The following statement was delivered to Working Group I of
the UNCED PrepCom III on 15 August 1991.
Statement to the Third Preparatory Committee meeting of UNCED
on the issue of forests
by Mutang Urud
on behalf of the Institute of Pre-History,
Anthropology and Ecology
Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Delegates, Colleagues,
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to address you today.
I am speaking on behalf of the Four Directions Council.
My name is Mutang Urud. I am a member of a Sarawak tribe.
Sarawak has suffered particularly high deforestation rates
even for Malaysia, but I do not speak only for the 200,000
people dependent upon the forests of Sarawak.
We have lived in the forests of the world sustainably since
time immemorial. Under our management these forests have
remained intact, providing not only their inhabitants but also
the wider world with the benefits of the local, regional, and
global services of the forests, as a carbon sink, modulator of
climate, and home of the richest sources of biological
diversity.
The role of indigenous peoples as guardians and sustainable
managers of forests was recognised by this Committee in its
meeting in March. The vast knowledge of indigenous peoples as
custodians of so much of the evolutionary experience of our
species and some of the earth's most precious and vulnerable
ecosystems, was frequently referred to in the working groups.
Statements by indigenous peoples' organisations and
delegations in the Plenary, stressed the capacity of local
communities to identify their own measures to stem
environmental degradation, and requested that the Secretariat
consider the relevance of traditional knowledge and practices
to issues on the UNCED agenda.
Accordingly we would like to submit suggestions for inclusion
as options for actions within Agenda 21.
The concept of demarcation of indigenous land to afford its
protection and secure the livelihoods of the indigenous
peoples who inhabit it, has already received the support of
certain members of this Committee.
The Colombian government is to be congratulated on its far-
sighted approach to the issue. By September 1989, the
Government of Colombia under the former President Barco
recognised indigenous rights over 18 million hectares of the
Amazon. The new Colombian Constitution and the present
Government reinforced this principle.
The Colombian model, supported by the European Commission,
represents the leading edge of policy and practice in the
field. Bolivia is to be encouraged for taking steps which
will, it is hoped, have the same effect. Other Latin American
countries such as Ecuador and Brazil should similarly receive
support and encouragement to develop their own models.
At the second meeting of the Indigenous Affairs Commission
of the Amazon Pact, a series of conclusions, which follow the
principles of the Colombian example, were unanimously adopted
by all eight countries of the Pact. The primary conclusions of
this meeting were:
1. Demarcation of indigenous lands is a priority;
2. Demarcation must be accompanied by support for the
indigenous communities to administer their lands;
3. The activities developed to achieve these aims must be
defined and evolved with the indigenous communities and
organisations across the region.
The experience of Latin America has demonstrated that such
measures need not involve excessive expense. We would urge all
delegations here from countries from around the world with
remaining natural forests and indigenous capacity to help
preserve them, to learn from the experience of the Colombian
Amazon. And we urge nations of the world, who will share in
the benefits of such an approach, to support them.
We would urge Governments to explore possibilities for
programmatic actions under the following heads:
1. Demarcation of indigenous forest lands as described above;
2. Biosphere reserves. We would urge that this concept be
promoted and applied more generally.
We hope that this Committee will examine and formulate
mechanisms that will enable the widespread adoption of such
measures, and the financial support necessary to implement
them. And we hope that its decision will be included in the
programmatic element of the Conference, to give it practical
effect, as well as ensuring that the principles are included
in any legal instrument on forests that this Committee
proposes to submit for signature at the Earth Summit in 1992.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.