Indigenous Delegates Resist REDD "Program"

Report By IIFB Media Team

Indigenous delegates on Day 3 of COP9 drew attention to the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation in Developing Countries (REDD) program. They said implementing the program would threaten their lives, lands and livelihoods.

In a side event held on Day 3, entitled "*REDD vs. People**"*, indigenous speakers were united in opposing the REDD program, which is currently being negotiated as a clean development mechanism (CDM) within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

"REDD inclusion violates the rights of Indigenous Peoples because it has no legal framework for protecting their rights. Without that legal framework, instead of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, REDD will violate indigenous rights," as speaker Estebancio Castro Diaz of Panama issued the warning. He cited a CDM project in Colombia, cited by the UN as an example of a good practice, where many local people died to clear the area for the project.

Adam Ole Mwarabu, of the Parakuyio Pastoralists Society in Tanzania echoed the same apprehensions on REDD. "REDD projects might have adverse impacts on our lands, food security, forests and peace," he said. "Our lands are being taken and converted for planting of jetropha, but what about our pastoralism industry that has been there for centuries"

Ronnie Hall of the Global Forest Coalition pointed out that REDD and other market mechanisms offer a way for governments to reduce their emissions cheaply, and thus "discourages real solutions to climate change." She also spoke on the adverse impacts of REDD on women, noting that market mechanisms
exacerbate existing inequities.

She especially noted women's vulnerability, having no lands or earning less to start with, and for many of them dependent on forest biodiversity which they rely on for food and medicine. She cited a proposed REDD project in Indonesia by a paper company that will create a plantation of eucalyptus and
other similar tree species around an undisturbed forest to keep the community from entering it.

The indigenous speakers urged that the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples should be considered in formulating policies and programs to mitigate climate change. Diaz added that the free prior informed consent of Indigenous communities should be obtained before any project is undertaken. Mwarabu on the other hand called for Indigenous Peoples to come together for a stronger voice and for a wider dissemination of information and sharing of experiences, particularly on abuse and indigenous rights violations, on such projects.

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