Thank you, Mr. Chairperson.
This statement
is made on behalf of the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity
(IIFB).
We thank the Government of Germany and City of Bonn for hosting
COP9.
We are very proud to announce that the IIFB, has more than 500 participants
of Indigenous Peoples and local communities from all over the world.
Mr. Chairperson, the vast majority of our Forum is able to participate
through our own fundraising efforts and the generosity of both private
and government donations, especially the Governments of Germany,
Norway and Sweden.
Chairpersons, distinguished delegates, the IIFB would like to take
this occasion to celebrate the United Nations Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples and express our sincere thanks to all
the States that voted for its adoption. This Declaration affirms
the existence and establishment of the universal human rights standards
for the protection of the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Implementation
of decisions under the Convention on Biological Diversity must be
consistent with the rights enshrined in this Declaration.
We strongly support the statement of the Indigenous Women’s
Biodiversity Network together with indigenous youth.
In the upcoming two weeks we will offer specific recommendations
to the Parties in the various working groups, but we offer these
general comments.
Biodiversity and Climate Change
We call for stronger collaboration between the CBD and the UNFCCC
to address the issue of biodiversity and climate change. Therefore,
we call on the CBD to take an active role in all climate change
discussions.
Climate change is threatening the food security and sovereignty
of Indigenous Peoples despite the fact that we have contributed very
little to its causes. We are likewise, concerned that the mitigation
and adaptation strategies being proposed and implemented to address
climate change are causing more violations to our rights as Indigenous
Peoples. These market based mechanisms such as CDM and particularly
REDD will cause more violations on our rights and resources. We urge
industrialized countries to meet their Green House Gases Emissions
Targets in order to reduce the degradation of our biodiversity that
we rely on for our very survival.
Protected Areas
Indigenous Peoples are very concerned about the continued expansion
of protected areas. What we want is the recognition of indigenous
bio-cultural territories and community conserved areas and their
importance for the maintenance of cultural and biological diversity.
We do not want the establishment of any new national protected
areas in indigenous lands and territories until our rights to our
lands, territories and resources are fully recognized and respected.
We urge Parties NOT to subject the management, monitoring and evaluation
of existing Protected Areas to national legislation which in almost
all countries failed to provide for participation of Indigenous Peoples.
We also ask Parties to adopt the recommendation made by the 2nd Working
Group on Protected Areas to give priority to the implementation of
Element 2 of the Programme of Work on protected areas. We also want
to urge Parties to address the issue of restitution of our lands
and territories taken for protected areas without our free, prior
and informed consent so that Indigenous Peoples can re-establish
control over our lands and territories.
Access and Benefit Sharing
Any proposed International Regime on Access and Benefit Sharing must
accord with the minimum standards set out in the UN Declaration
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This means that any Regime
must recognize, inter alia, that Indigenous Peoples have rights
over our genetic resources, and not just our traditional knowledge
associated to genetic resources. Indigenous peoples’ free
and informed consent must be obtained before access to our genetic
resources and associated traditional knowledge can occur. The appropriate
terminology – “indigenous peoples” – must
be acknowledged and used in the instrument embodying any International
Regime.
Article 8(j)
We reiterate that the programme of the Working Group on Article 8(j)
and Related Provisions is fundamental to the successful implementation
of the Convention, and is vital to Indigenous Peoples. We welcome
the positive outcomes of the 8(j) WG such as the Akwe:Kon Guidelines
and strongly support the renewed focus on the completion of concrete
items such as the elements of sui generis systems, the code of
ethical conduct, and 8j-related elements of any possible International
Regime on ABS. We are gravely concerned that the issues facing
the ABS WG are threatening to undermine the work programme of the
8j WG and call on the Parties to respect, preserve and maintain
the knowledge, innovations and practices of Indigenous Peoples
through the commitment of holding separate meetings of the 8j and
ABS working groups.
Financial mechanisms
We are deeply concerned that the proposed elements for the four-year
(2010-2014) framework for programme priorities related to utilization
of GEF resources for biodiversity have been elaborated without
significant participation of indigenous peoples, and might lead
to violations of Indigenous Peoples rights. We request that the
GEF creates direct funding modalities for programmes and projects
designed and managed at all stages by indigenous peoples. Furthermore,
we are very concerned that the CBD is accessing funds from financial
mechanisms such as the GEF Adaptation Fund and the World Bank’s
Carbon Partnership Facility which are potentially violating indigenous
peoples’ rights and do not have effective Human Rights safeguards.
Forest and Agricultural Biodiversity
The issue of agriculture biodiversity is crucial to Indigenous Peoples
especially in the face of the growing global food crisis. We urge
States to guarantee rights of Indigenous Peoples to save, exchange
and sell our seeds without restrictions.
We also call on States to end perverse subsidies that hurt Indigenous
peoples. Parties must encourage Indigenous Peoples and small farmers’ food
systems, which protect us from biodiversity damage due to corporate
driven agriculture and global trade.
Recognizing the negative impacts of biofuels, we call for the stoppage
of biofuel production. We also call for the termination of terminator
and genetic modification technologies.
In addition, we urge Parties and international organizations to
give priority to the protection and promotion of indigenous knowledge
in agriculture and outlaw the patenting of knowledge and seeds.
With respect to Forest Biodiversity, we make an urgent call to the
need to solve and deal with issues regarding our lands, territories
and resources as priority issues.
Inland Waters/ Invasive Species
Contamination of inland waters, construction of hydroelectric power
stations, development of extractive industries and artificial diversion
of rivers leads to loss of biodiversity and related traditional
knowledge of indigenous peoples.
It is necessary that Parties recognize traditional water resource
management and the customary laws of Indigenous Peoples and local
communities with respect to access to bioresources. We urge Parties
to support conducting studies on the impacts of dams and pollution
of inland waters on biodiversity, including transboundary waters.
Marine and Coastal Biodiversity/ Island Biodiversity
Indigenous Peoples have the ancestral knowledge to manage our marine
eco-systems. Criteria, guidance and steps for managing existing
marine and coastal biodiversity areas must be consistent with the
ecosystem approach and include social, cultural, traditional, and
spiritual elements, based on the free, prior and informed consent
of Indigenous peoples, with our full and effective participation.
The term open-seas and deep-seas are non-legal terms, understood
differently by the scientific and legal communities and indigenous
peoples. The definition of these terms must be clarified and Indigenous
Peoples must be included in the definition process.
Indicators, Ecosystem Approach, NBSAPS Implementation
The IIFB gives highest importance to implementation of the CBD Strategic
Plan and the 2010 Biodiversity Target, consistent with securing
the rights and well-being of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
The COP9 Agenda includes consideration of a few practical indicators
for assessing progress in the protection of traditional knowledge,
innovations and practices. These emerged from a global consultation
with indigenous peoples, culminating in the International Expert
Seminar on Indicators Relevant for Indigenous Peoples, the CBD
and the MDGs. We urge parties to take note of these indicators,
and to use them in the preparation of their 4th National Reports.
We call on parties to foster full and effective participation of
Indigenous Peoples and local communities in the elaboration of
NBSAPS and in the monitoring of progress made towards their implementation.
Communications, Education, and Public Awareness
Indigenous Peoples have prioritized communication, education and
public awareness (CEPA) as key components of our programme of work.
We welcome decision VIII/6 that calls for the inclusion of representatives
from indigenous and local communities in the informal advisory
committee and we look forward to a useful collaboration in the
future. The IIFB must play a key role in the implementation of
CEPA in order to ensure that our rights are known and understood,
and our full and effective participation guaranteed. We also believe
that a fundamental message that must be incorporated into all CEPA
activities should reflect the central role of Indigenous Peoples
in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, the IIFB looks forward to working with the
Parties in the spirit of trust, mutual respect, and collaboration
over the next two weeks.
Thank
you Mr. Chairman.
Top