Statement of The International Forum of Indigenous Peoples on Climate Change (IFIPCC)
The 13th Session of Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC
3-14 December 2007, Bali, Indonesia

Thank you, Mr. President, distinguished delegates, NGOs, Indigenous brothers and sisters. We would like to congratulate those countries, including Indonesia, which adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (DECRIPS). We thank the Indigenous Peoples of Indonesia for warmly welcoming us, the indigenous peoples from all regions of the world, to their ancestral territories.

At this Conference of the Parties, the International Forum of Indigenous Peoples on Climate Change would like to stress that mitigation and adaptation projects implemented by Parties and private sector without the free prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples are encroaching on areas of land sacred to Indigenous Peoples, for example the geothermal energy project in the Bedugul Mountains of Bali.

Mr. President, the IFIPCC takes this opportunity to reaffirm the following:

1. We demand the creation of an Expert Group on Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples with the full participation and representation of Indigenous Peoples, taking into account the example of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) that includes indigenous experts;

2. We demand the creation of a voluntary fund for the full and meaningful participation of Indigenous Peoples, such as that which exists in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD);

3. We demand that the Conference of the Parties recognize and take action to curb the adverse impacts of climate change on indigenous peoples; and to refrain from adaptation and mitigation schemes and projects promoted as solutions to climate change that devastate Indigenous Peoples’ lands and territories and cause more human rights violations, like market based mechanisms, carbon trading, agrofuels and avoided deforestation (REDD).

Indigenous Peoples have suffered the worst impacts of climate change without having contributed to its creation and must not be placed in the position of suffering from mitigation strategies so that over-consumption of industralised countries can continue.

Mr. President, there are many countries where the rights of Indigenous Peoples are not adequately recognised and we draw the attention of the Conference of the Parties to the recent adoption of the DECRIPS. We ask that the policies and implementation of the UNFCCC be consistent with the rights contained in the Declaration.

Mr. President, the IFIPCC sincerely believes that indigenous peoples have a role to play in this convention. It is time that we all co-operate in our efforts to address climate change. It is only in this way that our world may have a chance of survival. Mr. President, we must do this in a manner that recognizes social justice, environmental integrity, indigenous and other human rights and that creates a climate where greed does not dominate the needs of humanity.

TERIMA KASIH!