News archive March 2013

(11) March 2013

“Is REDD going ahead or not?” Indigenous leaders complain about the lack of information

"It is not clear what Ulu Masen is. It is not clear where the border is or what the zoning will look like" says T. Camarud Zaman, the head of Sarah Raya village. (REDD Monitor / Chris Lang)

Philippines: oil palm expansion is tearing apart indigenous peoples lives - call for urgent action

The Philippine Government has depicted oil palm as the “tree of economic growth”. However, according the impacted indigenous communities, oil palm expansion is bringing havoc to their lives. (Indigenous Peoples Issues and Resources)

Indigenous cultures in Colombia at risk of extinction

65 of 102 indigenous cultures caught in an expanding armed conflict zone in Western Colombia are at risk of cultural extinction. (Media Freedom International)

Sinar Mas firm to invest $1.6 billion in Liberian palm oil

Golden-Agri Resources has been seeking to become a virtual king in the market as it attempts to acquire to 40,000 hectares of new concessions, mostly in Kalimantan. (The Jakarta Post)

New bill introduced to support native title claim

The Australian Government has introduced legislation into the Parliament which gives effect to the settlement agreement for the Jabiru native title claim, the longest running native title claim in the Northern Territory. (Minister for Emergency Management and Indigenous peoples issues and resources)

Gender relations are changing along with climate

A changing climate will inevitably have an impact on gender relations in rural communities, but not enough is being done to boost the resilience of women. (IRIN)

Amazon Indians unite against Canadian oil giant

Amazon Indians from Peru and Brazil have joined together to stop a Canadian oil company destroying their land and threatening the lives of uncontacted tribes. (Survival International)

Indigenous women fight climate change

Ancestral knowledge and wisdom are applied to confront changes to farming calendars. (Latinamerican Press)

Colombia’s palm oil boost must account for environment and human rights concerns

As much as 20 million hectares of Colombia’s agricultural land is inefficiently used and could accommodate new plantations of oil palm. (Reuben Carder / CIFOR)

Indonesian pulp giant APRIL is bulldozing Indigenous community forests

Once again, an Indonesian pulp and paper company is clearing the forests of indigenous communities to replace them with industrial tree plantations. Once again, villagers are protesting. Once again, the police and authorities are siding with the company. (REDD Monitor)

A helpful education for life

Teachers develop proposals for intercultural curriculum. (Latinamerican Press)