Land is Life Condemns “Decree 751” Which Threatens Peoples Living in Voluntary Isolation in Ecuador’s Yasuní National Park
According to data collected and presented by Land is Life in the 18th United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNFPII), there are a total of 185 records of Indigenous Peoples Living in Isolation (PIAV) in South America, of which 66 are confirmed and 119 are pending confirmation. In 2007, the Ecuadorian government established a Plan of Precautionary Measures for the Protection of Isolated Indigenous Peoples. The plan mandated the creation of the Tataeri Taromenane Intangible Zone (ZITT), within the Yasuní National Park and defined a 10km diameter buffer zone. The objective was to avoid development activities, mainly extractive, that put at risk the integrity of the ZITT and the people living therein. In the following year, in a referendum to the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador, the State explicitly recognized the existence of Isolated Peoples and their fundamental rights. The state declared their territories an “irreducible ancestral possession” and intangible, banning all forms of extractive activity. These initiatives elevated Ecuador as a leader in the defense and protection of the PIAV. However, the state’s declaration did not lead to any progress, and even now, Ecuador has no public policy codifying the protection of isolated indigenous peoples. In addition, numerous official measures have been taken that put at risk the protection of these peoples including: Constant reduction of human and financial resources; Postponement of the development of public policy for the protection of PIAV; Absence of effective protection initiatives for PIAV and their territories in the face of threats from oil activities, directly promoted by the Ecuadorian State with capital from China, Spain and Ecuador; Expansion of the agricultural and colonization frontiers, exposing the PIAV to surrounding populations; Local governments are creating roads and infrastructure adjacent to PIAV populations without proper consultation. The current administration has further weakened the ability of government agencies to manage and execute the protection of the PIAV by merging the Directorate of Isolated Peoples with the National Secretariate for Policy Management – diluting the original agency’s power and removing their independence. The new organization is now exposed to political pressure by parties who have publically declared their interests to be in opposition to those of the Indigenous Peoples. Map showing impacts of Decree 751 On May 21, 2019, the government passed Executive Decree 751. This decree is unconstitutional and contradicts the result of the government organized Popular Consultation in February of 2018 and further demonstrates their anti-protection agenda. While Article 2 expands the ZITT by 60,450 hectares, Article 3, then places PIAV in a vulnerable position since it allows the construction of “platforms of hydrocarbon production” in the buffer zone of the ZITT – an invasion that was previously prohibited. On top of intruding on the protected area, such platforms harm the environment, pollute the soil and water, and disturb the ecological system that peoples in isolation depend on. Many scientific studies affirm and verify the presence of these populations outside the ZITT, however, Decree 751 deliberately ignores these studies, even though they have been widely disseminated. Decree 751 threatens the physical and social integrity of the PIAV that inhabit the interior of Yasuní Park, violating the international standards of protection of the fundamental rights of these peoples. Land is Life makes a public call to action and affirms the countless scientific studies and articles published nationally and internationally, urging the Ecuadorian State to: Convene civil society, through indigenous and allied organizations, for public consultation within the framework of the provisions of Convention 169 of the ILO, to define the Public Policy of Protection for the PIAV; Revoke Decree 751 and accept the original mandate of the referendum, that the constitutional precepts be enforced in article 57, on irreducible and intangible ancestral possession of their territories, thus prohibiting any type of extractive activity in the buffer zone and within the ZITT; Obey the results of the referendum, in which a large majority responded favorably to the increase of the ZITT and the reduction of oil exploitation in the area.
Land is Life and Snowchange Cooperative Launch Indigenous-Led Grantmaking in the Arctic Supporting Five Grassroots Initiatives in the North American Arctic
In an effort to better address the needs of the Indigenous-rights movement at the grassroots level in the Arctic region, Land is Life has partnered with Snowchange Cooperative, to launch our Indigenous-Led Grantmaking initiative in the North American Arctic (this has included sites also in the Boreal and Subarctic). Indigenous-Led Grantmaking is an approach developed by Land is Life and its global network to provide support for their self-determination through small, flexible funds to grassroots Indigenous leaders, communities, and organizations around the globe. For this regional pilot initiative, Tero Mustonen of Snowchange Cooperative, a trusted Indigenous leader of the Community of Selkie, a traditional village in North Karelia, Finland, identified small, yet important initiatives within the North American Arctic and will work with recipients to monitor, evaluate and report in a way that recognizes their unexpected and frequently changing circumstances and upholds their right to self-determination. Additionally, Snowchange has been conducting a wide-ranging climate change, wellbeing and youth-oriented initiatives to document climate change impacts and traditional knowledge, identify community-based measures to adapt to those changes and provide culturally-appropriate mechanisms for transfer of Indigenous knowledge, culture and ways of life to youth on land at the same time. Land is Life has agreed to collaborate on and co-sponsor an event organized by Snowchange Cooperative which will convene an intergenerational group of Indigenous people to share this work and discuss the realities and potential solutions to these new and growing challenges. This new partnership builds off experience in the region through our long-term capacity building partnership with the Gwich’in Steering Committee which has been supported through NoVo Foundation. INDIGENOUS-LED GRANTS IN THE NORTH AMERICAN ARCTIC: Tahltan Community Based Monitoring ProgrammeIndigenous Organization: Tū’dese̲’chō Wholistic Indigenous Leadership Development Society Location: Northern British Columbia and Yukon, Canada This proposal addresses a part of the North American north which is often excluded from Arctic cooperation due to its location at the BC-Yukon borderlands. It is also a central location for the pristine Stikine watershed. There are no land claims in place and the people are interested in advancing steps towards Indigenous sovereignty and progressive climate work. The proposal will organize a community meeting, take first steps in CBM monitoring and engage local schools and scientists. The LIL grant funding will allow hunters, youth, and Elders to participate in the overall mission and a more level dialogue with science and governmental parts of a monitoring mission. Atlas Mapping ProjectIndigenous Organization: Hamlet of Chesterfield InletLocation: Nunavut, Canada This hamlet wishes to start creating an online atlas of traditional land uses place names, ecology, and archaeology. Of special interest is the focus on caribou as a keystone species. It is recommended that a seed fund is provided from the LIL grant to focus specifically on Elder’s knowledge documentation. Inuinnaqtun Mentor-Apprentice ProjectIndigenous Organization: Pitquhirnikkut Ilihautiniq / Kitikmeot Heritage SocietyLocation: Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada This mentor-apprentice program proposal addresses a real and urgent need. The speakers of Inuinnaqtun are being affected by rapid cultural change and despite the success of Nunavut as an Inuit-led territory on other fields, it is true that the linguistic revitalization is doing poorly. Pitquhirnikkut Ilihautiniq also points correctly to the fact that worldviews, key Indigenous cultural concepts and relationships with the land can only be expressed in Inuinnaqtun. Unangax Plants as Foods and Medicine Symposium Indigenous Organization: ALEUTIAN PRIBILOF ISLANDS ASSOCIATION, INCLocation: Unalaska, Alaska This project wishes to convey Unangax Indigenous knowledge at an event designed to revitalize and promote the traditional plant knowledge of the community. This work includes linguistic terms of plants, revitalization of traditional knowledge and documentation of existing knowledge, making plant salves and other healing elements, preservation of foods and herbal teas. The project is led by a respected Aleut organization and the plan is solid and credible. Painting the Future of Unalakleet Weather: Merging Science, Indigenous Knowledge and Inupiaq Youth Voices for Community Climate Assessment Indigenous Organization: Unalakleet Community Location: Unalakleet, Alaska Unalakleet is the hub of the Norton Sound communities and the center of the Bering Strait School District. The region according to the proposal suffers from intensifying impacts on the coastal erosion, storm events and temperature changes. The project participants, representing citizens and members of the Inupiaq population of Unalakleet are proposing to finding solutions through Indigenous knowledge and science. The project will produce a first-ever science paper of Inupiaq knowledge from Unalakleet and weather data of the baseline changes, western science assessment of the urgent issues on Norton Sound and a “visions of the future” youth Indigenous arts action for allowing the youngest to express their views on the changes underway. International Snowchange Co-op is providing co-funds and the Bering Sea School District will work on the project youth aspect (initial agreement in April 2019).