Closing Statement
of the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB)
Ninth Conference
of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity
Mr. Chairman,
Honourable
Ministers,
Executive
Secretary of the CBD,
Distinguished
delegates,
Indigenous
brothers and sisters,
I am reading this
closing statement on behalf of the International Indigenous Forum on
Biodiversity.
Mr. Chairman and
distinguished delegates, COP 9 takes place at a time when Mother Earth is
sending signals of her distress. The international community is facing multiple
global crises caused by the impacts of climate change.
We thank the
Parties that have supported our proposals. However, we regret that some key
issues that concern Indigenous Peoples have not been adequately addressed.
In this regard, we
request that Parties, donors and NGOs implement the CBD in accordance with the
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Indigenous
children and youth make up more than 50% of the indigenous population worldwide
and indigenous women are food producers, providers and guardians of the genetic
resources of the food crops for future generations. We request that the Parties
implement the Work Plan on Gender as a priority and allocate resources for
ensuring the full and effective participation and capacity building of
indigenous women and youth.
We urge the
Parties to give priority under Article 8(j) to the implementation of regimes of
sui generis protection of traditional knowledge, innovations and
practices.
For us, it is
fundamental that the Parties guarantee that Indigenous Peoples’ rights to our
traditional knowledge, innovations and practices related to genetic resources,
products and derivatives, be a legally binding element of any future regime on
ABS
Increased support
is required for capacity building of Indigenous Peoples for holding regional,
sub-regional and national workshops to contribute to all CBD processes.
Recognizing the negative
impacts caused by the establishment and expansion of land or marine Protected
Areas in our territories, we reaffirm our position that we will not accept any
Protected Areas until our rights are fully recognized and respected. We call on
parties, the Executive Secretary, NGOs and donors to convene a series of
regional workshops with our full and effective participation to review the
implementation of the Program of Work on Protected Areas to prepare for the
in-depth review at COP 10.
We reject genetically modified
seeds, biofuels, marine fertilization experiments, monoculture plantations and
other climate change mitigation and adaptation models because they destroy our
lands, territories and resources and cause the displacement and forced
relocation of our peoples. We reiterate our call for a moratorium on
genetically modified trees. We demand the evaluation of climate change
mitigation and adaptation policies.
The real test will
be how the decisions of this COP are implemented at the local level with the
full implementation of our rights and how they affect the daily lives of our
people, and whether they give hope to our peoples and children. We do not want
life to be turned into a commodity and sold. We want biodiversity to be
protected.
In conclusion, Mr.
Chair, we, the Indigenous Peoples of the world request that all Parties,
delegates and agencies go beyond rhetoric and take action. The protection of
biodiversity is a challenge for all of us because our very survival and the
survival of future generations depends on our ability to halt capitalist driven
exploitation of biodiversity.
We thank the
governments, especially the Government of Germany for hosting Indigenous
Peoples in this COP.
Mr. Chair, you probably heard
the thunder storms last night. Could it be that the Earth and Sky are protesting
some of the decisions taken at this COP?
Thank you, Mr. Chair.