News and Updates

Indigenous Peoples Join the IPSSDD Training in Bangkok

01 August 2022

"The air, the birds, the trees, the water, the people... we are all connected to each other,"

Indigenous peoples stressed on how their traditional knowledge and practices are deeply tied with the changing of the seasons and the availability of natural resources, emphasizing on the need to sustain high biodiversity and combat increasing climate change during the Training on Indigenous Peoples Sustainable and Self-Determined Development with Tebtebba, Maleya Foundation and the Eastern Himalaya Network on Climate Change in Bangkok, Thailand on 29 July to 1 August 2022, done with support from Brot fur die Welt.

2022 ipssdd training bangkok 1

Preparing bamboo fences for the sulagad central nursery.

Lambangian People Assess Their Sulagad System Revival Project

19 July 2022

Statement on Agenda Item 7: International Decade of Indigenous Languages

05 July 2022

EMRIP 15^TH Session

UN Geneva

5 July 2022

Agenda Item 7: International Decade of Indigenous Languages

Presented by Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Tebtebba (Indigenous Peoples’ International Centre for Policy Research and Education)

Madame Chair,

This Agenda Item on Indigenous Languages is very important and I would like to use this opportunity to speak of activities we in Tebtebba have undertaken to promote the goals of the Indigenous Decade and to share our future plans as well.

To recall, the Global Plan of Action of the Indigenous Decade have stated the following which I will quote.

“The right of free unimpeded choice of language use, expression, and opinion as well as self-determination and active engagement in public life without fear of discrimination is a prerequisite for inclusiveness and equality as key conditions for the creation of open and participatory societies.

Beyond the foundational contribution of languages to the preservations of biological diversity, many of the world’s languages are geographically located within the planet’s hotspots of biodiversity. Indigenous traditional knowledge of the environment represents a key resource for developing innovative solutions to combating hunger, climate change and protecting biodiversity. The protection of traditional knowledge systems is built into the fabric of Indigenous languages.

The International Decade of Indigenous Languages offers us a unique opportunity to collaborate in policy development, to ensure continuity and coherence of actions and stimulate an intercultural dialogue in the true spirit of multi-stakeholder engagement, to contribute to making human rights a reality, and to take necessary measures in an interdisciplinary manner to support and strengthen Indigenous languages around the world. “

Tebtebba, my organization, has taken seriously the right of indigenous peoples to their cultures, traditional knowledge and languages and thus we warmly welcome the adoption of the Decade and the Global Plan of Action. We have collaborated with various universities in the Philippines and linguists who want to contribute in revitalizing and promoting the indigenous languages in the Philippines which are more than 100. I am a fluent speaker of my own indigenous language, Kankanaey-Igorot and I am fully aware of what the threats are to losing a language. Many indigenous languages in the Philippines are at risk, especially those spoken by smaller indigenous populations. The main reason for this is the continuing discrimination against indigenous children who still speak their mother tongue amidst the efforts of the Department of Education to promote the dominant languages.

One major step needed is to encourage our indigenous peoples to continue to assert their right to speak their own languages. We asked that the Department of Education encourage the use of indigenous languages as the medium of instruction in places where they are the majority but then we realized that there are no orthographies (the study of correct spelling according to established usage), dictionaries and materials on any of the indigenous languages . Furthermore , there are no trained teachers who can also use and teach the language. These led us to work with linguists and brought them to the communities we work with to learn more about the languages of indigenous peoples and help develop teaching materials on these languages. We did this with the Mandaya and Erumanen Menuvu in Mindanao. The elders taught them how they speak their languages and what these mean and it was the first time most of these academics had this experience. We also worked with some personnel of the Department of Education. Our hope is that the Department of Education will publish the results of these efforts and train teachers who can teach and use the languages. However, there is a long way to go, as the budgets they have won’t cover the expenses which will be entailed. Thus, we planned to hold a national conference on indigenous languages before the year ends.

A UNESCO report states that out of the 7,000 languages in the world today, 6,700 are indigenous peoples’ languages. According to the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, 40 percent of these indigenous languages are at risk of disappearing. This has prodded the Forum and other indigenous peoples’ mechanisms, as well as indigenous peoples themselves, to push for the adoption of the International Year of Indigenous Languages in 2019 and the subsequent push for the International Decade (2022-2032). The Global Plan of Action contains the recommendations on how to ensure that indigenous languages are revitalized, protected and maintained. There is no doubt that the IYIL has achieved some successes but these need to be further expanded and consolidated by the implementation of the Global Plan. It is my hope that EMRIP keeps the theme of indigenous languages in its sessions during the Decade.

We, in Tebtebba, will be doing our role in implementing the Global Plan of Action in the 13 countries we work in Asia, Africa and Latin America under a partnership we call ELATIA (Maasai word for neighbourhood). The impact identified by the Global Plan is that “ Indigenous languages are preserved, revitalized, promoted and used across all socio-cultural, economic, environmental, and political domains and are drivers for building peace, justice, development and reconciliation in our societies”. We will contribute in achieving the 4 outcomes, 10 Outputs and corresponding activities contained in the Global Plan. However, we also want to stress that the States and the multilateral bodies, such as UNESCO, among others need to comply with their commitments contained in the plan. The contributions of these actors will be monitored by us and other indigenous organizations through our Community-based Monitoring and Information Systems (CBMIS) and the Indigenous Navigator.

Thank you for this opportunity to share Tebtebba’s views and activities and we look forward to a higher level of partnership with the governments and the multilateral bodies as well as with donors.

Biodiversity Crisis Affects Billions Who Rely on Wild Species, Researchers Say

08 July 2022

The latest global assessment of the decline in plant and animal life found some bright spots but recommended significant changes to hunting and other practices to address the risks.

Billions of people worldwide rely on some 50,000 wild species for food, energy, medicine and income, according to a sweeping new scientific report that concluded humans must make dramatic changes to hunting and other practices to address an accelerating biodiversity crisis.

The report, prepared for the United Nations over four years by 85 experts from 33 countries, is the most comprehensive look yet at the pathways for using wild species sustainably, or in ways that do not lead to the long-term decline of those resources and ensures their availability for future generations. It draws upon thousands of scientific studies and other references, including a body of Indigenous and local knowledge. Indigenous and poor communities are among the most immediately affected by overuse of wild species, the report said.

“Half of humanity benefits from and makes use of wild species, and often without even knowing that they’re doing so,” said Marla R. Emery, one of the co-chairs of the assessment, which was conducted by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. A summary was approved Thursday in Bonn, Germany, by representatives from 139 countries, including the United States, with the full report set for publication in a few months.

The new assessment builds on an exhaustive 2019 report from the same group that concluded that humans had altered the natural world so drastically that one million plant and animal species were at risk of extinction. A year later, another United Nations report declared that nations had made little progress on international commitments, made in 2010, to tackle catastrophic biodiversity collapse.

Yet the focus of this latest assessment was to provide a more optimistic outlook on how wild species can be sustainably used by people around the world, said Jean-Marc Fromentin, also one of the co-chairs.

One-third of the wild species that humans use in some way, and which also appear on the “red list” — those listed as threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature — experienced stable or increasing population trends despite human use, according to one study cited in the report. This suggests that “the use of these specific species is not yet directly contributing to their extinction, as far as we can tell,” said Sophie Marsh, a biodiversity master’s student at the University College London and lead author of the study on threatened species, which was published in 2021.

Indigenous and local knowledge is crucial to learning some of the best practices for sustainable use, the report said, but traditionally it has been underused. Indigenous communities have long incorporated sustainable uses of wild species in their cultural practices, and an estimated 15 percent of global forests are managed as “community resources,” the report said, by Indigenous peoples and local communities.

The report was referring to practices like those used in the hills of the Cordillera region of Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines. There, “the entire community mobilizes to protect the forest,” said Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, an Indigenous rights activist who grew up in the region. The practice is called Batangan, a resource management system that involves a shared sense of responsibility for monitoring the diversity of the forests and planting new trees as the older ones age.

It’s not just about the trees, “it’s about the water, the plants and the animals, the microorganisms,” and increasingly, it’s about climate change as forests play a critical role in sequestering carbon, Ms. Tauli-Corpuz said.

The sustainable use of wild species is central to the identity and existence of many Indigenous and local communities, the report said.

“If wildlife disappears, our culture is at risk, our lifestyle and our livelihood is at risk,” said Viviana Figueroa, an Argentine Indigenous lawyer and activist who participated in dialogues with the report authors as a part of her involvement with the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity. “There is still a lot of work to be done, but at least there is some recognition,” Ms. Figueroa said.

Future policies governing the use of wild species will need to take into account the social and historical dimensions of sustainability, and whether the benefits from that use are distributed fairly. For example, vicuña fibers, found in luxury garments, are highly priced and produced by mostly low-income Indigenous communities in South America that contribute to vicuña conservation by allowing the animals to graze on their communal or private land.

Yet, it is “almost impossible” for a remote Andean community to negotiate with an international textile company or to place their product on the international market, the report said, meaning that most of the profits from the trade in vicuña fibers are captured by traders and textile companies.

The fishing industry will need to reduce unregulated and illegal fishing, support more small-scale fisheries and suppress harmful subsidies that encourage overfishing, the report recommended. The logging industry will also need to invest in technology that reduces waste in the manufacturing of wood products, according to the report’s conclusions, and governments may need to increase bans or regulations on wild meat in some regions, at the same time assessing whether those policies might affect food insecurity in those areas.

The findings from the new report may soon have a direct effect on international policy. The report was in part conducted at the request of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, a treaty meant to ensure that the global trade in plants and animals does not imperil their survival in the wild. The parties to the treaty will use the findings from the assessment to inform their decisions surrounding trade at their conference in Panama in November.

The overexploitation of wild species isn’t the only factor driving the decline; human-caused climate change is also a major force, the report said. Growing human populations and consumption, along with technological advances that make many extractive practices more efficient, will also put greater pressures on wild species.

“We have to make sure these policy instruments benefit everybody,” said Emma Archer, a professor at the University of Pretoria in South Africa and one of the assessment’s lead authors. “There doesn’t have to be both winners and losers.”

Read article on The New York Times website

Ganak da I-Licoy Elders and Members Enhance their Knowledge on Sustainable Development

30 June 2022

“What we are promoting is IPSSDD. It means sustainable development which you have the right to decide upon. It’s a development that does not destroy the environment.”

Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Founder and Executive Director of Tebtebba, remarked during the opening session of the Orientation on Indigenous Peoples’ Sustainable and Self-Determined Development (IPSSDD) of Ganak da I-Licoy that sustainable development is the kind of development that will provide growth and progress.

About 24 elders and members of Ganak da I-Licoy in Paracelis, Mountain Province in the Cordillera region of the Philippines participated in the learning sessions on IPSSDD last 8 to 11 June 2022 in Baguio City. The sessions focused on elaborating the integrated and holistic approach to the self-determined and sustainable development of indigenous peoples which, for years, has been the framework of Tebtebba and ELATIA partners in community development.

To better understand the situation of indigenous peoples around the world and its linkages to sustainable development, Helen Biangalen-Magata, Communications Officer of Tebtebba and member of the Indigenous Peoples Advocacy Team for the Green Climate Fund, highlighted the global multiple crises that indigenous peoples are experiencing. She emphasized that the different contexts of the community of Ganak da I-Licoy, which they shared during the opening activity, are not different from what other indigenous peoples are facing.

Biangalen-Magata noted that indigenous peoples around the world, as political actors, are conducting many initiatives to address and resolve these global multiple crises. “Indigenous peoples are not just victims. We are doing a lot, have done a lot, and continue to work to provide solutions to these crises,” she said.

In addition, Abigail Kitma, staff of the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights/Human Rights Programme of Tebtebba, elaborated on the relationship of human rights to development and the need for indigenous peoples to know their rights and assert them.

“Dapat ammo tayo ti rights tayo tapno saan tayo nga kasla bulag nga agkapkapa iti kasipngetan (We must know our rights so that we do not blindly search in the dark),” stressed Marilo Monis, a public-school teacher and member of Ganak da I-Licoy. She also emphasized that if their people are aware of their rights, they can assert the rights of their community.

Furthermore, Kitma emphasized that indigenous peoples’ rights are also human rights. However, indigenous peoples still cannot experience the fulfillment of these rights because of their geographic location and situation.

Eleanor Dictaan-Bang-oa, Coordinator of the Indigenous Women Programme of Tebtebba, added that everyone has equal rights and that all have a claim to human rights. “Everyone has a right to be free from discrimination regardless of creed, faith, culture, language, or anything,” she pointed out.

In a group activity during the session on indigenous women, i-Licoy women participants identified the different challenges they face including their corresponding causes and effects. The mechanisms set in place to address the violation of the rights of the indigenous women in their community were also discussed. The participants gave examples of how their customary laws help resolve cases involving the violation of women’s rights.

Moreover, Mary Jane Chiyawan, a Ganak da I-Licoy member, said that they need to continuously see to it that violence against women is prevented. “Let us educate our children,” she said.

IPSSDD is an integrated and holistic approach to sustainable development that values the indigenous knowledge, systems, and practices of indigenous peoples in managing their lands, territories, and resources. Through their territorial mapping assignment, the participants were able to sketch the details of their community such as residential, agricultural, and forest areas as well as important bodies of water and infrastructures.

They also shared some of the traditional practices that are still applied in their community such as antomag, a practice where an elder or totomong signals the start of the planting season by planting at least one or two seeds; tukbaw, which is the practice of synchronized harvesting of crops wherein farmers who come late are not allowed to join the harvesting until the third day; and paniyaw, a word depicting the prohibition of a lot of wrongdoings like polluting rivers and eating prohibited animals.

Since sustainable development is closely related to well-being, Roger Lambino, staff of the Resilience Programme of Tebtebba, posed a question about what happiness and well-being meant to Ganak da I-Licoy. Marilo Monis said that the I-Licoy terms gappiya and sadi ampagay both express ultimate happiness and gratification.

The conducted orientation for the Ganak da I-Licoy elders and members provided a venue for discussion of their views and experiences in relation to the different elements of IPSSDD. During the conclusion of the activity, they claimed to have deepened their understanding of their human rights as well as realized that they need to increase their awareness in terms of the many areas of sustainable development. The said event was organized by the ELATIA Indigenous Peoples’ Training Institute and Tebtebba with support from SwedBio.

News and Updates

Indigenous Peoples Join the IPSSDD Training in Bangkok

Lambangian People Assess Their Sulagad System Revival Project