IUCN Addresses Indigenous Peoples Injustices

The world's largest gathering of conservationists has resulted in promises of greater recognition of indigenous and traditional peoples' rights in situations where land is set aside for ecological or wildlife preservation.

Earlier this week, the World Conservation Union (IUCN), a network with more than 1,000 government and NGO (non-governmental organization) members worldwide, endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous and traditional leaders are championing the agreement as a tool to regain their land and political clout in areas where their territory was taken illegally from them.

The endorsement at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona, Spain-a quadrennial meeting of 8,000 of the world's environmental leaders-is a largely symbolic statement that reflects a growing effort among conservationists to respect indigenous rights in protected areas.

"It's a very important step for the IUCN to recognize the work and participation of indigenous people for many years...in conservation," said Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, the chair of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, who is a Filipino Kankana.

The declaration, which the U.N. General Assembly adopted last year, calls for nations to return traditional lands to indigenous peoples if this land was unfairly taken. By passing the declaration, the World Conservation Congress also "acknowledges that injustices to indigenous peoples have been and continue to be caused in the name of conservation," the official motion said.

"The IUCN is very much respected for setting significant environmental policies in the world," said Steven Newcomb, co-director of the Oregon-based Indigenous Law Institute. "This shows an increased commitment on the part of the IUCN to respect the fundamental human rights of indigenous people."

The measure came at an IUCN Congress where indigenous peoples had a larger presence than in years past. Environmentalists have increased their efforts to include local peoples in their decision making, but several local leaders said they continue to feel alienated from international conservation planning alienated from international conservation planning.

Efforts to heal the rift began when some 3,000 participants at the 2003 IUCN World Parks Congress in Durban, South Africa, called for a "new paradigm" between the two groups. NGOs agreed that parks would not be established without prior consent from indigenous peoples.

Large conservation groups such as Conservation International and WWF have revised their policies since the "Durban Accord" to include indigenous peoples. IUCN also approved a policy this week that calls for protected areas not to be established "without indigenous peoples' free, prior and informed consent."

But Marcus Colchester, director of the Forest Peoples Program, said that large conservation groups continue to dedicate insufficient resources to collaboration with indigenous peoples, and that instances of ignoring local peoples' land rights continue to outnumber examples of improved relations. "We still find tragic cases of forced expulsion," Colchester said. "Very little land was given back to indigenous people the way it was promised."

At this week's World Congress, about 200 indigenous people were represented, according to IUCN senior social policy advisor Gonzalo Oviedo, although the definition of "indigenous" often varies by region. This attendance is an increase from the 150 present at the World Park Congress. "We have a significantly larger presence now and we have a larger diversity of people," Oviedo said.

The conference featured discussions about protected area guidelines, climate change adaptation, and international forestry accords, especially from Latin American indigenous peoples, who had a strong organized presence. "I've seen a lot more concrete proposals from conservationists and indigenous people on how to move forward, and also more concrete proposals on how to move together," said Kristen Walker Painemilla, executive director of Conservation International's Indigenous and Traditional Peoples Initiative.

The larger presence also presented indigenous leaders with a unique platform to express frustrations. Egberto Tabo Chipunavi, the coordinating general of COICA (the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin), said plans to include forests in an international climate agreement may lead to land-grabbing by entities based in industrialized countries.

"They are going to deprive us of life in our own home. They are not going to allow us to have food," Tabo said. "You all [in the NGO community] receive money sitting in your offices, writing books, writing reports. We bleed there daily!"

Yet some indigenous leaders, especially from Africa, said representation was still insufficient. Furthermore, Joseph Ole Simel, director of Mainyoito Pastoralists Integrated Development Organization in Kenya, suggested that some indigenous leaders in attendance did not adequately represent indigenous priorities. "[NGOs] bring people more likely to agree with them rather than people who bring the voice of the majority," he said. "They are like prisoners. I see a lot of that here."

While IUCN and several national governments paid for some indigenous leaders' trips to Barcelona, at least a quarter were financed through organizations that seek to increase the voice of local peoples, such as the Christensen Fund and the Forest Peoples Program.

In advance of the next IUCN World Congress in 2012, indigenous leaders are seeking to revise the organization's categories of "protected areas" to include recognition of indigenous peoples' management of natural resources. "The six categories now don't take into account indigenous rights," said Ramiro Batzin, spokesman for Sotz'il, a Guatemalan indigenous organization.

Conservation leaders acknowledge that more effort is still needed, but they believe that developments at the recent IUCN Congress reflect continued progress. "I wouldn't agree that there is a lack of action. I would agree that more needs to be done," Oviedo said. "I have no doubt about it."

Ben Block is a staff writer with the Worldwatch Institute. He can be reached at bblock@worldwatch.org.

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