Representatives from Indigenous groups and organizations
from around the globe have formed an Indigenous Biodiversity
Network (IBN). The initial focus of this cooperative effort
is to:
* Exchange information on biological and cultural-diversity
related issues;
* Establish an autonomous voice for Indigenous peoples on
biological and cultural diversity, intellectual property
rights, traditional knowledge, and related issues.
The IBN was formed in Geneva, Switzerland in October, during
the first Intergovernmental Committee on the Convention of
Biological Diversity (ICCBC) held since the Rio Conference
in June 1992.
The IBN invites participation from Indigenous groups and
organizations working in related issues. Plans are underway
to organize a meeting to define the scope of the
organization.
A statement by the Indigenous representatives that formed
the IBN was read to the ICCBC assembly in Geneva. That
statement is reproduced below.
For further information about the Indigenous Biodiversity
Network, contact:
Alejandro Argumedo
Suite 620, 1 Nicholas St.
Ottawa, ON
Canada K1N 7B7
Phone: (613) 233-4653
Fax: (613) 233-2292
E-mail: susanodo@web.apc.org
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES' STATEMENT
INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE ON THE CONVENTION OF BIOLOGICAL
DIVERSITY
14 October 1993
Geneva, Switzerland
Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Delegates:
On behalf of the Indigenous Peoples' caucus, I would
like to thank you for giving us this chance to express our
perspective.
We Indigenous Peoples of the world are the sole
guardians of vast, little-disturbed habitats that modern
societies depend on more than they realize - to regulate
water cycles, maintain the stability of climate and provide
valuable plants, animals and genes. Our homelands harbor
more endangered plant and animal species than all the
world's nature reserves. We possess ecological knowledge of
incalculable value which is a map of the biological
diversity of the earth on which all life depends. Encoded
in our culture there is as much understanding of nature as
is stored in the libraries of modern science.
Biological diversity and cultural diversity depend on
one another. We Indigenous Peoples are not only stewards of
biodiversity but our diverse cultures have fostered it. The
richest ecosystem, biological and genetic diversity is
usually found within our ancestral territories. At the same
time, we depend on this diversity for our way of life.
Thus, conserving this diversity is inextricably linked to
the protection of our rights.
It was little appreciated in the past centuries of
exploitation but is undeniable now that world's dominant
culture can not sustain the earth without our aid. The
planet's worsening health demonstrates the failure of the
conventional development paradigm. The world needs new
paradigms based on conservation practices such as those we
have been practicing for millennia.
The convention recognizes in its preamble and article
8, paragraph j the importance of our knowledge, innovations
and practices for the conservation and the sustainable use
of biological diversity. Article 10, paragraph c, states
that governments shall protect and encourage customary use
of biological resources in accordance with traditional
cultural practices that are sustainable. Furthermore the
Convention provides that the benefits deriving from our
knowledge should be shared equitably.
Unfortunately, these principles are rarely honored in
reality. Our traditional practices are discouraged and
forbidden, often by use of force. The exploitation of
biodiversity, without our consent, helps produce billions of
dollars a year for others, but not for us. We ask that the
parties to the convention make sure that these provisions of
the Convention are fully enforced.
Recently, the exploitation of our diversity has
extended even to the bodies of Indigenous Peoples
themselves. In one particularly shocking case, the United
States government has applied for the patenting of the
genetic material from a sister of the Guaymi people of
Panama, without the knowledge or permission of her or her
family. We call on the governments signing the convention
to ensure that no genetic resources are taken from those to
whom they belong. Moreover, we strongly oppose any form of
life patenting.
Alongside this new form of exploitation, the classic
violations of our rights continue, violations supported by
international institutions such as the World Bank as well as
by governments. Our rights to our lands, our resources, our
languages, our cultures, our own forms of government, and
our civil and political rights are constantly abused. If
biodiversity is to be protected, these abuses must cease.
We appeal to you to recognize the rights of the many
indigenous peoples, such as the Ainu of Japan, the Jumma of
Bangladesh, Yanomani of Venezuela and Brazil, Pehuenche of
Chile, Penan of Malaysia, and all others whom we do not have
time to mention.
Often these abuses that are destroying lands and
cultures are inflicted in the name of economic development
that is supposed to help the people. The Chico River dam
project in the Philippines, the James Bay project in
Northern Quebec, and the Captai hydro-electric dam in the
Chittagong-Hill-Tracts of Bangladesh, are just a few of
thousands of these projects.
In conclusion, we urge the governments convened here to
take the following specific actions:
To implement the convention's requirements that governments
respect, protect, and encourage sustainable traditions of
resource use. For instance, the parties could establish a
panel to hear complaints of violations of this requirement,
such as the government bans on indigenous traditions of crop
cultivation. Such bans are causing the disappearance of
indigenous seeds and plants, and are damaging indigenous
societies in many places.
Establish an Indigenous Peoples Division, staffed by
indigenous people, in the Secretariat, to ensure that their
views are included in the implementation of the convention.
We also urge you to work on these general tasks:
Facilitate the implementation of traditional knowledge for
biodiversity protection.
Incorporating the indigenous perspective on property,
ownership and knowledge into issues under the Convention
such as intellectual property rights and the sharing of
benefits.
Implementing the Convention so as to support Indigenous
Peoples' management of our territories and institutions.
Statement in behalf of the Asian Indigenous Women's Network,
Asociacion de Derecho Ambiental de la Region Inka-Peru,
Congreso General Guaymi-Panama, Cultural Conservancy-USA,
Cultural Survival-Canada, Sobrevivencia-Paraguay, South and
Mesoamerican Indian Information Center-USA, and Gabriel
Muyuy Indian Senador of the Republic of Colombia.