This afternoon, I attended two extremely interesting side events that focused on incorporating Indigenous rights in the language and implementation of the Katowice Rulebook (the goal of this COP is to establish this Rulebook to actually implement the commitments set forth in the Paris Agreement). The first event, titled “Realizing the Vision of Paris: Incorporating Rights in the Implementation Guidelines,” consisted of panel members from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), Earthjustice, Women’s Empowerment and Development Organization (WEDO), Amnesty International, and Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP).
The most impactful speaker in my opinion was a man representing AIPP, who emphasized how Indigenous Peoples face impacts from not only climate change, but also the mitigation and adaptation measures designed to address it. One example is the expansion of protected areas — a measure designed to protect forests and their crucial role as carbon sinks. While seemingly wonderful, in acquiring additional land to expand the reach of protected areas, this approach displaces Indigenous Peoples and strips them of their access to ancestral lands and culturally significant resources.
One of my greatest passions with respect to environmental protection and social justice is the exact issue of how conservation initiatives affect Indigenous Peoples. While I have previously focused a great deal on this in terms of existing national parks and protected areas, I had not thought about these issues in terms of the climate-related expansion of these initiatives It was eye-opening to learn about the flaws and inequity of seemingly good solutions to the climate crisis, and this event really expanded my understanding and altered my perspective of currently proposed mitigation and adaptation initiatives, including REDD+ and other carbon offset schemes.
After this panel, I went to another side event, titled “Megadrivers, Climate Funds, and Indigenous Peoples.” This event was organized by representatives from several Indigenous Peoples organizations in Peru. Each of the speakers emphasized the urgency of the challenges that they are facing in the Amazon and how integral it is to maintain and ensure Indigenous control of their territories. This event detailed several climate funds that exist in the Amazon, including the DGM, FCPF, FIP, ONU REDD, and DCI. The panelists discussed the current problems that exist with respect to these funds, including the prioritization of state mediation, the lack of inclusion of Indigenous Peoples in these conversations, and the state’s continued support for extractive industries and anti-climate investments (i.e., agribusiness, hydrocarbons, mining, wood felling). The panelists then discussed some experiences and achievements of Indigenous Peoples with respect to land titling, reduced deforestation due to resistance to extractivism, investment in Indigenous economies with standings forests, and Indigenous REDD+. The event concluded by proposing Indigenous alternatives on climate finance, which highlighted the importance of territorial organizations and learning from previous Indigenous-centered successes.
Another interesting thing to note about this event is that it was entirely in Spanish, which I found very exciting and powerful because most other side events are held in English; it was clear that this event was focused on the people who it was trying to reach, and in asserting the rights (and language) of the panelists, rather than submitting to the sense of Western, English, and American superiority that is so pervasive at these negotiations.
Coming out of today, I am extremely interested in learning more about just and viable alternative approaches to mitigating and adapting to climate change without perpetuating colonialism and human rights violations with respect to Indigenous Peoples, as well as how such mechanisms and financing can be used to uplift and support Indigenous Peoples in implementing their own self-driven initiatives. Stay tuned as I continue to investigate these crucial questions this week!
— Shana
Hi Shana, thanks for this write-up. “Indigenous alternatives on climate finance”–that sounds fascinating. Can you give an example? Maybe you and Amos could talk about how to indigenize climate finance.
Hi Betsy — thanks for your question! From my understanding, it seems like the indigenizing of climate finance mostly comes in the form of public funding from multilateral instruments and international climate funds through the UN, as well as some funding from NGOs (like the World Wildlife Fund). In terms of Indigenous REDD+, for example, Indigenous Peoples acquire their funding through the World Bank, the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, the Forest Investment Programme, the Global Climate Fund, and other large multilateral climate funds. The main demands in terms of indigenizing climate finance include increasing the amount of financial capital available through these funds (since funding is currently severely lacking), and giving Indigenous Peoples direct control over this capital (which is one of the most important elements of indigenizing climate finance). Hope this was helpful!
Thank you for this well written and thoughtful blog post Shana. I am also very interested in how climate change is uniquely impacting and affecting indigenous peoples. How feasible do you think it is for current government structures to incorporate indigenous solutions to climate change and following/supporting indigenous land practices as a solution to climate change? Do you think that’s possible within current governmental structures or does it necessitate a fundamental change in government power dynamics/new structures?
Hi Guilu — thank you so much for your question, and for following us on our COP 24 journey! I think that it likely depends on the country that we are talking about. For example, in the United States, Indigenous Peoples are treated as only semi-sovereign, and governed by the trust relationship between the federal government and tribes. The trust relationship is rooted in colonialism, and makes the United States the official owner of all tribal lands and resources (i.e. they are held in trust by the federal government for use by Native Americans). As a result of this system, Congressional approval is generally needed before tribes can initiate a new land use, etc. Additionally, Congress has placed virtually all tribal property and associated resources under the control of federal agencies, depriving tribes of the ability to manage these resources for themselves. Since this is the way that the current government structure in the U.S. operates, I think that the structure of the government would need to fundamentally change in order to truly support and uplift Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous solutions to climate change, and allow for tribes to exercise certain land practices and manage resources for themselves.
In other countries, however, such as New Zealand, I believe that the current government structure could (and already has begun to) prove very effective in supporting Indigenous solutions to climate change and Indigenous land practices. Firstly, New Zealand contains its own Indigenous (Māori) political party in Parliament. Additionally, a new conservation and land management movement has recently emerged, known as co-governance. Through this approach, National Parks and protected areas are no longer managed by the central government, but rather, by co-governance boards, consisting of half central government and half tribal representation, with the goal of transition to full tribal representation over time. This approach transforms the management of these spaces to uplift Indigenous Peoples and restore tribal sovereignty in managing ancestral lands and culturally significant resources. As a result of these factors, New Zealand’s current government structure is more conducive to incorporating Indigenous solutions and supporting Indigenous land uses (particularly due to the increasing emergence of co-governance). I therefore believe that it is ultimately possible for existing government structures to meaningfully support Indigenous Peoples, but it is highly context-dependent. I hope that this answers your question, and I highly recommend further researching some of these questions and initiatives — it is an extremely interesting field that I am very passionate about!