Topic 414 ENVIRONMENT: 'CUSTODIANS' SPEAK OUT
newsdesk ips.englibrary 2:03 pm Aug 18, 1991
Copyright Inter Press Service 1991, all rights reserved. Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'igc:newsdesk'.
Area: Environment
Reference: Agriculture
Title: ENVIRONMENT: 'CUSTODIANS' SPEAK OUT FOR THEIR FOREST HOMES
geneva, aug 15 (ips/hermann steffen) -- they see themselves as the
''custodians' of their jungle homes. for them, forests are not
just an economic or green issue, but the very basis of their lives
and culture.
indigenous groups from asia, latin and north america came
together here thursday to remind a u.n. meeting on environment and
development that rainforests are not just sinks for greenhouse
gases, sources of timber or a point of dispute between north and
south.
the tribal delegates sat in the same conference hall in geneva
as representatives from several third world countries insisted
that nation states had the sovereign right to exploit their
natural resources.
forest-dwelling indigenous groups have particpated prominently
in meetings here in preparation for next year's 'earth summit' in
brazil, where they hope world leaders will recognise their rights.
''they say that indigenous peoples are against sovereignty,''
declared roberto espinoza, speaking on behalf of amazonian groups
from five south american countries. ''but the sovereignty of
states should be based on the protection of all their citizens.''
but indonesian representative efransjah, in his intervention
wednesday at the united nations conference on environment and
development (unced) meeting, claimed that these rights were not
applicable everywhere.
''we don't distinguish this in indonesia,'' he said. ''since
all citizens are equal before the law, there is no need to accord
special rights to a special group.''
this comment led to much criticism from non-government
organisations, and more subtle disagreement by countries like the
philippines.
''with due respect to other delegations with a different policy
on the issue, our country considers this a very important
consideration,'' said delfin ganapin of the manila mission.
he said the philippines was trying to achieve a greater
participation of indigenous groups in forestry management
programmes. (more/ips)
environment: custodians (2)
he did not consider this as giving these groups ''a separate
classification'' but as a way of correcting ''historical errors in
the way they ... have been dealt with''.
the indigenous groups themselves were much more outspoken.
''this denies the existence of cultural differences,'' ariel
araujo, a guarani from argentina, told ips. ''it is very
authoritarian.''
''we are citizens, much more than many (non-indigenous)
citizens,'' espinoza told the delegates, after reminding them that
the ancestors of the two million indigenous inhabitants of
amazonia dwelt there for thousands of years, long before european
colonisation.
''we have lived in the forests of the world, sustainably, since
time immemorial,'' echoed mutang urud, a sarawak from malaysia.
''under our management these forests have remained intact.''
russel barsh, speaking on behalf on the 'four directions
council' of north american tribes, disagreed with that statement,
but only to underline the way in which, according to him, forest
dwellers act as part of the ecosystem.
''all forests inhabited by indigenous people have been
cultivated, managed and modified'', he explained.
the difference, barsh said, is that indigenous management
systems tend to create greater biodiversity by doing things like
opening up the tree canopy and bringing in a greater mix of
species, while modern forest management reduces biodiversity by
creating monocultural forests that affect wildlife.
rather than produce scientific assertions, indigenous
representatives from other regions made impassioned calls.
''it is a question of survival'', said araujo. ''we live
directly from the forest. it is our way of life, our culture.''
''everyone is discussing forests now as a source of riches, of
money,'' added espinoza. ''for indigenous people, they mean much
blood (spilled), many violations to human rights, slavery, the
kidnapping of minors, recruiting whole families by force so
forests can be logged ... and destroyed.''
the most unusual call, however, came from urud, not in words
but in a cassette recording he played to national delegates and
u.n. officials.
it was, he said, 'the voice of the forest': the cry of the
gibbon, an ape that inhabits the mountains of borneo.
(ends/ips/en/hs/kd)
--
Gary S. Trujillo gst@gnosys.svle.ma.us
Somerville, Massachusetts {wjh12,bu.edu,spdcc,ima,cdp}!gnosys!gst