For the past two-and-a-half years I’ve been running a website called Conservation-Watch. I recently did an interview with the Big Green Politics Podcast, about the impact of conservation on indigenous peoples – the podcast went live yesterday.
Indigenous Peoples
There are 357 posts tagged Indigenous Peoples (this is page 1 of 24).
Exposed by Buzzfeed News: WWF’s lies about Indigenous People being “supportive” of its proposed Messok Dja National Park in the Republic of Congo
Messok Dja is a 1,456 square kilometre area of dense rainforest in the northwest of the Republic of Congo. For years, WWF has been working to persuade the government to establish a new Messok Dja National Park. On its website, WWF states that the forest is “highly threatened by intense elephant poaching and ivory trafficking”. Two logging companies have concessions overlapping the proposed park: a Lebanese company called SIFCO; and a Chinese company called SEFYD.
Open letter by the Swift Foundation rejects REDD and carbon trading as false solutions to climate change
On 11 September 2018, shortly before the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, 17 foundations signed on to a “Joint Statement Supporting Forests, Rights, and Lands for Climate”.
India’s Supreme Court orders the eviction of millions of forest-dwelling people. Meanwhile, India’s National REDD+ Strategy claims to support Indigenous Peoples’ rights, but blames them for deforestation
On 13 February 2019, the Supreme Court of India ordered the forced eviction of millions of forest-dwelling people. The court’s decision is the result of a case filed in 2008 by wildlife conservation organisations: Wildlife First, Nature Conservation Society, and Tiger Research and Conservation Trust.
Can REDD save the rainforests of Papua and West Papua? (Part 2)
Earlier this week, REDD-Monitor wrote about a 2,800 square kilometre oil palm plantation that threatens a huge area of forest in the district of Boven Digoel in the east of Papua Province. REDD proponents are silent on how REDD could stop this destruction and to prevent the setting off of a deforestation carbon bomb.
Critical statement on REDD from Latin American indigenous organisations
Last week saw a meeting in Weilburg, Germany to discuss “Social Inclusion in REDD+ Processes”. The meeting, organised by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation and the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, also discussed the “Status and Achievements of 10 years’ REDD+ Preparation and Implementation”.
Indigenous Environmental Network: Sky Protectors’ Win against California’s Carbon Colonialism
Indigenous Environmental Network has put out a press release celebrating California’s postponement of a decision on its Tropical Forest Standard until April 2019. It’s “a significant win” Indigenous Environmental Network says in the press release.
Can buying Ben & Jerry’s ice cream save the Cordillera Azul National Park in Peru? Featuring Ecosphere+, Althelia, the Poseidon Foundation, REDD, Blockchain, and the government of Malta
Since May 2018, if you buy ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop in Wardour Street, London, you will also buy a small part of a carbon credit. For every scoop of ice cream, a penny goes to buying carbon credits from the Cordillera Azul National Park REDD project in Peru.
A glimpse at Brazil reveals the big REDD problems that California’s Tropical Forest Standard fails to address
On 5 September 2018, the California Air Resources Board released a draft California Tropical Forest Standard. A 191-page Draft Environmental Analysis was released on 14 September 2018. A public meeting will take place on 15 November 2018, and the California Air Resources Board is inviting comments on the Environmental Analysis before 5 pm on 29 October 2018.
Brazil: The Suruí REDD project has been suspended indefinitely
The Suruí Forest Carbon Project in Brazil has been suspended indefinitely as a result of illegal diamond and gold mining, as well as illegal logging, inside the 248,147 hectare territory of the Suruí.
‘Actually existing’ REDD: Social tensions, ongoing deforestation, local confusion, financial benefits not delivered
“Early evidence from REDD+ projects suggests major challenges, including: ongoing weak enforcement of domestic laws on forests and land, leading to limited effectiveness; contestation or conflict over property rights and community benefits; as well as securitisation and violence, often perpetrated by government agencies.”
Indigenous Peoples protest REDD in California: “No carbon colonialism. No REDD+”
This week sees the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, USA. Organised by California’s governor, Jerry Brown, the Global Climate Action Summit runs from 12 to 14 September 2018.
Threats. Violence. Criminalisation. Murder. The reality for Indigenous Peoples and local communities protecting lands and forests
“A global crisis is unfolding. The rapid expansion of development projects on indigenous lands without their consent is driving a drastic increase in violence and legal harassment against Indigenous Peoples.”
Kenya’s REDD programme risks exacerbating violence against indigenous Sengwer communities in Embobut forest
Since January 2014, Kenya Forest Service guards have carried out a series of violent evictions of the Sengwer indigenous people from their homes in Embobut forest. While the evictions took place the Kenya Forest Service was funded by international donors, including the World Bank, the European Union, and the Finnish government.
REDD in the Democratic Republic of Congo fails to uphold indigenous peoples’ rights and is fuelling land conflicts
The province of Mai Ndombe in the Democratic Republic of Congo has about 10 million hectares of forest. Of the population of 1.8 million living in Mai Ndombe, about 73,000 are indigenous people.