Sri Aman, Sarawak - After the arrest and release of 15 indigenous people in Sarawak on Malaysia Day, another 15 indigenous Iban have been reported arrested in the Pantu District in Sarawak, for the alleged crime of harvesting oil palm fruits that have been grown on their native land. This was done in response to a police complaint filed by trespassing company Pelita-Tetangga Akrab.
C. Policy approaches and positive incentives on issues relating to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries; and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries
Former Cultural Survival board member Vicky Tauli-Corpuz was a key participant in last week's climate change meetings in Cancun as both a representative of the Philippine government and an Indigenous expert on the impact of the REDD program (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation). (REDD is a UN program that pays countries and offers expertise to preserve their standing forests.
In late November, hundreds of heavily armed policemen forcibly evicted 300 Samburu families from ancestral lands that former president Daniel Arap Moi had purchased in a land-grab typical of his administration. Police chose a Friday “market day” for their attack, when the men were away and only women, elders, and children were in their homes. Fanning out across the 17,000- acre Eland Downs Ranch, police burned the Samburu families’ homes to the ground, along with all their possessions.
On December 10, 2010, Terra Verde KPFA radio out of Berkeley, CA hosted a program on the survival challenges of reindeer and reindeer herding peoples with Dan Plumley of the Totem Project (a former Cultural Survival project), Peter Solomon, Gwich'in elder from Alaska and Ms. Liv Vors, Ph.D. University of Alberta, Co-author of a study on global decline of reindeer and caribou. You can listen to the program here: https://kpfa.org/episode/65944/
On December 6, 2010, the Achuar of Peru were allowed to proceed in U.S. federal court with their case against Occidental Petroleum, the California-based oil giant that has been exploiting and polluting their homeland for over 30 years. The Achuar community is claiming that the company violated Indigenous rights enshrined in Peruvian and U.S. law by dumping toxic waste, including cyanide, lead, arsenic, and mercury, directly into their rivers and streams and failing to warn them of potential health impacts.
This book provides information material on REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in developing countries), one of the mitigation measures now promoted for combating climate change, and its implications for Indigenous Peoples.
On December 8, President Obama signed into law the Claims Resolution Act of 2010, which will award $4.6 billion to Native American landowners and African-American farmers who were wronged by the U.S. Government. This act includes the the $3.4 billion Cobell settlement. The Cobell v. Salazar Indian trust fund lawsuit was first filed in 1996. The plaintiffs wanted justice for mismanagement of Indian land royalties held in trust funds by the Department of the Interior dating back to the 1800s.
MEXICO- Brena Norrell interviews Huichol (Wixárika) Indigenous activist Jesús Lara, of San Sebastian, Jalisco, Mexico during the Cancun Climate Summit on December 6th, 2010.
"Huicholes are fighting silver mining in a sacred area, where they offer prayers for the balance of the world. English and Spanish translations. Censored News at the Cancun Climate Summit."
Listen here:http://www.blogtalkradio.com/brenda-norrell/2010/12/06/huicholes-fight-mining-sacred-land
Ba Jawi community sues logging group Samling and the Sarawak state government in order to protect 15,000 hectares of high-conservation-value tropical rainforest
Ba Jawi (Sarawak), MALAYSIA. The Penan community of Ba Jawi in Sarawak's Upper Baram region has today lodged a collective action lawsuit against Malaysian timber giant Samling and the state government of Sarawak over 15,000 hectares of primary rainforest in order to protect their livelihood from being destroyed by logging.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that we are headquartered on Massachusett land, in Cambridge, MA, and we thank the past, current, and future Indigenous stewards of this territory.