Access, Benefit Sharing, and the Convention on Biological Diversity

Indigenous Latin American delegates reading the
statement of the International Forum on Biological Diversity
in Montreal, Canada. Photo: Earth Negotiations Bulletin

Montreal, Canada (UCTP Taino News) – Delegates from around the world are attending the fifth meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended working group on Access and Benefit Sharing of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Montréal, Canada. In relation to the CBD, the Working Group - convening from 8 – 12 October 2007 - is negotiating elements of an international regime on access and benefit-sharing. The items being discussed include access to genetic resources; fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of their use; measures to support compliance with prior informed consent (PIC) and mutually agreed terms (MAT); an internationally recognized certificate of origin/source/legal provenance of genetic resources; capacity building; and indicators for ABS.

Among the participants to this important session are representatives of Indigenous Peoples who are collectively represented by the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB) and the Indigenous Women’s Biodiversity Network (IWBN). The effectiveness of indigenous participants is further increased as IIFB and IWBN proposals are backed by statements from indigenous regional caucuses that reflect the diversity of issues.

On the opening day of the session, both the IIFB and IWBN welcomed the recent adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). The IIFB recalled that the Declaration’s Article 18, which affirms Indigenous Peoples’ right to participate in decision making in matters that affect them and, along with IWBN, stressed that “without recognition of indigenous rights, especially “free prior and informed consent (PIC), there can be no access.”

In an interview with local media, Roberto Mukaro Borrero (Taino), a Caribbean indigenous representative attending the session stressed the importance of the meeting stating “Indigenous Peoples need to be aware of and continue to engage this process as states are attempting to codify ‘sovereign rights’ over genetic resources and derivatives.”

Borreo continued noting that “Indigenous Peoples who have been following this process since its inception remain very concerned that states are misinterpreting their rights over natural resources as state sovereignty does not amount to absolute political or legal freedom. The sovereignty of states is limited by the UN Charter and by international human rights law.”

While some states parties spoke out strongly with regard to the rights of Indigenous Peoples, not all state delegations were as supportive. Canada for example objected to citing the UNDRIP, pointing out that the declaration is not legally binding.

The Working Group continues its negotiations on ABS until Friday, 12 October. This meeting will tie into the session being held next week on the CBD’s Article 8j. This article which focuses on "Traditional Knowledge" specifically mentions Indigenous Peoples and the need for states to respect, preserve, and maintain indigenous knowledge, innovations, and practices.

Negotiations on the international ABS regime will continue at the Working Group’s sixth session to be held from 21-25 January 2008, in Geneva, Switzerland.

U.N. panel says indigenous people are particularly vulnerable to the dangers of climate change

By LILY HINDY
Associated Press Writer

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Indigenous people around the world are particularly vulnerable to the dangers of climate change, which will threaten their traditional cultures as glaciers melt, ocean temperatures increase and coral reefs disappear, panel members said at a U.N. discussion of biodiversity.

The loss of biodiversity to climate change will hit indigenous people hardest, John Scott, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity said Tuesday.

"Indigenous and local communities ... will bear the brunt of this catastrophe because of their close association with their lands and waters," said Scott said.

The panel marking the U.N.'s International Biodiversity Day included a reindeer herder from Norway and members of indigenous groups from Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Hindu Kush mountain range that straddles the Pakistan-Afghan border.

Panelists spoke of melting glaciers, rising ocean temperatures, avalanches, and the depletion of coral reefs as devastating to their social and cultural traditions.

Lakshan Bibi, of the Hindu Kush, said her people were affected by the air traffic from recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which had greatly increased pollution in the area.

A draft report circulated in April by the convention focused on the negative effects of climate change on indigenous people in the Arctic region, small island states, and high-altitude areas, and recommended further research.

The report also recommends, however, that the environmental knowledge of indigenous people be used to help mitigate the negative effects of climate change. Scott said that indigenous farmers in the Andes mountains in Peru have introduced potatoes that can withstand drought, frost and other extreme weather conditions.

"Traditional knowledge of indigenous and local communities can play an important role in adaptation to climate change and its potential has yet to be fully explored," said Scott.

Roberto Borrero, of the Taino people in Puerto Rico, said that traditional-minded people have closer relationships to nature and more respect for the environment.

"I don't think it was an indigenous person who created pesticides, nuclear bombs or anything else of a destructive nature," said Borrero. "We need somebody with a traditional mind and attitude, or somebody who respects their environment as equally as they do their family."