The Hague, November 11 - 12, 2000
I. PREAMBLE
We, the Indigenous Peoples of our Mother Earth, as partners with in the United Nations Family, have collectively developed our rights, responsibilities and aspirations in international law and formal declarations, including the U.N. Draft Declaration on Indigenous Peoples Rights. In the light and spirit of these instruments we welcome this opportunity to participate in the UNFCC -Process, for the recognition, promotion and protection of our rights. As the Delegates of Indigenous Peoples and organisations convened on the occasion of the Sixth Conference of the Parties of the Framework Convention on Climate Change in the Second International Indigenous Forum on Climate Change at the Hague from November 11th to the 12th, 2000, we affirm the Albuquerque Declaration, the Quito Declaration, Lyon Declaration and Position Paper of the First Forum of the Indigenous Peoples on Climatic Change. Furthermore, we address the Parties and other participants at this Conference to share the conclusions of our Forum:
II. CONSIDERATIONS
1.
Earth is our Mother. Our special relationship with Earth as stewards,
as holders of indigenous knowledge cannot be set aside. Our special
relation with her has allowed us to develop for millenia a particular
knowledge of the environment that is the foundation of our
lifestyles, institutions, spirituality and world view. Therefore, in
our philosophies, the Earth is not a commodity, but a sacred space
that the Creator has entrusted to us to care for her, this home where
all beings live.
2. Our traditional knowledge on
sustainable use, conservation and protection of our territories has
allowed us to maintain our ecosystems in equilibrium. This role has
been recognised at the Earth Summit and is and has been our
contribution to the planet's economy and sustainability for the
benefit present and future generations.
3. Our cultures,
and the territories under our stewardship, are now the last
ecological mechanisms remaining in the struggle against climate
devastation. All Peoples of the Earth truly owe a debt to Indigenous
Peoples for the beneficial role our traditional subsistence economies
play in the maintenance of planet's ecology.
4. Over twenty
international instruments affirm, promote or suggest the rights of
Indigenous Peoples to full and direct participation without
discrimination in the development of national and international
policies that have the potential to impact upon us. However, while
instruments such as the ILO Convention covers a wide range of
Indigenous Peoples rights, such as labor issues, land rights, social
and economic rights, cultural rights, political representation and
self-governance, they fail to adequately protect our concerns with
regard to the destruction of the Earth's climate.
5. We
reaffirm our ancestral rights to self-determination and our right to
decide without any outside interference on issues directly or
indirectly related to our lands and territories, that include
terrestrial and marine ecosystems and that are among the most diverse
and particularly fragile on the planet.
6. There have been
advances in the legal-philosophical debate for the recognition of our
collective rights. Furthermore, we think that there have been
regional and national advances on this matter, but unfortunately,
grave and systematic human rights violations and violations of the
fundamental liberties of the Indigenous Peoples persist.
7.
Climate change is a reality and is affecting hundreds of millions of
our peoples and our territories, resulting in famine, extreme
poverty, disease, loss of basic resources in our traditional habitats
and provoking involuntary displacements of our peoples as
environmental refugees. The causes of climate change are the
production and consumption patterns in industrialised countries and
are therefore, the primary responsibility of these countries. The
policies of developing countries and economies in transition that
promote coal and uranium mining, logging, nuclear and large hydro
electric power station and oil and gas extraction and transportation
contribute to climate change and the destruction of our
territories.
8. We are profoundly concerned that current
discussions within the Framework Convention on Climate Change, as
well as the practical implementation of the Kyoto Protocol do not
recognise our right to adequate participation. These policies and
mechanisms exclude us as participants, deny our contributions, and
marginalize our Peoples. These policies and mechanisms will permit
developed countries to avoid their responsibility to reduce emissions
at source, promote the expansion of global capital, and deepen our
marginalization.
9. We are also profoundly concerned that
the measures to mitigate climate change currently being negotiated
are based on a worldview of territory that reduces forests, lands,
seas and sacred sites to only their carbon absorption capacity. This
world view and its practices adversely affect the lives of Indigenous
Peoples and violate our fundamental rights and liberties,
particularly, our right to recuperate, maintain, control and
administer our territories which are consecrated and established in
instruments of the United Nations.
10. We reject the
inclusion of carbon sinks within the CDM and disagree with the
definition of carbon sinks as stated in the Kyoto Protocol. We, as
Indigenous Peoples, manage the "natural carbon sinks" in
our territories according to our world view and their integral use is
a right that our people have and exercise according to our local and
specific needs. We do not accept that forests are valued only for
their carbon sequestration capacity.
11. We are profoundly
concerned that the current proposed definitions of afforestation,
deforestation, and reforestation pose a threat to the traditional
uses of Indigenous Peoples of their lands and territories. We demand
that these definitions be in accord with the already accepted
definitions in other international conventions, specifically the
Convention on Biological Diversity.
12. Concepts,
practices, and measures, such as plantations, carbon sinks and
tradeable emissions, will result in projects which adversely impact
upon our natural, sensitive and fragile eco-systems, contaminating
our soils, forests and waters. In the past, even well intentioned
development policies and projects have resulted in disastrous social
and ecological consequences. In this case, the concepts, policies and
measures being negotiated do not consider the best interests of
Indigenous Peoples. Consequently, we cannot accept any
concepts,projects or programmes that ravage our territories or deny,
limit, or restrict our fundamental rights and freedom.
III. RECOMMENDATIONS
1.
We propose that COP guarantees the fullest and most effective
participation of Indigenous Peoples in all activities related to the
FCCC through:
a. notation of this Declaration,
b.
accreditation of Indigenous Peoples with special status in the
decision-making processes in the Conference of the Parties, meetings
of the Subsidiary Bodies, as well as at all activities carried out
within the Convention;
c. establishment of an ad-hoc,
open-ended working group on Indigenous Peoples and climate change
with the broad participation of Indigenous Peoples;
d.
creation of a Division on Indigenous Peoples within the Convention's
Secretariat;
e. inclusion of a permanent agenda item on
Indigenous Peoples in the permanent agenda of the COP and its
subsidiary bodies and all activities that they organise;
f.
meaningful consultation between the FCCC and the CBD, the proposed
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, and other bodies dealing with
Indigenous issues;
g. inclusion of Indigenous Peoples in
the IPCC, Executive Board of the CDM, expert review teams and the
compliance committee;
2. We propose that COP establish appropriate programs of capacity building, formation and diffusion of the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol and its activities with the participation of the representative Indigenous organisations.
3. We propose that COP support access for Indigenous Peoples as equal partners at every level of decision-making including needs assessments, case studies, and national and international policy-making activities concerning climate change impacts, causes and solutions.
4.
We propose that to ensure the non intervention of oil, gas, nuclear
and large hydro-electric power station, logging and mining companies,
in their exploitation of natural resources in Indigenous territories,
COP support Indigenous Peoples in our permanent struggle to defend
the environment through such actions as:
a. establishment
of a moratorium on these activities in pristine areas and the
promotion of locally appropriate, renewable, and efficient energy
solutions;
b. imposition of legally binding obligations to
restore all areas already affected by such activites, with the
participation of Indigenous Peoples; and
c. creation of a
fund for use by Indigenous Peoples to address the potential and
actual impacts of development and climate change in the short and
long term in a manner compatible with our traditional and customary
cultures and lifestyles.
The Hague on the 15th of November, 2000
Parshuram
Tamang, Nepal
International Alliance of Indigenous Indigenous
Tribal -Peoples of the Tropical Forests
Antonio
Jacanamijoy, Colombia
Coordinating Body of Organizations of the
Amazon Basin (COICA)
Ronald
Aloema, Surinam
Coordinating Body of Indigenous Organizations of
the Amazon Basin (COICA)
Organization of Indigenous Peoples of
Surinam (OIS)
Sam
Ferrer, Philippines
Climate Action Network, Southeast Asia
(CANSEA)
Clark
Peteru, Samoa
Indigenous Peoples Biodiversity Forest Systems
Hendro
Sangkoyo,Indonesia
Network Consortium for Community
Jocelyn
Therese, French Guyana
Coordinating Body of Indigenous
Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA)
Federation of Amerindian
Organizations of French Guyana (FOAG)
Alejandro
Argumedo, Peru
IndigenousKnowledge Program
Mario
Ibarra, Geneva
International Indian Treaty Coucil
Hector
Huertas,Panama
MesoAmerican Indigenous Organizations on Climate
Change, CEALP
Victor
Kaisiepo, Papua (Indonesia)
West Papua Peoples Front
Hubertus
Samangun,Indonesia
ICTI - TANIMBAR
Raymond
de Chavez, Philippines
Tebtebba Foundation
Ivar Vaca, Bolivia CIDOB
Edwin
Vasquez, Peru
Inter-ethnic Development Association of the
Peruvian Jungle (AIDESEP)
Coordinating Body of Indigenous
Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA)
Johnson
Cerda,Ecuador
Amazon Alliance
Stella
Tamang, Nepal
Bikalpa Gyan Kendra
Kalimba
Zephyrin,Rwanda
Community of Rwandan Indigenous Peoples, (CAURWA)
Penninah
Zaninka, Uganda
Emanzi Food and Peace Development Centre
African
Indigenous Women Organization
Lucy
Mulenkei, Kenya
Indigenous Information Network
Sergei
Shapkhaev, Russia
Butyat Regional Department of Lake Baikal
Diana
Christine Webster, New Zealand
Representative of Maori Congress
Orlando
Rodriguez, Colombia
Organization of Indigenous Peoples of the
Columbian Amazon (OPIAC)
Coordinating Body of Indigenous
Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA)
Adalberto
Vargas,Mexico
AMBIO S.C.de R.L.
Domingo
Peas, Ecuador
FINAE
José
Adolfo de León, Mexico
Unión de Credito Pajal
Yacactic Centro de Desarrollo Kuna Yala (ZONA TZELTAL)
Atencio
López Martinez, Panama
Association Napguana
Guno
Sabajo, Surinam
Coordinating Body of Indigenous Organizations of
the Amazon Basin (COICA)
Organization of Indigenous Peoples of
Surinam (OIS)
Bob
Gough, USA
Secretary Intertribal Council On Utility
Policy
Co-Chair Native Homelands on Climate Change
Marcial
Arias, Panama
Foundation for the Promotion of Indigenous Knowledge
Carlos
Enrique Batzin Chojoj
Center Maya Sagb´e Guatemala