Advanced Training on Business and Human Rights and Grievance Mechanisms

From 30 September to 3 October 2013, Stephanie Booker of Natural Justice supported, and participated in Advanced Training on Business and Human Rights and Grievance Mechanisms in Naivasha, Kenya, hosted by the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO). Attended by over 20 participants from around Africa, the training included: 

• An introduction to grievance mechanisms, including discussions on judicial and non-judicial grievance mechanisms, the role of National Human Rights Institutions and the African Human Rights System; 
• Preparing complaints, with experts from SOMO and Accountability Counsel presenting on the OECD Guidelines and international financial institutions;
• Writing and filing complaints; and,
• Examination of particular case studies. 

This training complemented similar training sessions in Indonesia and Mexico. To find out more information on SOMO's training on human rights and grievance mechanisms, see here.

Workshop on the Forests Rights Act in Odisha

 A workshop was held on the “Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 and Amendment Rules 2012” for Panchayatraj Representatives at Laxmanpur Block Office, Laxmanpur, District Sambalpur, Odisha, India on October 3rd 2013. The workshop was organized by Loksaktimukti Sanghathan, a non-registered organisaton, in collaboration with Vasundhara, Bhubaneswar and Natural Justice. The Laxmanpur Block Development Officer was present at the workshop on behalf of the government. Mr Ananto Panda from Loksaktimukti Sangathan briefly explained the background and purpose of Forest rights act and rules in the workshop. Ms Pspanjali Satapathy from Vasundhara organization elaborated on the entire act, its rules and usage. She opined in the workshop that for the first time in India, the forest rights act recognizes people who live in and depend on the forest. The maximum number of Adivasis live in the forest area and they depend on it for their regular livelihood. Adivasis naturally live with the forest and save the forest. They also use forest products for their common diseases. The Adivasis and Non Adivasis who depend on and live in the forest can apply under this act for recognition of their rights over their homestead, cultivable land, non cultivable land and use of forest products. 

Environmentalism Workshop in Himachal, India

From 27th September to 3rd October, Stella James (Natural Justice) attended a workshop on Environmentalism in India: Building Perspectives and Sharing Strategies which was conducted by the Sambhaavnaa Institute of Public Policy (Sambhaavnaa) and Corporate Accountability Desk, at the Sambhaavnaa campus in Kandbari village, Himachal Pradesh, India. 

The programme began with a field visit to Nalagarh, along with activists of Himdhara, an environment research and action group in Himachal. Nalagarh is an industrial town at the foothills of the Himalayas, described by some as the “Himalayan wastebin”. With many major industries in the area, the river which is the lifeline of the town has been polluted with waste of all sorts including surgical equipment from pharmaceutical industries. Moreover extensive unchecked sand mining from the river bed has lowered the depth of the water to almost a quarter of its previous levels. 

Civil Society Newsletter on Biodiversity Features Two Articles by Natural Justice

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is known for being relatively open to civil society engagement. As just one example, the CBD Alliance and CBD Secretariat jointly produce a newsletter called [square brackets] ahead of major CBD meetings. The eighth issue has just been released to coincide with the upcoming meetings of the Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions (7-11 October) and the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (14-18 October).

This issue of [square brackets] includes articles on "The Nagoya Protocol and the emergence of biocultural rights" by former Natural Justice Association member Kabir Bavikatte, on the proposal for the CBD to adopt the term "indigenous peoples" by Caroline de Jong (Forest Peoples Programme) and Holly Jonas (Natural Justice), and on the need for strengthened implementation of the CBD by S. Faizi (CBD Alliance Chairperson). The eighth issue of [square brackets] can be downloaded here.

New Paper on Resource Conflict Prevention References Community Protocols

A new paper by the Quaker United Nations Office entitled "Building peace around water, land and food: Policy and practice for preventing conflict" highlights the fundamental importance of securing natural resources on which our survival and well-being depend in the face of climate change and increasing conflict and competition over resources. It also focuses on the need to strengthen peace-building skills among actors at all levels (including effective communication and engagement with decision-making processes and constructive dispute prevention and resolution) and cites relevant international instruments that can help prevent conflict through inclusive natural resource governance and management.

One of the case studies explored the development and use of a biocultural community protocol to negotiate community resource rights in the Potato Park in Peru. The paper also references Natural Justice's Biocultural Community Protocols: A toolkit for community facilitators and the 2012 special edition of the Participatory Learning and Action Journal on community protocols, rights and consent, which was co-edited by Natural Justice, among others (also available in Spanish). Please download and share this new paper here.

ASEAN Heritage Parks Conference

Harry Jonas (Natural Justice) is attending the Fourth ASEAN Heritage Parks (AHP) Conference from 1-4 October in the Philippines. Participants will discuss how to achieve international biodiversity targets and identify opportunities for international cooperation. Thematic sessions include: effective management of protected areas; biodiversity and climate change; integrating biodiversity values; ecotourism, business and biodiversity; and indigenous and local communities in protected areas. 

Notably, the ASEAN Declaration on Heritage Parks was agreed and signed by the environment ministers of the 10 ASEAN Member States in December 2003 in Yangon, Myanmar. There are more than 32 ASEAN Heritage Parks in the region, including Kinabalu Park (Sabah Malaysia) about which Harry will speak. For more information, see here.

Community Filmmaking Workshops Held Alongside Borneo Eco Film Festival

From 25-29 September, Holly Jonas (Natural Justice) joined the SUARA community film-making programme in Sabah, Malaysia, which was held alongside the third annual Borneo Eco Film Festival. SUARA (which means 'voice' in Bahasa Malaysia) is all about celebrating the natural and cultural heritage of Borneo through the voices and perspectives of people from the island. The flagship programme was SUARA KOMUNITI, a year-long capacity building programme that includes village-level workshops with professional film-makers and culminates in the September training with participants from Indigenous and local communities from across Sabah. This year, four of the films made by groups in the intermediate/advanced stream were screened in public during the closing night of the Film Festival and will soon be available on the Festival website.

It also featured SUARA PUBLIKA, a special series of workshops and talks by artists, grassroots organisations, and leading scientists, which this year included topics as diverse as heritage preservation, Indigenous Dusun folklore, hornbill conservation, wetland and mangrove restoration, e-waste, community livelihoods, and marine protected areas.

Please consider supporting the Borneo Eco Film Festival; it is a non-profit event that is truly making a difference in nurturing and amplifying the voices of the Indigenous stewards of Borneo's biological and cultural diversity.

Natural Justice Attends Events at World Bank Headquarters Addressing Independent Accountability Mechanisms of International Financial Institutions

On 27 September 2013, the World Bank hosted the Tenth Annual Meeting of Independent Accountability Mechanisms (IAMs) at its headquarters in Washington, DC. The World Bank created the first IAM twenty years ago when it established the World Bank Inspection Panel to handle the grievances of people affected by its projects. Today, nearly every international financial institution (IFI) has an IAM to provide: 1) a forum for dispute resolution between project-affected people and those implementing the project; and/or 2) a mechanism to ensure that the IFI is complying with its own policies and procedures in regard to specific projects. 

At the meeting, Eimi Watanabe, the Chairperson of the Inspection Panel, made introductory remarks and introduced former Congressman Barney Frank, who worked to create the Inspection Panel, and Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group. In his remarks, Mr. Kim noted that the World Bank needed to work to put people first in financing projects around the world. Afterward, a panel made up of World Bank management, top IAM staff, NGO staff, and two community members who had filed complaints with the Inspection Panel addressed issues 

Indigenous Pollinators: Honey and Harmony

From the 25-26th of September one of Natural Justice’s partner organizations in Kenya, Kivulini Trust co-hosted an Indigenous Pollinators Network Workshop in Nairobi, together with the FAO and Indigenous Partnership for Agrobiodiversity and Food Sovereignty.

The objective of the workshop was to establish a network of indigenous communities knowledgeable of and supportive towards pollinators. A similar workshop was held last month in India, where an Indigenous Pollinators Network has been formed. Through such a network communities can share best practices and provide support to each other. Another goal of the workshop was to create awareness of the many different pollinators that exist, and their importance.

What is a pollinator?

The workshop commenced with a presentation by pollination expert Dr. Mary Gikungu from the National Museums of Kenya on what is a pollinator? Most of us think only of bees – and honeybees at that – when we hear the word pollinator. In fact, honeybees account for only a tiny fraction of the pollinators that exist – there are many other species of bees, as well as birds, butterflies, bats and other insects that provide the world with essential pollination services. In case it has been a while since you took a biology class – pollinators are important because without them most plants would not be able to reproduce – which would mean no food, or other plant materials, so important for humans and the environment.

Strategies to Secure Community Land Rights and Resources

A meeting on securing community land rights and resources on the 19th and 20th of September ended with a pledge from stakeholders to work together to address this growing global crisis. Representatives of community groups, civil society, business and government met over the two days in the hope to form the initial strategies on the relevant topics within securing community lands and resources, including: the mapping and documentation of community lands and resources; legal recognition and empowerment; Expanding and Leveraging Private Sector Interest in Securing Community Land Rights; Making Community Land Rights a Global Priority; Deepening Synergies between Community Land; and Resource Rights and Conservation Efforts.

Gino Cocchiaro (Natural Justice) attended the legal recognition and empowerment stream and took part in a panel discussion on "Community-based strategies: Strengthening community land and natural resource governance from the bottom-up." Gino spoke about Natural Justices' experiences with communities developing community protocols to address their local challenges through dialogue and negotiation with government and business.

Natural Justice and its community partners will continue to be involved in these important discussions and development of strategies for positive change.