Climate policies are devastating tribal people
Posted by Vito on November 26, 2009 |
A new report by Survival International highlights how tribal and indigenous peoples are suffering the consequences of global warming and climate forcing twice: once because of the climatic changes themselves; a second time because of climate policies. The report is called “The most inconvenient truth of all: climate change and indigenous people” (PDF), and discusses four key “mitigation measures” that threaten tribal people.
The four policies are:
- Biofuels [Agrofuels]: promoted as an alternative, “green” source of energy to fossil fuels, much of the land allocated to grow them is the ancestral land of tribal people. If biofuels expansion continues as planned, millions of indigenous people worldwide stand to lose their land and livelihoods.
- Hydro-electric power: A new boom in dam construction in the name of combating climate change is driving thousands of tribal people from their homes.
- Forest conservation: Kenya’s Ogiek hunter-gatherers are being forced from the forests they have lived in for hundreds of years to “reverse the ravages” of global warming.
- Carbon offsetting: Tribal peoples’ forests now have a monetary value in the booming “carbon credits” market. Indigenous people say this will lead to forced evictions and the “theft of our land”.
Survival Director Stephen Corry said today, “This report highlights the most inconvenient truth of all – that the world’s tribal people, who have done the least to cause climate change and are most affected by it, are now having their rights violated and land devastated in the name of attempts to stop it. Hiding behind the global push to prevent climate change, governments and companies are mounting a massive land grab. As usual, where money and vast profits are at stake, the world’s indigenous people are being shamefully swept aside.”
This is yet another report which shows how the climate policies which are dominating within the UNFCC are misguided and outright “devastating” for the most vulnerable populations and communities.
Download the report (PDF 3.5MB). For more information, for interviews and other media (photos and video) See Survival International.
Tags: agrofuels > carbon offsets > Climate Justice > indigenous people > survival international
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