Wednesday 9 June 2010

Indigenous People’s launch global network on climate change


By Makereta Komai for Climate Pasifika in Bonn, Germany
09 June 2010, Bonn, Germany --- An indigenous people’s network on climate change was launched in Bonn Tuesday, to coincide with the global climate change negotiations now into its second week.

Calling itself the Indigenous Peoples Global Network on Climate Change and Self Determination (IPCCSD), the new group hopes to push for the inclusion of the rights of indigenous peoples into any climate change deal.



“We want to contribute to finding solutions to climate change. We believe we can use our traditional knowledge to adapt and mitigate against the impacts of climate change, said Joseph Ole Simel, representing indigenous peoples in Kenya.

An issue of interest to indigenous peoples in the current negotiations is the reduction of emissions through deforestation and degradation (REDD).

“We are happy with the current language in the AWG-LCA text. The text recognises the need to respect the rights of indigenous peoples and allows for their full participation in any REDD activities, said Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, the interim chair of the new indigenous peoples group.

The new group will ensure the views and experiences of indigenous peoples on climate change impacts and solutions are made visible at the regional and global arenas.

The group represents seven regions of the globe, including the Pacific.

There is no membership from the Pacific yet and the secretariat, which is based in the Philippines, is urging indigenous people’s groups in the Pacific to join the global network.

Ms Makereta Komai will be covering the Bonn Climate Change negotiations from 31 May – 11 June 2010, thanks to support from Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). She will provide daily coverage of the negotiations via PACNEWS and the SPREP website www.sprep.org, the climate pasifika blogspot, http://climatepasifika.blogspot.com and the PINA Green page http://green.pina.com.fj/

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