Whats New at Community Forestry International Thu, Oct 18 2007

August 9 celebrates International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples
9 August 2007
PRESS RELEASE

International Day brings recognition of indigenous peoples’ contribution to environmental protection, combating climate change

(New York, 9 August) As the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is celebrated around the world on 9 August, indigenous peoples’ contribution to environmental protection is being recognized.

“The world is paying growing attention to indigenous peoples’ special stewardship in environmental issues and their increasing voice in matters of climate change,” said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a message to mark the Day.

Recalling the theme of the Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People (2005-2015) - “Partnership for action and dignity” - the Secretary-General emphasized that “We must heed to the fundamental principle of indigenous peoples’ full and effective participation and correct the participation deficiency that has been the legacy of the past.”

Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Mr. Sha Zukang, in his official message for the International Day, noted that indigenous peoples live in many of the world’s most biologically diverse areas and have accumulated a great deal of knowledge about these environments.

“With their wealth of knowledge about their environment [indigenous peoples] can and should play a crucial role in the global effort to respond to climate change. We should listen to them,” said Mr. Zukang.

For example, indigenous peoples use their traditional knowledge to lessen the impact of natural disasters. An Oxford University symposium in April this year heard how indigenous people “use strips of mangrove forest to absorb the force of tidal surges and tsunamis, others apply genetic diversity in crops to avoid total crop failure, and some communities migrate among habitats as disaster strikes” 1

The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as adopted by the Human Rights Council in June 2006 and currently being considered for adoption by the General Assembly, also recognizes that respect for indigenous knowledge, cultures and traditional practices contributes to sustainable development, including proper management of the environment.

“The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples represents the minimum standards for the survival, dignity and well-being of indigenous peoples. Many still live under the most oppressive and marginalized conditions and yet they are also the ones who are providing solutions to serious world problems such as climate change and the erosion of biocultural diversity”, stated Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Chairperson of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

In recognition of indigenous peoples’ particular vulnerability to climate change and their important role in responding to it, the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in its 2008 session will focus on “Climate change, bio-cultural diversity and livelihoods: the stewardship role of indigenous peoples and new challenges”.

Vulnerability in the Face of Climate Change Many indigenous communities are already needing to adapt their way of life due to the changing environment - from Saami reindeer herding communities in Sweden whose reindeer are unable to find food beneath the thick ice due to heavier than normal snowfalls, to indigenous communities in the Andes where extreme weather events are creating serious food security problems.

In the words of Ms. Sheila Watt-Cloutier, an Inuit activist who was recently awarded the Mahbub ul Haq Award for Excellence in Human Development by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, “We are all connected. The Arctic is geographically isolated from the rest of the world, yet the Inuk hunter who falls through the thinning sea ice is connected to melting glaciers in the Andes and the Himalayas, and to the flooding of low-lying and small island states.” 2

According to a recent report from the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)3, several indigenous communities in Alaska are actively looking into relocation options for entire communities due to land and coastal erosion caused by the thawing of the permafrost and large storm-driven waves.

“More than 80 per cent of Alaskan communities, comprised mostly of indigenous peoples, are identified as vulnerable to either coastal or river erosion,” says the report.

Relocation is also an issue in small island states such as Vanuatu and Samoa where rising sea levels and flooding from extreme weather events are a problem. According to the same report, one community in Vanuatu has been forced to abandon their homes and move half a kilometre inland as their original settlement is now being flooded up to five times a year.

High altitude areas are not only seeing melting glaciers and ice peaks but according to the CBD report, some are also seeing negative impacts on their agriculture as a result of climate change and drought. In the Cordillera in the Philippines, 2000 year old rice terraces are under attack from giant two-foot earthworms which have been thriving due to dwindling water supplies, causing soil and terrace walls to dry up even further.

About the Day

The International Day of the World’s Indigenous People is commemorated each year on 9 August in recognition of the first meeting of the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations in Geneva in 1982. This year’s observance at the UN is being organized by the Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Department of Economic and Social Affairs; and the NGO Committee on the Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.

For more information of the Day and events at UN Headquarters, please visit
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii For media enquiries, please contact: Renata Sivacolundhu, Department of Public Information, tel: 212.963.2932, e-mail: sivacolundhu@un.org For Secretariat of the Permanent Forum, please contact: Mirian Masaquiza, Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, tel: 917.367.6006, e-mail: IndigenousPermanentForum@un.org

------------------------- 1 Environment News Service, “Indigenous Peoples on Climate Change Front Lines”, 19 April 2007 http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/apr2007/2007-04-19-03.asp. 2 Inuit Circumpolar Council (Canada), The Canadian Environment Awards Citation of Lifetime Achievement, www.inuitcircumpolar.com/index.php?auto_slide=&ID;=357⟪=En&Parent;_ID=¤t;_slide_num= 3 Draft Report on Indigenous and Local Communities Highly Vulnerable to Climate Change, Advisory Group Meeting on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 2nd Meeting, Montreal, 30 April-03 May 2007



CFI Films get Rave Reviews at Cambodian Film Festival

Watch Videos
Click Here

Three films supported by CFI were given rave reviews at the first Cambodian Environmental Film Festival organized by Conservation International held June 2007 in Phnom Penh. “Buddha Still Lives in the Forest,” a film produced by the Association of Buddhists for the Environment with funding from CFI, won the Asian Arowana Audience Choice Award. Other CFI funded films that received accolades were “Stewards of Cambodia’s Forests” produced by CFI and a series of short films made by the indigenous people of Ratanakiri themselves through a project supported by CFI-Ratanakiri called “Forest Mountain Voices.” One Australian reviewer, Paul Everingham, wrote:

It was the few films with the simplest approaches which provided the most powerful moments. The raw-guts bravery of forest stewards as they confiscate a chainsaw, the long weary day of a hill tribe woman, the quiet outrage of those downstream from dams, the sweet humble smile of a commune chief as he talks of village values and his love of natural beauty.
All of these scenes and by far the most moving films were those made by non-professionals from local grassroots groups Forest Mountain Voices…and "Best Film" winner, the Association of Buddhists for the Environment. I also include Lake Tahoe based Community Forestry International in this select group for facilitating many of these films and for taking a similarly authentic approach themselves. None of these groups springs from centers of scientific or educational excellence. What they have in common is that they all represent the spirit of communities which have a deep emotional attachment to their natural environment. They let that shine and it works like magic.



CFI now part of the Clinton Climate Change Initiative.
CFI is an official member of the Clinton Climate Initiative announced April 19, 2007 as part of the Clinton Global Initiative. The Clinton Global Initative is a non-partisan catalyst for action, bringing together global leaders, heads of state, non-profit organizations, charities, and business leaders to discuss challenges of the world today and devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems. The Clinton Global initiative focuses on:
  • Energy and Climate Change
  • Global Health
  • Poverty Alleviation
  • Mitigating Religions & Ethnic Conflict


CFI Redesign……………….
CFI has redesigned its logo, subtitle, and website. We hope you like the new look!

CFI at the World Bank, Washington DC
In June, Dr. Mark Poffenberger, CFI Executive Director, updated general members of the WB and especially the Forestry Sector on CFI’s work in Central and NE India. His presentation explored actions needed to facilitate the second phase of the national forest management transition over the next fifteen years (2010-2025).

In central India, CFI is working with the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department, the World Bank and local NGOs (Dhan Foundation, CPF, etc) to identify and extend innovations that will enhance FPCs performance and profitability, while creating greater incentives for environmental restoration. This includes the development of FPC Federations, linkages with women’s Self-Help Group microfinance organizations, forest-based livelihoods, and environmental service payments to rural communities

In the hill areas of Northeast India, the CFI sponsored Community Forestry Alliance for Northeast India (CFANE) is collaborating with indigenous communities who maintain legal control over most of the upland watershed forests. In many areas, communal tenure structures are unraveling, as over-extended swidden (jhum) farming systems are driving landscape level deforestation and market forces encourage the adoption of unsustainable cash cropping systems. CFI and its partners are exploring strategies to facilitate sustainable transition in resource management. An important component of this approach involves establishing Payment for Environmental Services (PES) contracts with Naga, Kuki, and Khasi tribal communities to finance agricultural and animal husbandry transitions. The project is also establishing new market linkages for NTFPs and payments to participating communities for carbon sequestration.



CFI at USAID, Washington, DC
In June, Dr. Mark Poffenberger, CFI Executive Director, updated field project staff and others on CFI’s work in NE India and Cambodia. Dr. Mark Poffenberger presented the experiences of CFMSP, a project initiated in 2004 and supported by USAID’s Global Development Alliance. His presentation outlined project achievements to date, as well as the innovations and new partnerships emerging from this initiative. In the last three years, CFI has been actively creating public-private alliances among rural communities in South and Southeast Asia. This requires empowering communities through building their technical and management skills, while creating new financial resources within forest villages that generate sustainable livelihoods. CFI has been helping link rural communities with national forest departments, government, local NGOs, and international organizations.

In Cambodia, CFI supports 18 local NGOs and 150 communities providing technical support and funding under its Community Forestry Alliance for Cambodia (CFAC). CFAC supported communities are currently protecting and regenerating approximately 200,000 hectares of threatened lowland forest with new private sector linkages being established for honey and rattan marketing, as well as community-based ecotourism.

The CFI sponsored Community Forestry Alliance for Northeast India (CFANE) is establishing Payment for Environmental Services (PES) contracts with Naga, Kuki, and Khasi tribal communities in biodiversity hot spots. This prototype approach to landscape level restoration is being developed for replication by the Government of India, the World Bank, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Future alliances are exploring new market linkages for NTFPs and payments to participating communities for carbon sequestration.


© 2007 Community Forestry International - Forest Rights are Human Rights

Lake Tahoe Web Design by JoeContiCreations.com

Medical Equipment