Rainforest Foundation UK News
Brainforest Calls On Government To Review National Parks Law Amendment
Gabon's national government have recently proposed an amendment to the national parks law which threatens to further undermine community rights around protected areas and risks the politicisation of the national parks system. RFUK's Gabonese partner organisation Brainforest have delivered a public reaction including comments from local indigenous communities. "We are not against the national park, but it has to allow us to exist because our lives depend on the forest" - the community of Doumassi (pictured), on the periphery of Minkebé National Park, the largest in Gabon.
In 2002, Gabon made a commitment to global conservation efforts by declaring over 11% of the national territory as 13 national parks. Although the national parks system marks an important contribution towards preserving Gabon's biodiversity, it was created without the consultation of the estimated 15,000 local and indigenous peoples, who have since been denied access to their traditional lands and resources. While the National Parks Law passed in 2007 contains important provisions concerning the rights of affected communities to participate in the management of these areas, the current proposals, which advocate the imposing of further restrictions and penalties on resource use in the peripheral areas, risk seriously undermining this work and further alienating local and indigenous peoples.
For more info, please read Brainforest's response in full (in French) HERE.
PARTICIPATORY MAPPING IN THE CONGO BASIN PROJECT - CAR WORKSHOP
First Central African Republic National workshop on Community Forestry: Bangui, August 19-20 2010.
Today, a national workshop on community forestry has begun in the Central African Republic. Supported by the Rainforest Foundation UK, this workshop is an initiative of CAR civil society, in coordination with the Ministry of Water, Forests, Hunting and Fishing.
NB: Vous pouvez lire ces informations en français en cliquant ci-dessous prochainement.
Indigenous People’s Day
Monday 9th August was indigenous people's day and we launched an appeal for change.
The future of indigenous peoples in Central African Republic is about to change. As the only charity working on indigenous peoples rights in the region we need your support. Indigenous peoples struggle to claim the basic human rights we take for granted and see their lands and livelihoods given away without consultation or consent. With your support we will ensure that new legislation for indigenous peoples in Central Africa is adopted.
Donate your small change to see big change HERE.
Read more HERE.
No Rights, No REDD?
The recent piece in The Observer (headlined 'United Nations warned that corruption is undermining grants to stop logging' and which you can read by clicking here) follows the continuation of more and more articles that are soon due to crop up in UK national media about climate change and REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation), and we will certainly keep you posted about these. If you'd like to more about climate change and REDD, there are a few things you can do:
Donate to our climate campaign HERE!
Sign up to our Twitter @RFUK HERE!
Read our latest report, Realising Rights, Protecting Forests: An Alternative Vision for Reducing Deforestation, which proposes an alternative vision for achieving the objectives of REDD, urging that forest-dwelling communities are capable of protecting forests, and that community-based forest conservation and management should be a mainstay of plans to reduce forest destruction.
Developed countries seeking loopholes to avoid emissions cuts at UN climate talks
BONN, Germany - Rich developed countries are attempting to cheat on accounting for their carbon emissions from logging and will only agree to ambitious overall greenhouse gas reduction targets if they get the forestry loopholes they demand, warned the Ecosystems Climate Alliance today. Under this unacceptable approach, the atmosphere would see substantially more emissions in greenhouse gasses. Over the past few days at UN climate change talks in Bonn, a growing number of countries, almost exclusively from the developing world1, have challenged developed countries to genuinely reduce emissions from forestry and land use (known as LULUCF).
REGISTRATION OPEN FOR THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY RAINFOREST 10K RUN
On Sunday 5th of September 2010, we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Rainforest 10K Run. Come and join us at Finsbury Park, pop on your running shoes and make footprints that won't do any damage!
For more information and to register now click here.
40 Country Strong Coalition warns
A new report released today has warned that the provisions for protecting forests being discussed this week in the global climate change negotiations in Bonn will risk the rights of more than 350 million poor people who depend on the forests if the talks focus on carbon. The report, Realising Rights, Protecting Forests: An Alternative Vision for Reducing Deforestation, proposes an alternative vision for achieving the objectives of REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation), urging that forest-dwelling communities are capable of protecting forests, and that community-based forest conservation and management should be a mainstay of plans to reduce forest destruction. Developed by the Accra Caucus, a coalition of more than 100 organisations from over 40 tropical countries, and including international groups such as the Rainforest Foundation UK, the Rainforest Foundation Norway, Greenpeace, HuMa and Care International, the report is based on case studies from around the world, and argues for socially just policies and actions that tackle the underlying causes of deforestation.
› Realising Rights, Protecting Forests (ENGLISH)
› Realising Rights, Protecting Forests (FRENCH)
Oslo Climate and Forest Conference Statement
Rainforest Foundation UK, in collaboration with many other international NGOs, civil society and indigenous peoples organisations have issued a statement ahead of the Oslo Climate and Forest Conference which kicks off this week on May 27. The aim of the conference is to agree how the initial funding for a proposed global deal on reducing deforestation (called REDD, or reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation) would work. The statement signed by an international grouping of over forty organisations calls for the recognition of indigenous peoples and civil society rights, the full and effective participation of all stakeholders and for fast-start financing to tackle the root causes of deforestation such as poor forest governance and insecure land rights.
› Download the Oslo Climate and Forest Conference Statement here
An Update from the Ninth Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII)
Side event on Hydroelectric Dams and Indigenous Peoples' Rights, followed by a march in solidarity for the indigenous peoples impacted by dams in the Amazon.
The Rainforest Foundation UK co-organised a side event at UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) along with a number of NGOs and indigenous organisations working with communities that are impacted by the construction of large hydroelectric dams. All over the world, indigenous peoples have been faced with the threat of dam building on their lands - most often without any form of consultation, let alone free, prior and informed consent. The threat is becoming larger all the time with a race to find solutions to energy deficits, and renewable energy sources. The side event brought together indigenous peoples' organizations and NGOs working with indigenous peoples whose lands are currently faced with huge threats from the construction of hydroelectric dams, and other indigenous peoples' organizations that have already had experiences in dealing with these threats.
Have a look at photos from the event HERE including several of actress Sigourney Weaver who supported the event.
ILO Convention No. 169 ratified by the Central African Republic
This week, the Central African Republic has ratified the ILO's Convention on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples (Convention No. 169). This ratification marks a huge step forward in that the Central African Republic is the first country in Africa to ratify this Convention, thus dispelling the argument commonly put forward that the term "indigenous peoples" does not apply in Africa.
