the implementation of their right to development with free, prior and informed consent, among many other issues of importance in 2013.

New Report on Compensation for Communities in Relation to Large Investments

Natural Justice’s  Stephanie Booker has contributed a chapter entitled "Biocultural Community Protocols: A useful means of securing community interests in the context of extractive industries" to a new publication by the Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC). 

Supported by Bread for the World and Groupe Tchad, the publication, "Compensation Matters. Securing community interests in large-scale investments", provides analyses of contentious issues in compensation matters such as power relations in negotiations, entitlements for compensation,  as well as an examination of the different types of compensation and discussion of a number of issues with respect to affected communities. 

Also included are  a number of tools and approaches that may be/ have been use to approach compensation strategically, aimed at sustainable, just and inclusive outcomes for affected communities.

The Right to Responsibility - Our Latest Book for Peer Review

We’re pleased to announce that Natural Justice and the United Nations University – Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS) have just released a new book for peer review, entitled: The Right to Responsibility: Resisting and Engaging Development, Conservation, and the Law in Asia. This edited volume explores how Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ resilience to external factors is often undermined by laws, institutional arrangements, and judicial systems. It also examines how particular peoples and communities are striving to overcome such structural barriers to self-determination by resisting unwanted developments and engaging proactively with a range of actors at multiple scales.

It is edited by Natural Justice’s Holly Jonas and Harry Jonas and UNU-IAS’s Suneetha M. Subramanian, and comprised of the following three parts:

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."

Prospectus sur les Protocoles Bioculturels Communautaires

Natural Justice vient de publier la version française de son prospectus sur les Protocoles Bioculturels Communautaires (PBCs). Ce prospectus fournit une définition des PBCs souvent utilisés par les peuples autochtones ainsi que les communautés locales en réponse  aux menaces et opportunités causés par le développement des terres et des ressources, la conservation, la recherche ainsi que d'autres cadres juridiques et politiques. C’est aussi un guide pratique pour l’utilisation effective d’un PBC dont l’élaboration obéit a certains principes de base notamment la promotion du dialogue intra et intercommunautaire et les échanges intergénérationnels. Un PBC accroît la capacité et l’architecture de la communauté pour s’assurer que les interactions avec les acteurs externes se déroulent dans l’honnêteté, la transparence, le respect, la sensibilité sociale et culturelle, et l’intégrité. Par ailleurs, le prospectus décrit l’expérience de diverses communautés avec les PBCs à travers le monde.  Celles-ci les utilisent pour sécuriser leurs territoires, leurs régions et leurs modes ou styles de vie.

Ainsi, les communautés ont pu utiliser les PBCs pour assurer le renforcement des institutions coutumières et des organisations communautaires au Ghana ; la cartographie communautaire et la documentation des modes de vie traditionnels en Malaisie ; la mobilisation de diverses communautés en réponse à une menace commune au Kenya ; le renforcement juridique des petits agriculteurs biologiques et le plaidoyer pour les droits des éleveurs en Inde ; ou encore pour dialoguer avec les entreprises responsables pour soutenir les moyens de subsistance locaux en Afrique du Sud.

Le prospectus sur les PBCs est disponible en français ici.

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.

ICCA Studies Featured in Stockholm Resilience Centre Research News

Indigenous rangers in Australia are increasingly gaining

recognition for "caring for country", including through the
Indigenous Protected Area programme. Photo courtesy:
Craig Wheeler, Mapoon Ranger

Two studies focusing on Indigenous peoples' and community conserved territories and areas (ICCAs) have been featured in the Stockholm Resilience Centre's Research News in an article entitled "The Invisible Guardians: Enforcing legal mechanisms can highlight Indigenous peoples' importance in natural resource governance".

The first study, coordinated by Kalpavriksh and co-edited by Natural Justice, focuses more on non-legal aspects and is published as Volume 64 of the Convention on Biological Diversity Technical Series along with 19 country studies. The second, coordinated by Natural Justice, focuses more on legal and institutional aspects and includes 15 national and three regional reviews and a review of international law and jurisprudence (all available here). The synthesis report (available in English, Spanish and French) argues that while there are a number of positive developments in the way ICCAs are recognized and supported at the international and national levels, Indigenous peoples and local communities are still often discriminated against in practice, including in ways that undermine the integrity and resilience of their territories, areas and natural resources.

The article on the Stockholm Resilience Centre's Research News also includes a video interview with Joji Carino (Indigenous Peoples' International Centre for Policy Research and Education, Tebtebba).

Two New Biodiversity Resources from UNDP

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has released a significant new publication and an innovative database developed by the Equator Initiative. Both are developed from the lessons learned from a decade of the Equator Prize, which has been awarded to 127 outstanding local and indigenous community efforts to reduce poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity around the world. Natural Justice's Johanna von Braun was a reviewer for the publication. 

The publication, entitled "The Power of Local Action: Lessons from 10 Years of the Equator Prize,"undertakes a comprehensive analysis of the commonalities, trends and lessons across a pool of Equator Prize winners. The analysis focuses on twelve key lessons with the greatest relevance for understanding and catalyzing effective ecosystem-based action at the local level and provides targeted policy guidance for relevant stakeholders.

The Equator Initiative Case Study Database contains detailed case studies from all 127 Equator Prize communities. Each case study documents project catalysts, the genesis of winning ideas, institutional frameworks and governance systems, key activities and innovations, biodiversity impacts (species, habitats and ecosystems conserved), socio-economic impacts (changes in household income, community infrastructure, health, education and empowerment), policy impacts, financial and social sustainability, successes and challenges with replication, and the role of partnerships.

Those attending the Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD) 11th Conference of Parties (COP-11) can attend a presentation on the Equator Initiative Case Study Database at 18:15 on 16 October in HITEX 1, Side Event Room 1. "The Power of Local Action" can be downloaded here. The database can be accessed here. 

Oxfam Briefing Note on Land Purchases in 'Developing' Nations

Via www.oxfamblogs.org

As vast swathes of land in ‘developing’ nations are purchased by foreign investors, Oxfam has prepared a carefully researched briefing note on the impact of these purchases. The briefing note highlights the fact that almost two-thirds of the land purchased from 2000-2010 was purchased in nations with serious hunger challenges while two-thirds of foreign purchasers intend to export everything produced on the land. 

The note emphasises that Oxfam does not oppose investments in agriculture, especially when they target smallholder producers, but notes that “the unprecedented rush for land has not been adequately regulated or policed to prevent land grabs. This means that poor people continue to be evicted, often violently, without consultation or compensation.” The note concludes by urging the World Bank to temporarily freeze investments involving large-scale land deals until it can review “advice to developing countries, help set standards for investors, and introduce more robust policies to stop land grabs.” 

An Oxfam blog post on the briefing note can be found here, and the full note can be found here.

Importante Nueva Publicación sobre Protocolos Comunitarios, Derechos y CLPI

El volumen 65 de Aprendizaje y Acción Participativos, (PLA), publicados por el International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), acaba de ser publicado. Intitulado “Biodiversidad y cultura: exploración de protocolos comunitarios, derechos y consentimiento”, la edición especial ha sido editada por Krystyna Swiderska (IIED), Kanchi Johli (Kalpavriksh), Harry Jonas y Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice), Wim Hiemstra (Red COMPAS para el Desarollo Endógeno) y Maria Julia Oliva (Unión para el BioComercio Ético). 

Esta edición especial de Aprendizaje y Acción Participativos explora dos importantes herramientas participativas que los pueblos indígenas y las comunidades locales pueden utilizar para ayudar a defender sus derechos consuetudinarios al patrimonio biocultural: i) Protocolos comunitarios - o estatutos de las reglas y responsabilidades - en el que las comunidades estabelecen sus derechos consuetudinarios sobre los recursos naturales y la tierra, como reconocido en el derecho consuetudinario, nacional e internacional; y ii) Procesos de Consentimiento Libre, Previo e Informado (CLPI), en los cuales las comunidades deciden si permiten o no que los proyectos que afecten sus tierras o los recursos sigan adelante, y en qué términos.

New Paper on Traditional Resource Rights

Traditional resource rights (TRRs) are an integrated rights approach developed by Darrell Posey and colleagues in the 1990s. TRRs emerged as the result of an explicitly political legal project to more accurately reflect Indigenous peoples' and local communities’ views and concerns, and focused on integrating otherwise disparate legal regimes, instruments, and provisions. Posey describes TRRs in the seminal paper Indigenous Peoples and Traditional Resource Rights as constituting "bundles of rights" already widely recognised by international legally and non-legally binding agreements. TRRs, therefore, recognizes the “inextricable link between cultural and biological diversity and sees no contradiction between the human rights of Indigenous and local communities, including the right to development and environmental conservation.” 

The paper entitled: 'Recalling Traditional Resource Rights: An Integrated Rights Approach to Biocultural Diversity' by Natural Justice's Harry Jonas and Holly Shrumm provides an overview of the concept and suggests that TRRs are worthy of reengagement and reconceptualization in the current context. The paper is available here.

Major New Publication on Community Protocols, Rights and FPIC

Volume 65 of Participatory Learning and Action (PLA), published by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), has just been released. Entitled "Biodiversity and Culture: Exploring community protocols, rights and consent", the special issue was guest edited by Krystyna Swiderska (IIED), Kanchi Kohli (Kalpavriksh), Harry Jonas and Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice), Wim Hiemstra, (COMPAS Network for Endogenous Development), and Maria Julia Oliva (Union for Ethical Biotrade).

This special issue of PLA explores two important participatory tools that indigenous peoples and local communities can use to help defend their customary rights to biocultural heritage, natural resources, and lands:  community protocols – or charters of rules and responsibilities – in which communities set out their customary rights to natural resources and land, as recognised in customary, national and international laws; and free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) processes, in which communities decide whether or not to allow projects affecting their land or resources to go ahead, and on what terms.