International
Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity at the 9th Conference of the Parties
to the Convention on Biological Diversity
19 May 2008
Opening
Statement
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
