Reporting on South Asian perspectives on community protocols

The reports from two recent consultation and training-of-trainer workshops in Bangalore, India, and Avissawella, Sri Lanka, can be downloaded on the Natural Justice website. The reports outline the proceedings of the workshops and reflections on outcomes and "next steps" for bio-cultural community protocols and Natural Justice's role in Asia alongside regional partners such as FRLHT and CKS-Asia. The report from the Bangalore workshop can be read here. The report from the Sri Lanka workshop can be read here and photos can be viewed here.

The Final Countdown

The Guardian has launched a new campaign to compile the top 100 specific tasks that G20 governments should do to halt the loss of biodiversity. Posted on August 13th, the article slams the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity for failing to meet the 2010 biodiversity targets that they agreed upon in 2002 and argues that the upcoming Conference of the Parties in Nagoya in October is "on course to make the farcical climate talks in Copenhagen look like a roaring success". The suggested actions should make a major contribution to protecting a particular species or ecosystem, be widely supported by published scientific evidence, and be politically costly or opposed by special interest groups. Help pressure the G20 governments to do their part by submitting a contribution to the Biodiversity100 list here.

News Article: Legal Ruling Sets Precedent for Inuit and 'Arctic Serengeti'

In an article published in The Globe and Mail on August 8th, Justice Sue Cooper ruled in favour of the underdogs by halting a joint German-Canadian project set to conduct seismic testing in Lancaster Sound, Nunavut, which is referred to as the ''Arctic Serengeti'' for hosting the migration routes of several marine species such as narwhal, beluga whale, and polar bear. The Inuit communities that have lived in the area for generations have had negative experiences with seismic testing in the past, claiming that it has caused death and deafness among seals and has disrupted the migration routes of whales for decades. The testing is also feared to be a thinly veiled exploration for much sought-after oil and gas reserves in the Arctic. Judge Cooper wrote, “If the testing proceeds as planned and marine mammals are impacted as Inuit say they will be, the harm to Inuit in the affected communities will be significant and irreversible. The loss extends not just to the loss of a food source, but to loss of a culture. No amount of money can compensate...” Okalik Eegeesiak, president of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, echoed these sentiments after the ruling by reiterating that ''Economic development is good, but not at the price of our livelihoods.'' David Crocker, the lawyer who represented the Inuit, said that the significant ruling set a precedent for requiring companies and researchers to consult with and involve local communities in pre-research and pre-development phases. The full article can be read here and a follow-up article from August 13 can be read here.

International Day of the World's Indigenous People(s)

On August 9th, the International Day of the World's Indigenous People will be observed at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Focusing on indigenous film-making, the observance is organized by the Secretariat of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in cooperation with the NGO Committee on the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples.

Lamu, Kenya, Port Development: Economic Boom, Cultural and Environmental Bust

Johanna Von Braun and Gino Cocchiaro (Natural Justice) recently spent 3 days in Lamu, Kenya, with local community-based organization Lamu Environmental Protection and Conservation Group (LEPAC) and other stakeholders to discuss the potential development of a bio-cultural community protocol in response to the proposed construction of a deep sea port within the Lamu District. The 16 billion dollar development would include a deep sea port, railway, oil refinery, international airport, resort city, and major highway.

Presenting the Opitsaht Declaration

In May, 2010, the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation and the Global Diversity Foundation co-hosted a workshop on Community Conservation in Practise (see our May 11 post for more information). After two months of discussions with the workshop participants, the Opitsaht Declaration has been finalized and can be read here. The Declaration addresses founding principles, concerns, and recommendations concerning indigenous and community conserved areas, sacred natural sites, and bio-cultural landscapes. Other declarations and statements from indigenous communities about issues related to biodiversity, climate change, and sacred sites can be found on Natural Justice's website.

The Cultivation of Gender Roles in Kenya

Gino Cocchiaro and Johanna von Braun (Natural Justice) are currently in Kenya as part of a UNDP research project on the role of intellectual property rights and the introduction of new seed varieties on the role of women in agricultural communities. As part of this research, Gino and Johanna engaged in consultations with small-scale farming communities in the district of Machakos, facilitated through the kind support of INADES Kenya. The research study seeks to analyze to what extent women's traditional role both within households and as managers of all aspects of subsistence farming may be affected by the introduction of seeds that are protected either as plant varieties and/or patents. The report will be released soon.

Natural Justice joins CKS-Asia

The CKS-Asia board has invited Natural Justice to become a partner of its network. CKS-Asia is a network of non-profit organizations that collaborate under the auspices of the United Nations Development Programme. Its mission is to enable its members to develop innovative ways of developing, sharing and managing ecosystem-specific knowledge, skills and practices within and across grassroots communities. At the meeting held in Avissawella, Sri Lanka, the board reconfigured its thematic areas and asked Natural Justice to assist it to further develop rights-based approaches to protecting biodiversity and culture with its member organizations.

Barefoot Philosophers

After the consultation on bio-cultural community protocols, Holly Shrumm and Harry Jonas (Natural Justice) were hosted by Piyasoma Bentota and Upali Rajapakse in Gurugoda, Sri Lanka, at the Rush and Reed Conservation and Diversification Programme. The programme supports women from local communities to make woven items such as bags and mats as a means to generate livelihoods and conserve the local wetlands. Bentota and Upali have dedicated their entire lives to social and environmental justice and continue to support communities' sustainable livelihoods through cultural revitalization and organic agriculture. Holly and Harry are very grateful to them for their generous hospitality and inspiring words.

Reporting Back from Sri Lanka

Natural Justice partnered with CKS-Sri Lanka and the COMPAS Network to facilitate a three-day consultation workshop on bio-cultural community protocols. Over the three days, participants from Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, and the Philippines heard presentations about the background to the right to self-determination under international and national human rights and environmental law and policy and discussed case studies on community protocols. They focused on the challenges that communities face in engaging with government and other stakeholders such as researchers and developed mock protocols based on forest-dependent and rice-farming community scenarios. Holly Shrumm and Harry Jonas thank the participants and organizers, especially Sujeewa Jasinghe, and look forward to further collaboration. The final workshop report can be read here and photos can be viewed here.