None Nature Conservancy News Room Press Releases Search All Press Releases Karen Foerstel kfoerstel@tnc.org (917) 652-2642

Indigenous Leaders Call for Conservation and
Participation in Climate Change Negotiations

ARLINGTON, VA — April 21, 2009 —Indigenous leaders from around the world this week said that conservation of natural resources – and not just man-made technology – must be a critical part of any international climate change agreement reached this year.

The leaders, representing communities in Ecuador, Samoa, Alaska and Bolivia, also said Indigenous Peoples must be an integral part of the UN climate negotiations happening this year.

“Climate change for us is an issue of life and death,” Fiu Elisara, Executive Director of the Ole Siosiomaga Society in Samoa, said about the need to protect natural resources to ensure they can withstand the impacts of climate change. “The Pacific Ocean is a liquid continent. Our world is dominated by the ocean around us. Cyclones have devastated almost all our natural resources.”

Elisara is one of hundreds of Indigenous leaders attending the Indigenous Peoples Global Summit on Climate Change, being held this week in Anchorage, AK

During a press conference organized by The Nature Conservancy in connection with the Summit, other Indigenous leaders said the traditional knowledge Indigenous communities have about threatened natural resources should be included in the development of climate change solutions.

Steve MacLean, of the Inupiat community in Alaska and the Polar Marine Director for The Nature Conservancy, described a Conservancy program that is collecting traditional knowledge from hunters and elders of the native Inupiat community in the Alaskan village of Wainwright.

“Their traditional knowledge is being documented to use for conservation planning,” MacLean said. “Conservation plans are then developed in coordination with the community to allow for traditional use of the lands.”

During the Global Summit this week, hundreds of Indigenous representatives from more than 70 countries will discuss the impacts of climate change on indigenous communities and the role Indigenous Peoples must play in international climate change negotiations.

“For thousands of years, indigenous peoples have been the ones conserving the forests,” said Egberto Tabo, General Coordinator of the Coordinating Body of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA). “Our ancestors talked about climate change. We’ve known for generations that this was going to happen.” He added: “We are the true conservationists. But our role in conserving the forests has not truly been recognized.”

Others agreed that Indigenous Peoples must play a key role in the UN climate negotiations.

“Participation is the key element,” said Johnson Cerda, a leader of the Quichua community in Ecuador and advisor for Conservation International’s Indigenous and Traditional Peoples Program. “We cannot only go there as observers... We have knowledge in conservation and based on that knowledge we should participate in these talks.”

Cerda described the devastating impacts climate change is having on indigenous communities in Ecuador. Because of lower rainfall, lakes are drying up and killing off the fish that local communities rely upon for survival. He said land mammals that communities have traditionally hunted for food are also becoming thinner and providing less meat to sustain the communities.

Cerda added that the strategy of reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) could be a powerful tool not only to combat climate change, but to help indigenous communities protect themselves against climate impacts.

But, he emphasized that REDD strategies could only be successful if they were developed in consultation with Indigenous communities and recognized Indigenous rights.

“In REDD, there must be recognition of local and Indigenous knowledge,” Cerda said. “Why under REDD should forests be recognized and not the people have lived there for generations?”

Sarene Marshall, Director of The Nature Conservancy’s Climate Change Program, agreed that REDD will not work unless Indigenous Peoples are part of the development process.

“Reaching an effective climate agreement in Copenhagen this year will require the full and open participation of Indigenous Peoples,” Marshall said. “The benefits of REDD must reach local and Indigenous Peoples. Without those benefits, conservation is not sustainable.”

Also joining the press conference was Joanna Durbin, Director of the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Alliance (CCBA), which is working to develop new forest carbon certification guidelines that include standards for benefits to Indigenous communities.

“They are best practices guidelines to promote socially-just triple benefits from REDD programs: reducing [carbon] emissions, supporting local communities and benefiting Indigenous Peoples,” Durbin said.

The CCBA is working with The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International, Care, Indigenous communities and government leaders to develop the guidelines, in hopes of unveiling them during the UN climate meeting in Copenhagen in December.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.