Land Defenders Conference

CONFERENCE PROPOSAL: Author Mona Shomali, Researcher: Chris Kiernan, Editor Kiah Shapiro

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CONFERENCE PROPOSAL Indigenous Land and Environmental Human Rights

Defenders in the Amazon

Challenges & Best Practices: Implementation, Protection and Co-Management

Proposed Date NOVEMBER, 2015

Proposed Location

Iwokrama International Center for Conservation and Development, Guyana (Number of Participants at Conference: 40 )

1. SUMMARY INTRODUCTION

The Indigenous Land and Environmental Human Rights Defenders conference aims to amplify the voice of indigenous land and human rights defenders in the face of land resource conflicts in the Amazon. For the purpose of this conference program, an Indigenous “Environmental Land Defender” is a high profile and at-risk activist that is embroiled in a land exploitation conflict. These defenders are not just at risk for being murdered, their communities are exposed to systematic threats, as well as as torture, beatings, assaults and a wide range of emotional harms. One such example is the death of Peruvian activist Edwin Chota of the Ashéninka community who was ambushed and shot on a jungle trail as he travelled to meet fellow activists from Brazil. He was on route to a U.N. conference to describe the negative impacts of a mining/extraction in his forest community.

The impact of this conference program will be to serve as the spring board for the creation of an annual platform for the most affected indigenous peoples in the Amazon to lead dialogue and to exchange ideas, share experiences and knowledge of certain geo-political circumstances that prevail and that apply to any country where the resource conflict takes place. It is imperative that the conference serves as an incubator of nascent, innovative and experimental ideas of participation within the full spectrum of indigenous human rights. It will be a forum that goes beyond the typical expert –to- expert presentations by NGO practioners and legal scholars of international and regional law. More specifically, the conference will serve as a new forum that focuses on the strong participation and view point of the indigenous land defenders in the Amazon.

The goal of this conference is to empower and build the capacity of the indigenous environmental defender who pursues his land and human rights amidst an ongoing resource conflict. These indigenous land and environmental defenders are from communities who are Many of the affected communities highlighted at this conference are well- versed in


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international legal standards and doctrines that apply to their conflicts, and area committed to upholding their human rights enshrined in regional and international law1.

Conference content will be organized around three holistic modalities of securing human rights: A) Implementation, B) Protection and C) Co-management. Within each theme/modality, indigenous speakers and their NGO allies will share challenges and best practices that have been generated by indigenous peoples in the face of ongoing resource conflicts.

Program outcomes and deliverables will include: 1) The Fairview Workshop, 2) The Indigenous Land and Environmental Human Rights Defenders Conference, 3) A Policy Document/Press Release/ Declaration and 4) An Outcome Report

2. OVERVIEW OF THE PROBLEM

In September 2014, Edwin Chota and three other Ashinanka indigenous leaders were ambushed and gunned down on the Brazilian-Peruvian border. Chota had gained international recognition for his leadership, commitment to expel illegal loggers and ambitions to secure official land titles, despite repeated threats against his life. Chota’s is one of 58 deaths of indigenous environmental human rights defenders in Peru over the last 10 years, according to Global Witness campaigners. The circumstances surrounding the Chota death are not isolated- as they follow a certain geo-political pattern. For example, In December 2014, a group of mine workers found the body of José Isidro Tendetza Antún tied up and floating in the Zamora River of Ecuador. Similar to Chota, he was an indigenous leader, well-known for his opposition to unlawful exploitation practices. Tendetza was murdered on his way to the UN Climate Change Conference in Lima, Perú where he was planning to describe detrimental consequences of the Mirador mining project in his community of Yanua Kim2.

The metrics and data that account for the specific murders of environmental defenders became available through the timely release of the 2014 report titled Deadly Environment, The Dramatic Rise in Killings of Environmental and Land Defenders (2002-2013) published by London based NGO Global Witness. According to the Global Witness report, between 2002 and 2013, there have been 908 confirmed murders of citizens globally in struggles to protect their land and environment. These cases have experienced extreme impunity to both domestic and international law: a mere 1% of them ended in murder convictions. It is important that the murders are just the tip of the iceberg, as there are a plethora of systematic threats and non-

1International Legal Standards such as “Free, Prior and Informed Consent” and various “expert mechanisms” have derived from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, The UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, the International Labor Organization Convention 169, and the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man. 2 Collyns, Dan. “Illegal Loggers blamed for Murder of Peru Forest Campaigner” The Guardian. September 8, 2014. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/09/illegal-loggers-blamed-for-of-peru-forest-campaigner


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lethal harm to defender communities that are underrepresented due to the lack of capacity and socio-political ability to capture the data.

In the most recent Global Witness report titled, How Many More? 3 released April 20th, 2015, there has been 20% increase of murders of indigenous environmental activists embroiled in land exploitation conflicts since 2013. Reportedly, Honduras, Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Mexico are the most dangerous countries in which to be an indigenous environmental activist and land defender. The 2015 report documents the murders of indigenous activists such as: Daniel Humbergo, a 19 year old Colombian critic of environmental destruction from gold mining; Atilano Romano Tirado, a Mexican radio anchor and leader of a campaign against a dam who was shot dead during a live broadcast of his show; and Marinalva Manoel, the female leader of the Brazil’s Guarini peoples who fought for the return of their ancestral lands grabbed by cattle ranchers who was raped and stabbed to death.

3. CONFERENCE CONTENT

In an effort to not duplicate previous similar conferences, the Indigenous Land and Environmental Human Rights Defenders conference program content brings together three themes (each theme is the focus of one day of the conference) as a comprehensive strategy to empower environmental defenders. This bundle of themes will serve as a “tool box” or holistic lens for securing resource and human rights in the Amazon. The themes are (A) Implementation (B) Protection and 3) International Co-Management. Within each of these themes, there will be both challenges and best practices cases that will be presented by the highlighted indigenous communities themselves.

(A) Implementation Theme

The implementation theme (day 1 of conference) will be focused on the best political strategies and legal tools for indigenous peoples to guarantee their human and resource rights. This theme will move beyond a traditional focus on human rights legal literacy and advocacy by examining how indigenous communities can best negotiate accountability and transparency with governments and navigate international human rights mechanisms, mobilize international media and partner with international NGO’s. Besides indigenous presenters, this section will feature indigenous human rights law experts from the NGO community, the UN and regional court mechanisms.

The theme of implementation is wide, with many different agendas and fragile political systems to consider. The challenges with human rights implementation often have to do with a lack of political transparency. This illustrated with the case of the Yasuni in Ecuador, who were

3 PDF of the report can be found at: https://www.globalwitness.org/campaigns/environmental-activists/how-many-more/


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completely excluded from government negotiations4 with Chinese extractive industries over the sale of their own Yasuni ancestral lands.

When it comes to best practices of implementation and litigation success, the Kichwa people of Sarayaku are a benchmark case in success. In 2012, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled in their favor against the government of Ecuador, based on the violation of FPIC principle (free, prior, and informed consent of indigenous peoples)5 The Sarayaku has partnered strategically with NGO’s and utilized media coverage and built a network of international support for their protests.

The U’wa indigenous peoples are highlighted as another another best practices case in

how they have been able to leverage their human rights narrative within international news

media. The U’wa protests have been high profile since the 1990’s when they threatened a mass

suicide (beginning by pushing their own children off a cliff) if Occidental, Shell and EoPetrol did

not cease operations on their land. The U’wa have become an excellent model, exemplified by

their landmark victory in February 2015 when EcoPetrol finally abandoned gas exploration

projects on the ancestral lands of the U’wa6.

(B) Protection Theme

The Protection theme (day 2 of conference) will be focused on the best land monitoring technologies, protection mechanisms, and protocols that are already proving to be effective in gathering evidence to demarcate indigenous territories. The indigenous peoples that are invited to present will be highlighting their cases so that they can be replicated elsewhere. For example, GPS/Google Earth/Remote Sensing and satellite imagery can serve as evidence of illegal mining/extraction/poaching. GPS is the most effective tool for mapping, land title and demarcation purposes. Perhaps the most sophisticated protection technology used by indigenous communities is the “conservation drone”, a drone used for the purposes of surveying for illegal deforestation.

When it comes to best practices, the Kayapo indigenous peoples of Brazil have used basic mapping and GPS technologies to secure legal recognition and title. The GPS technology allowed the Kayapo a new mode of political visibility and “protection.” Furthermore, they have used technologies to successfully lobby for indigenous land rights to be written into the Brazilian constitution.

4 Even though the state of Ecuador had promised the indigenous communities of Yasuni that the oil would remain in the ground under an “initiative” and international donations would be welcomed to preserve the biodiversity “hot spot”, recent documents show that the government of Ecuador was secretly negotiating with Chinese extractive industries. The initiative has since been abandoned and drilling permits have been filed in May 2014, 5 The case of Sarayaku vs. Ecuador was filed in in 2003 with the legal assistance of the NGO, Center for Economic & Social Rights. In addition to FPIC, violations included the detention and torture of 4 Sarayaku community leaders. 6 The 2015 Uwa campaign was in partnership with NGO’s such as the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC) and De Justicia whom provided legal assistance, and media coverage.


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Another best practices model is the Wapichana of Guyana who collaborated in October 2014 with Gregor MacLennan to build a drone. The drone was for the purpose of monitoring illegal logging and deforestation in 7 million acres of savannah and rainforest. This is a best practice when it comes to capacity building, as the community completed trainings on how to use and controls the drone, repair it, fly it, and process the images that are captured by the drone. Drones have allowed for indigenous communities in politically fragile ecosystems to monitor their own territories. The Wapichana prove that such technologies empower communities in their resource-management decisions.

(C) International Co-Management Theme

The International Co-Management theme (day 3 of conference) refers to a bundle of different types of beneficial partnerships that can directly or indirectly guarantee the human rights of indigenous communities. These types of partnerships and collaborations with international donors, NGO’s and governments have resulted in participation in eco-tourism revenue and international conservation schemes such as the UN REDD+ programs.

The UN REDD+ was established to compensate for a standing forest by creating financial value and incentive for forest carbon storage. Essentially, this is the international co-management of carbon. This climate change abatement program was created to reduce emissions from forested lands in developing countries, and to increase investment in low-carbon development strategies—while rewarding those who manage ecosystem services. Despite the intentions of the program, there were/are many challenges for indigenous communities who want to participate. According to a 2011 Report by the NGO Forest Peoples Programme, there were cases where REDD+ programs were indirectly undermining the rights of indigenous peoples and therefore exacerbating a pre-existing land use conflict. In response to such criticism, the UN CBR+ program was created, which stands for “Community-Based REDD”. These small grant programs are intended for indigenous peoples, to empower them to participate in the design, implementation and monitoring REDD+ processes.

As far as conservation and profit based schemes, eco-tourism promises to be a modern and lucrative revenue stream - recently valued at 6 billion dollars a year globally7. However, eco-tourism is not shy of controversy or challenges, as it has often been achieved at the expense of human rights. Author/ Researchers such as Mark Dowie illustrated how indigenous peoples have been removed from their ancestral lands for the sake of “conservation” tourism over the last century8. The good news is that international funders and donors such as the MacArthur Fund, Ford Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore have all become aware of the conflicts in

7 Andrew Balmford , Jonathan M. H. Green, Michael Anderson, James Beresford, Charles Huang, Robin Naidoo, Matt Walpole, Andrea Manica “Walk on the Wild Side: Estimating the Global Magnitude of Visits to Protected Areas” Published by PLOS Biology Journal February 24 2015. http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1002074 8 In his 2005 article “Conservation Refugees”, Mark Dowie cites the historic case of the forced removal of the Massaii tribal people of Africa who were portrayed as “at-odds” with the Western Safari audiences.


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conservation and have taken a stand against funding conservation versus indigenous self-autonomy.

As far as best practices the Kayapo of Brazil have participated in an international co-

management scheme that has resulted in community-led conservation. In 1992, the Kayapo

established the Kayapo Center for Ecological Studies and Research Station on 8,000 hectares of

a forest reserve. This reserve was a result of a financial partnership with NGO Conservation

International (the Brazil office) after decades of high-profile protesting of illegal mining and

hydroelectric projects on their territories9. Conservation International has also supported their

protection efforts and territorial surveillance with Guard Towers.

Similar to the Kayapo case, The Xingu Indigenous Park in Brazil is another highlighted case of a

co-management, in collaboration with the Brazil based NGO, Instituto Socio Ambiental (The

Socio-Environmental Institute). More recently, the Izozog Guarani peoples of Bolivia entered

into a co-management collaborative plan with the Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco National Park. This

park has the distinction of being created by indigenous peoples themselves as they negotiated

the management plan with the national government in cooperation with an NGO: Wildlife

Conservation Society and an international donor: The World Bank. These type of international

management partnerships have allowed indigenous peoples to participate in the revenue

streams of global economy—on their own terms.

4. OUTCOMES

DELIVERABLE OBJECTIVE ESTIMATED TIMELINE

1)The Fairview Workshop: A Pre- Conference Needs Assessment Location: Fairview Village inside the Iwokrama Reserve

1. Stakeholder Analysis: International Co-Management Planning and Preparation of a Case Example of Best Practices/ Challenges for Conference Presentation. This workshop segment will feed directly into the conference on day 3. 2. Lessons Learned: Examining the participation of Indigenous Communities in Guyana. The input from this segment will also be prepared to present at conference 2. Strategic Organization: Identifying and developing priorities that shape and inform the Future Agenda. Focus on how to securing effective and long-term revenue streams (Eco-Tourism)

October 2015

2)Environmental Human Rights

1. HR Literacy, Transparency & Negotiation Skills: How to Access Legal and Political/ Media Tools, review of norms, principles, concepts such as FPIC, self- determination, U.N.

November, 2015

9 Since the creation of the park, the Kayapo have halted gold mining and clear cutting. The A’Uke peoples benefit from research assistant employment, entry user fees paid by scientists and eco-tourists, the harvesting of piqui fruit, Brazil nut harvesting and sustainable logging of Mahogany.


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Defenders Conference Location: Iwokrama Reserve

Declarations. 2. Litigation and Advocacy Strategies: How to access the regional/international court system, NGO expertise, media campaigns and International mechanisms (national, regional and international legislation 3. Sharing of best monitoring, protection and reporting technologies (strategies generated from indigenous peoples themselves) and technology mechanisms for land monitoring 4.Familiarity with International Donors & Revenue Schemes, Government, IGO’s and NGO’s about Co-Management in the form of CBR+, Eco-Tourism, Conservation

3) Conference Declaration/ Press Release

This conference will result in a participant drafted document/ declaration (“We the Participants”) will be similar in strategy and structure as the letter released by the pluralistic organization regional organization of COICA (Coordinators of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon river Basin) published in 1988 in the journal of Cultural Survival Quarterly, titled “Two Agendas on Amazon Development”, heavily referencing the indigenous perspective of recent events, backed by the standards set by the UN Indigenous Peoples Working Group.

December 2015

4)Outcome Report / Policy Document

This report/ outcome document will be a hybrid of a community manual/ toolkit/ recommendations/ highlights of model cases. It is also meant to serve as document that will mobilize and influence policy and advocacy as a result of this conference.

December 2015

5. CONFERENCE LOCATION: IWOKRAMA

The Iwokrama International Center for Rainforest Conservation and Development is the host location for this conference. It is also a best practices model of co-management strategies between the Iwokrama Reserve and the Makushi Amerindians of the Rupununi. Iwokrama was founded in 1996 to manage the local forest and for the conservation of biological diversity. Iwokrama is also in partnership with the North Rupununi District Development Board (NRDDB), an Amerindian community-based organization established by village leaders in 1996. Iwokrama and NRDDB have effectively brokered formal negotiations between local indigenous communities and government agencies over resource use decisions.

Iwokrama has pursued the community led conservation model and has signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Collaborative Management Agreement with the 16 Makushi communities in the region. Iwokrama funding has derived from diverse sources that include foundations and foreign development funds from donor countries such as Canada and Norway. Iwokrama is split into three subdivisions: (1) ecotourism, (2) training of local park rangers focused on protected areas management (3) sustainable timber extraction. It is an international NGO, an eco-lodge destination and a field station for scientists. As far as capacity building, Iwokrama partners with


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the NRDDB in providing Amerindian park/community rangers with trainings in monitoring and evaluation of the forest and leadership training in the eco-tourism industry. Iwokrama also hosts the landmark Community Measuring, Reporting and Verification (cMRV) trainings as a component of REDD+ forest monitoring programs. Forest monitors are trained using smart phots to map spatio-temporal resource use in their communities, survey and measure biomass indexes (carbon stocks). Iwokrama has also published a Community Manual on Climate Change and the Role of Forests, in partnership with Conservation International10.

6. THE CONFERENCE PROGRAM

Day 1

IMPLEMENTATION: Int’l Human Rights Law

HR Rights Literacy & National Legislation: FPIC, Subsoil and Land Tenure Laws Trends in South America

The Inter-American Court System: Navigation of Indigenous Human Rights

Accessing The United Nations: Mechanisms for Indigenous Protection

Negotiations, Transparency & the Sale of Forests: The New Buyers in the Forest

Presenter: TBD (NGO expert not confirmed yet) Presenter: NGO Expert & Mona Shomali Presenter: Ramin Pejan Presenter: TBD- not confirmed yet

Day 2

PROTECTION: Mechanisms of Land Security

Overview of Strategies: Land Monitoring & Accountability

Best Practices: Indigenous and Community Perspectives

Challenges: Indigenous and Community Perspectives

Accessing Technology: For Monitoring & Mapping (Use of Conservation Drones, Satellites, GPS, etc)

FIELD TRIP: Animal Spotting on River

Presenter: Jonathan Leonard & TBD (indigenous community) Presenter: TBD (Sarayacu community not confirmed yet) Presenter: TBD (indigenous community) Presenter: Waipaichan Community

Day 3

CO-MANAGEMENT: International Conservation &

Examples of Beneficial Indigenous Partnerships & Co- Management: Communities, NGO’s and Donor Governments

Presenter: Chris Kiernan Presenter: NRDDB & Surama

10 The Manual can be referenced at: http://www.conservation.org/publications/Documents/redd/CI_Climate_Change_and_the_Role_of_Forests_Community_Manual.pdf

http://www.conservation.org/publications/Documents/redd/CI_Climate_Change_and_the_Role_of_Forests_Community_Manual.pdf

http://www.conservation.org/publications/Documents/redd/CI_Climate_Change_and_the_Role_of_Forests_Community_Manual.pdf


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Revenue- Based Approaches

Revenue Schemes: Eco- Tourism, Conservation, Science Research Field Stations, NTFP’s

International Carbon Schemes: Community Based (CBR+) U.N. REDD+ schemes/ Sustainable Logging

International Conservation: Iwokrama as a Case Study in Co-Management

FIELD TRIP: Turtle Mountain Hike

indigenous community Presenter: Vanessa Benn & Samantha Meiwa Presenter: Raquel Thomas-Ceasar

Land Defenders Conference

Documents

Transcript of Land Defenders Conference