Indigenous Peoples and REDD+: A Critical Perspective / Indigenous Peoples' Biocultural Climate Change Assessment Initiative (IPCCA) / November 2014 / Public Political Ecology Lab / Executive Summary: REDD+ stands for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation in developing countries (REDD) and includes conservation, sustainable forest management and the enhancement of carbon stocks (the +). An international initiative negotiated under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), REDD+ has been proposed as a central strategy for mitigating climate change in forests. While advocates highlight the cost effectiveness and social and ecological co-benefits that can be generated through REDD+, many indigenous and forest dependent groups have expressed concerns about the potential effects of projects on their access to land and resources. This report identifies key issues facing indigenous and forest-dependent communities with respect to REDD, and is based on existing academic literature and more current reports by NGOs and indigenous organizations. We first lay out a brief history of REDD+, interrogate its key assumptions, and discuss major issues of concern. We then discuss REDD+ as it relates to indigenous peoples and forest-dependent communities. This is followed by a series of case studies of developing countries participating in REDD+. We conclude with a discussion of the principal elements for an alternative vision for REDD+ that takes seriously the rights of indigenous peoples. / / Resumen Ejecutivo REDD+ es acrónimo para Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (Reducir las Emisiones por Deforestación y Degradación de bosques) (en países en desarrollo). Incluye acciones para la conservación, el manejo sustentable de bosques y el aumento en los suministros de carbono (el +). Como una iniciativa internacional negociada bajo el United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (Convención Marco de Naciones Unidas sobre el Cambio Climático), REDD+ ha sido propuesto como una estrategia principal para mitigar el cambio climático en bosques. Aunque sus defensores enfatizan la eficacia financiera y los co-beneficios sociales y ecológicos que se pueden generar a través del REDD+, muchos grupos indígenas y de gente quien depende de bosques para su sustento tienen preocupaciones acerca de los posibles efectos de los proyectos sobre el acceso a la tierra y los recursos forestales. Este informe identifica los problemas principales que enfrentan las comunidades indígenas y gente dependiente de bosques con REDD. Está basado en la literatura académica existente y otros reportes actuales escritos por organizaciones no gubernamentales (ONGs) y organizaciones indígenas. Primero proveeremos una historia breve de REDD+, evaluaremos las suposiciones principales y discutiremos los problemas de mayor preocupación. Luego describiremos la relación entre REDD+ y los pueblos indígenas y comunidades dependientes de bosques. Esto será seguido por una colección de casos de estudio en los países en desarrollo que participan en REDD+. Concluiremos con una discusión de los elementos principales para una visión alternativa de REDD+ que toma en cuenta los derechos de los pueblos indígenas.

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The adoption of the neo-liberal model in the mid-1980s has forced the governing elites to reconfigure the Mexican State. However, the consolidation of a neoliberal State continues to be incomplete and it has been problematic to fully integrated the Mexican economy in the global market due to the increasing organized crime, the dismantling of previous post-revolutionary control mechanisms, and the growing mobilisation of organised indigenous opposition ranging from the peaceful obstruction of hydroelectric mega-projects in their territories to armed struggle. In view of the State crisis, this thesis argues that there has been a shift in the system of control mechanisms of the State that is leaning towards a more recurrent use of open violence to implement its neo-liberal State project. From a theoretical perspective, the research proposes an innovative approach to understanding the formation of the post-revolutionary State, which transcends the State violence dichotomy established between the ´corporatist´ and the ´critical´ approaches in the contemporary literature. The research highlights the wide spectrum of control mechanisms from hegemonic domination to violence used by the governing elites to compensate the unfinished State formation process in order to maintain socio-political stability without profound structural changes. It explores the enhanced tendency of State violence to replace incorporation in Statesociety relations since the efforts to restructure the economy from the 1980s onwards. The thesis analyses how this tendency has grown particularly in response to indigenous movements in the South of Mexico. The argument is substantiated empirically with two case studies undertaken in the sub-region of Costa Chica-Montaña of Guerrero with data from 79 semi-structured interviews with a wide range of social and political actors, and participant observation in ten indigenous communities. The case studies explore the different State control mechanisms used to advance the State formation model in the post revolutionary period; the impact of the crisis of those mechanisms in the sub-region; the violent resistance of local bosses to the loss of power, and the multiples indigenous responses to the implementation of neoliberal policies in their territories. This research also includes a comparative study to explain some factors that strengthen indigenous articulations, as well as their limits in an era of neoliberal globalisation. One of the most important research findings is that neoliberalism has further weakened the 'civilianisation' power of the State to deal peacefully with civil society sectors, particularly with indigenous peoples, while it has strengthened its 'centralised-coercive' power to carry out the imposed State model. Another finding is that the indigenous initiatives that have reinvented themselves through a new version of their practices and broader alliances have consolidated their alternative models. In contrast, the indigenous responses that have reproduced their traditions have failed.

This dissertation is aimed at analyzing how ethnic hierarchies question the environmentalization of indigeneity, which is the foundation of the Colombian state's multicultural policy. In particular, the dissertation develops a comparative ethnographic approach to the way in which the "multicultural turn" of 1991 impacted three indigenous communities located at San José del Guaviare, a colonization frontier in the Colombian Amazon: the Nükak, the Jiw and the Tucano. Against the assumption of multicultural policy that indigenous communities form a vast mass of people radically diferent from mainstream (even portrayed as anti-modern), in San José there is an unequal distribution of the Nükak, Jiw and Tucano in different positions inside local ethnic hierarchies. For some, Nükak incarnate what Hale (2004) label as a "good ethnicity", that serves to promote Guaviare as an eco-touristic destination, the Jiw are a "bad ethnicity" that annoys White people in San José, while the Tucano are portrayed as "civilized Indians". Thus, the dissertation states how these ethnic hierarchies contradict some of the core assumptions of multicultural policies that are based on an essentialized understanding of indigenous peoples as "ecologically noble savages." The dissertation argues that the analysis of contemporary experiences on indigeneity in an Amazonian context such as San José, could be better understood if it observes a set of processes and actors including: the historical transformation of senses on otherness, the production of forests as a field of domain under state regulations, the economic crossroads affecting indigenous peoples on their "resguardos" (indigenous lands) and the intervention of state laws, NGOs, indigenous political organizations, settlers, foreign governments and state officials. The analysis of such a variety of processes and actors shaping contemporary experiences on indigeneity in the Colombian Amazon follows the environmentality approach (Agrawal, 2005). From that perspective, I discuss the following ideas: a) indigenous resguardos were designed as governmentalized localities in multicultural policy to regulate and control how indigenous peoples manage natural resources; b) those communities portrayed as followers of the ecological nobility script act as regulatory communities; c) the technologies for governing the ecological realm do not necessarily assure the formation of environmental subjectivities.

The main objectives of this study were to identify the role that customary law and traditional leadership can play, without compromising their current positions or future recognition through legislation, in creating a better life for their constituents. The study analysed diverse issues such as legislative reform, the future role and functions of traditional leaders, training needs of traditional leaders, and the impact of a possible lack of commitment by national and provincial government on the training of traditional leaders to fulfill their functions within the ambit of the Constitution.

The idea of a distinctly ‘liberal’ form of multiculturalism has emerged in the theory and practice of Western democracies and the international community has become actively engaged in its global dissemination via international norms and organizations. This thesis investigates the internationalization of minority rights, by exploring state-minority relations in Cambodia, in light of Will Kymlicka’s theory of multicultural citizenship. Based on extensive empirical research, the analysis explores the situation and aspirations of Cambodia’s ethnic Vietnamese, highland peoples, Muslim Cham, ethnic Chinese and Lao and the relationships between these groups and the state. All Cambodian regimes since independence have defined citizenship with reference to the ethnicity of the Khmer majority and have - often violently - enforced this conception through the assimilation of highland peoples and the Cham and the exclusion of ethnic Vietnamese and Chinese. Cambodia’s current constitution, too, defines citizenship ethnically. State-sponsored Khmerization systematically privileges members of the majority culture and marginalizes minority members politically, economically and socially. The thesis investigates various international initiatives aimed at promoting application of minority rights norms in Cambodia. It demonstrates that these initiatives have largely failed to accomplish a greater degree of compliance with international norms in practice. This failure can be explained by a number of factors, among them Cambodia’s neo-patrimonial political system, the geo-political fears of a ‘minoritized’ Khmer majority, the absence of effective regional security institutions, the lack of minority access to political decision-making, the significant differences between international and Cambodian conceptions of modern statehood and citizenship and the emergence of China as Cambodia’s most important bilateral donor and investor. Based on this analysis, the dissertation develops recommendations for a sequenced approach to minority rights promotion, with pragmatic, less ambitious shorter-term measures that work progressively towards achievement of international norms in the longer-term. / In der politischen Theorie und Praxis liberaler Demokratien hat sich die Idee eines explizit liberalen Multikulturalismus etabliert. Die internationale Gemeinschaft verbreitet diese Idee weltweit durch Völkerrechtsnormen und internationale Organisationen. Auf der Grundlage umfangreicher Feldforschung untersucht die vorliegende Dissertation die Internationalisierung von Minderheitenrechten am Beispiel Kambodschas. Dazu werden die Situation und Aspirationen von Kambodschas ethnischen Vietnamesen, Bergvölkern, islamischen Cham, ethnischen Chinesen und Laoten und das Verhältnis zwischen diesen Gruppen und dem Staat analysiert. Alle kambodschanischen Regimes seit der Unabhängigkeit haben Staatsbürgerschaft über die Ethnizität der Khmer Mehrheit definiert und diese Konzeption durch den Versuch der Assimilation der Bergvölker und Cham und den Ausschluss ethnischer Vietnamesen und Chinesen aktiv und oft gewaltsam zu verwirklichen versucht. Auch die aktuelle Verfassung definiert Mitgliedschaft im Gemeinwesen ethnisch. Das Streben des Staates nach der kulturellen ‚Khmerisation‘ der Bevölkerung privilegiert Mehrheitsmitglieder und marginalisiert Mitglieder kultureller Minderheiten politisch, wirtschaftlich und sozial. Trotz vielfältiger Initiativen ist die internationale Gemeinschaft daran gescheitert, in Kambodscha die Anwendung internationaler Minderheitenrechte zu erreichen. Die Analyse erklärt dieses Scheitern mit einer Reihe von Faktoren, darunter Kambodschas neo-patrimonialem Regierungssystem, den geo-politischen Ängsten einer ‚minoritisierten’ Khmer Mehrheit, dem Fehlen effektiver regionaler Sicherheitsinstitutionen, dem fehlenden Zugang von Minderheiten zu politischen Entscheidungsprozessen, den erheblichen Unterschieden zwischen internationalen und kambodschanischen Konzeptionen von moderner Staatlichkeit und Staatsbürgerschaft sowie der zunehmenden Bedeutung Chinas als Kambodschas wichtigstem bilateraler Geber und Investor. Auf der Grundlage dieser Analyse entwickelt die Arbeit Empfehlungen, wie die internationale Gemeinschaft mit einem sequenzierten Ansatz die schrittweise Annäherung an internationale Normen und deren langfristige Einhaltung erreichen kann.

The diploma thesis concentrates on legal protection of indigenous peoples in Australia. The topic itself is too wide, therefore it was shortened to predominantly concentrate on analysis of two up-to-date topics. These were, firstly, legal protection of indigenous peoples in relation to media and then, secondly, legal protection of indigenous peoples in relation to intellectual property rights. The paper is divided into three main chapters. The first chapter's goal is to introduce some parts of Australian history that are connected with Aboriginals to Czech readers. The topics discussed are, for example, colonization of Australia, genocide as perceived by international community, policy of assimilation, era of Stolen Generations etc. This chapter highlights a necessity of always dealing with current issues in proper historical context and, as it is found in the second chapter, also with deeper understanding of differences of indigenous culture. The second chapter is an outcome of the author's study stay at University of Queensland where she conducted a research on two topics connected with legal protection of indigenous peoples that were being currently discussed. The first topic was legal protection of indigenous peoples in relation to media connected with a discussion about The Freedom of Speech Bill 2014....

International human rights committees and special rapporteurs on the situation for indigenous peoples have criticised Sweden for the domestic treatment of Sámi people and for not fully complying with indigenous rights on participation and consultation under international law. Participatory rights and consultation duties for indigenous peoples are important as they function as means of ensuring indigenous influence in decision making, giving effect to their substantive rights to land resources and culture. Swedish law acknowledges rights for Sámi people to be consulted in decision making. However, these peoples still do not have effective influence on issues that affect them in their role as indigenous peoples. As the extraction of natural resources and industrial and other development projects continues, the protection of indigenous Sámi rights in Swedish law need to guarantee that Sámi people have enough influence over land issues and in decision-making processes on matters that concern them. With their traditional knowledge, indigenous peoples may have an important role in environmental management and in efforts on climate change adaptation.

O estudo teve como objetivo verificar a necessidade de maior atuação do Estado nas parcerias comerciais entre povos indígenas amazônicos e empresas para a comercialização de produtos florestais não madeireiros, como forma de garantir os direitos e interesses indígenas. No contexto de descentralização do Estado, fortalecimento de novos atores e articulação entre o setor público e privado, as parcerias têm sido estabelecidas na Amazônia com o objetivo de, ao mesmo tempo, promover o uso sustentável dos recursos e propiciar melhores condições de vida às comunidades florestais. Com a diminuição do Estado bem como argumentos que exaltam as vantagens dos mecanismos de mercado e auto-regulação, as parcerias comerciais em muitos países têm substituído o Estado em suas funções, acompanhadas de problemas. O estudo teve como objetivo investigar se é necessária maior atuação do Estado nas parcerias para evitar assimetria de poderes, garantindo os direitos e interesses indígenas. Para a pesquisa, foram coletados dados qualitativos em dois níveis: (i) dados secundários (dados publicados, relatórios e documentos) ou primários (entrevistas semi-estruturadas a atores-chave) relativos ao contexto geral das parcerias como um todo e (ii) análise do contexto específico de duas parcerias comerciais (análise documental e entrevistas semi-estruturadas): Baniwa - Tok & Stok (AM) e Yawanawá - Aveda (AC). Os resultados apontaram para a imprescindibilidade de nova atuação do Estado e da sociedade na definição de políticas e parâmetros legais claros para as questões das sociedades indígenas. Além de normas simplificadas e adaptadas aos moldes das sociedades indígenas, é fundamental propiciar maior participação destas na criação de políticas e projetos próprios. O estudo conclui que não se pode prescindir de um papel interventor responsável do Estado. A substituição total do Estado pelo setor privado em funções essenciais, por meio das parcerias, pode gerar problemas, conflitos internos, manutenção da situação de dependência, além de estímulo à diferenciação social. / The purpose of this study was to evaluate the necessity of a larger role of the State in the partnerships between Amazonian indigenous peoples and companies for the commercialization of non timber forest products, as a mean to guarantee indigenous rights. Within the context of decentralization of the State, empowerment of new actors and articulation between public and private sectors, partnerships have been established in Amazonia with the purpose of, at the same time, promoting the sustainable use of natural resources and providing better livelihoods to forest communities. As a result of a reduction in State\'s roles, as well as arguments exalting the advantages of market mechanisms and self-regulation, partnerships have been increasingly substituting the State in its functions in many countries, frequently accompanied by problems. This study had the purpose of investigating if a larger role of the State is necessary in the partnership context, in order to avoid power asymmetries and protecting indigenous rights. Qualitative data were gathered in two levels: (i) secondary data (publications, reports and documents) or primary data (semi-structured interviews to key-actors) related to the general context of the partnerships as a whole and (ii) analysis of the specific context of two partnerships (documental analysis and semi-structured interviews): Baniwa - Tok & Stok (AM) and Yawanawá - Aveda (AC). Results indicate the importance of an innovative role being played by the State and civil society organizations in the definition of policies and clear legal frameworks for indigenous peoples\' issues. Besides simplified rules, adjusted to indigenous societies\' concepts, it is essential to involve larger indigenous participation in the formulation of new policies and their own projects. The study concludes it is not possible to discard a responsible and interventionist role of the State. The total replacement of the State by the private sector in fundamental functions through partnerships may generate problems, internal conflicts, dependency maintenance and increase in social differentiation.

A legalização de direitos dos povos indígenas não tem obstado práticas colonialistas justificadas por discurso hegemônico de origem moderna e eurocêntrica. Em tal contexto, o presente trabalho desenvolve estudo interdisciplinar que relaciona a incidência do mencionado discurso sobre a mobilização pela implementação do direito à demarcação da Terra Indígena Tupinambá de Olivença. Por se tratar de discurso do poder, considera os dois elementos que o compõem: o subjetivo (o consenso à dominação) e o objetivo (o uso da força quando não obtido o consenso). Diante da midiatização e da judicialização sobre a mobilização Tupinambá, o trabalho analisa, especificamente, o discurso manifestado pelos meios de comunicação de massa (a representarem o elemento subjetivo do poder) e pelos membros do Judiciário (a representarem o elemento objetivo do poder). Adota a metodologia da Análise Crítica do Discurso. A pesquisa constata intensa semelhança envolvendo os discursos da mídia e do Judiciário. Percebe, em ambos, os elementos que historicamente compõem as falas e escritos da modernidade eurocêntrica: a defesa incondicionada da propriedade individual e o dualismo evolucionista a caracterizar os povos indígenas como viventes em sociedades estáticas. / The legalization of indigenous peoples rights has not prevented colonialist practices justified by a hegemonic discourse based on a Modern and Eurocentric perspective. In this context, the present work features an indisciplinary study that relates the incidence of this discourse on the mobilization for implementation of the reservation rights of Indigenous Land Tupinambá de Olivença. As a result of being a discurse of power, the study considers its two elements: the subjective (the consensus to domination) and the objetive (the use of force when the consensus is not obtained). On the context of mediatization and judicialization of Tupinambá mobilization, the work examines the discourse expressed by mass media (to represent the subjective element of power) and by members of the judiciary (to represent the objective element of power). It adopts the Critical Discourse Analysis methodology. The research finds an intense resemblance between the discourses of the mass media and of the judiciary. In both discourses, it notices the presence of the elements that historically make up the speeches and writings of Eurocentric modernity: the unconditional defense of the individual property and the evolutionary dualism to characterize the indigenous people as living in static societies.