{"id":93978,"date":"2022-04-19T17:44:12","date_gmt":"2022-04-19T12:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/?post_type=samudra&p=93978"},"modified":"2022-04-22T14:28:20","modified_gmt":"2022-04-22T08:58:20","slug":"roundup-news-events-briefings-and-more-2","status":"publish","type":"samudra","link":"https:\/\/www.icsf.net\/samudra\/roundup-news-events-briefings-and-more-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Roundup, news, events, briefings and more…"},"content":{"rendered":"

Biodiversity<\/strong><\/p>\n

I<\/strong>ndigenous Peoples and Local Communities reps issue a final plea to world leaders at Post-2020 Framework negotiation<\/strong><\/p>\n

The UN\u2019s goal is that by 2050, we will all be \u2018living in harmony with nature\u2019. Indigenous peoples have been doing this for millennia, and their rights are key to a successful framework. As the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) negotiations conclude, Indigenous Peoples\u2019 and Local Communities\u2019 representatives issued a final plea to world leaders:<\/p>\n

\u201cA Human Rights approach\u2014including respect and recognition to the land, territories, traditional knowledge, and the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities\u2014is key for the [Global Biodiversity] Framework to succeed. We are concerned with the lack of consensus in negotiations, especially around this language, and we encourage Parties to work together to reach agreement.<\/p>\n

If we don\u2019t have a framework to protect nature that truly recognizes and respects the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs)\u2014those who are actually conserving biodiversity\u2014 humanity is going to be in danger,\u201d said Co-chair of the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB), Ramiro Batzin, speaking in Geneva. In any proposal for conservation, land and territory rights for IPLCs are vital for protecting the powerful links of peoples to their land and territories, ensuring the survival of biodiversity, and safeguarding the traditional knowledge of Indigenous Peoples on how to live in harmony with nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

In its closing statement, the IIFB said:<\/p>\n

\u201cIIFB welcomes the work undertaken by the Geneva meetings. Despite the many challenges, there have been some improvements and progress on the GBF, particularly for Targets of high priority for IPLCs. However, we are concerned with the slow progress and lack of consensus in the negotiations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lucy Mulenkei, Co-Chair of IIFB, said: \u201cThere is irrefutable evidence that the only way this can be a strong instrument is by incorporating and ensuring a strong human-rights element\u2014respecting the role of IPLCs\u2014into the new global biodiversity framework.\u201d<\/p>\n

Batzin said: \u201cNow is the time for IPLCs to show the scientific knowledge that we have. Now is the time for Indigenous Peoples to tell the world that we need to take action.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all need to have a way of life that has an intrinsic relationship and balance with mother nature, the human being, and the universe,\u201d said Batzin. \u201cOnly then can we truly be seen to be living in harmony with nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

In their closing statement at the talks, the IIFB stated the importance of human rights in an agreement to save nature: \u201cIt is necessary to recognize, and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples [within the GBF].\u201d<\/p>\n

They also pointed out the key requirement for this to be backed up with funding:<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrently, 1% of the funds available for climate and the environment goes to IPLCs, despite growing evidence that supporting IPLCs directly is one of the most cost-effective measures for conservation. Therefore, it is necessary to increase funds to support our strategies. We require flexibility and specific guarantees to access resources directly, that the allocation of funds prioritizes the recognition and respect for indigenous land, territories and the strengthening of governance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIIFB firmly believes that for this framework to be successful and inclusive, it will require further improvements, and the full and effective participation of [IPLCs] in the process leading up to COP 15 and beyond. [We] are looking at this process with the hope that the GBF will be truly transformative and will recognize the contributions and rights of Indigenous Peoples to protect Mother Nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA human rights based approach is crucial to a successful Global Biodiversity Framework,\u201d said Lucy Mulenkei, Co-Chair of the IIFB.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuch an approach would mean that biodiversity policies, governance and management do not violate human rights, and those implementing such policies should actively seek ways to support and promote human rights in their design and implementation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The effective implementation of a real human-rights-based approach requires a more holistic approach than currently suggested in the draft of the framework. It requires strengthening and improvements across all aspects of the framework but especially regarding: goals, targets, monitoring framework, enabling conditions, National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe future of any successful framework requires the integration of human rights across all issues\u2014not just in environmental agreements, but more holistically, in agriculture, fisheries, tourism, and our entire ways of life,\u201d said Mulenkei.<\/p>\n

Source: https:\/\/www.scoop.co.nz\/stories\/WO2203\/S00302\/indigenous-peoples-local-community-reps-issue-a-final-plea-to-world-leaders-at-biodiversity-framework-negotiations.htm<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Inland fisheries<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mekong under threat: MRC<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Mekong River Commission (MRC) called for urgent action to protect the river for the benefit of the millions of people throughout Southeast Asia who depend on it. The Mekong is severely impacted by water infrastructure projects and climate change, it said.<\/p>\n

In March, the MRC issued a 174-page report highlighting its major accomplishments and actions taken, and giving key indicators that have raised region-wide awareness of how development and increasingly severe flooding and drought all impact the Lower Mekong River Basin.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the vital river now impacted by both water-infrastructure projects and climate change, the new report calls for urgent \u2018water diplomacy\u2019 to protect Southeast Asia\u2019s largest river and promote sustainable development for the millions across the region,\u201d the MRC said in a 15 March press release.<\/p>\n

The MRC confirmed that these activities have spurred its member countries\u2014 Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam\u2014to take unprecedented steps along with their two neighbours, upriver China and Myanmar.<\/p>\n

The report recommends that accurate data and scientific knowledge should drive planners and policymakers in their decisionmaking and execution.<\/p>\n

The press release quoted PrawitWongsuon, chairperson of the Thai National Mekong Committee, as saying: \u201cIn the Lower Mekong River Basin, the impact of climate change presents profound implications for the social and economic well-being of our constituents, and represents an ongoing challenge for policymakers\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said that water diplomacy was increasingly important in the region, particularly with respect to the growing number of hydropower and other water infrastructure projects and development activities.<\/p>\n

The report cited the specific example of its Regional Flood and Drought Management Centre, which, in 2017, was expanded to include drought forecasting. This capability to forecast has since helped to save lives and protect property of the people living in the Basin.<\/p>\n

According to the report, one thing that is particularly noteworthy is the improved forecasting, which, it said, is the product of deepening regional relationships, especially with Beijing. For the first time, China has agreed to share its dry-season hydrological data.<\/p>\n

In 2021, the MRC and ASEAN launched the Water Security Dialogue to promote innovative solutions to emerging water security challenges.<\/p>\n

So Sophort, secretary-general of the Cambodian National Mekong Committee, could not be reached for comment on 15 March.<\/p>\n

Ro Vannak, co-founder of the Cambodian Institute for Democracy, said the Mekong River is an important source of livelihoods and economic activity in Southeast Asia. The river is home to the world\u2019s largest freshwater fisheries industry, and is critical to food security in the region.<\/p>\n

The Mekong River is a huge biodiversity habitat that provides protein for animals and the more than 60 mn people living along it, he said.<\/p>\n

Source: https:\/\/www.phnompenhpost.com\/national\/mekong-under-threat-mrc<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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Organizational Profile<\/strong><\/p>\n

The District Fishermen\u2019s Youth Welfare Association (DFYWA) is a community-based NGO that has been working with small-scale fishing communities on the east coast of India since 1992. Its objectives are to promote access of fishing communities to natural resources and markets, cost-effective technologies and infrastructure, and affordable credit in order to improve their livelihoods. It seeks to do this while discouraging environmentally and socially destructive technologies and practices in fisheries.<\/p>\n

\"\"In collaboration with several international and national research and development organizations, DFYWA has undertaken numerous initiatives to disseminate new livelihood technologies, develop skills \u00a0and build capacity, both for fishers and post-harvest fishworkers, with positive results. One of DFYWA\u2019s core priorities has been to develop sustainable fisheries initiatives to assist fish-vending women, both independently and through collectives.<\/p>\n

Such endeavours were frequently followed by the realization that more needs to be done to obtain sustainable outcomes for the fishers and fishworkers. They need research and policy to be made available to them, and policy advocacy efforts to promote more holistic and sustainable support systems. In the long term, DFYWA seeks to develop and strengthen community institutions for more effective participation in policymaking and implementation.<\/p>\n

Based in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, DFYWA\u2019s experienced and welltrained team of field staff help the organization carry out its mission of providing sustainable livelihood support for small-scale fishing communities.<\/p>\n

DFYWA has won several State and national awards for its work on training fishworkers in fish drying, vending and marketing. It conducts awareness raising on fish handling and preservation, and provides support to communities in terms of occupational safety and health, coastal protection and access to markets.<\/p>\n

For more: https:\/\/driedfishmatters.org\/blog\/living-on-the-edge\/<\/a>and https:\/\/dfywa.wordpress.com\/<\/a><\/em>
\nContact:<\/em>
\nArjilli Dasu (dfywa.ap@gmail.com),<\/em>
\nFounder and Executive Secretary,<\/em>
\nDFYWA<\/em><\/p>\n

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Infolog: New resources at ICSF<\/strong><\/p>\n

Publications and Infographics<\/strong><\/p>\n

Handbook on Convention on Biological Diversity <\/strong>(CBD)<\/strong> for small-scale fishing communities by ICSF and Crocevia<\/strong><\/p>\n

Handbook on Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) for small-scale fishing communities<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n