Protecting water by conserving forests puts communities in Mexico to the test

Themes: Conservation, Livlihoods, Policy

Almost 15 years ago, the inhabitants of eight towns in southern Mexico’s Costa Chica decided to conserve an area that provides them with water by setting aside five square kilometers of their land to create an ecological reserve. Previously, sewage from the largest municipality in the area was discharged into the rivers that communities used for washing, bathing and drinking. Conflicts initially broke out between communities over sharing water and contributions to the protection of the reserve, though the project has sensitized people to conservation and increased the amount of water in the spring. However, according to forestry experts, Mexico’s protected natural areas have exceeded the institution’s capacity and available resources, meaning the communities that manage the conservation of the reserve receive little institutional support.

Por qué salvar el planeta puede dañar a 300 millones de personas

Themes: CBD, Human rights, Indigenous people, NGOs, Parks, Policy

Más de 120 organizaciones alertan en una carta abierta a la ONU de que los planes de conservación previstos para lograr el objetivo de proteger el 30% de la biodiversidad en 2030 provocará el desplazamiento forzado de miles de comunidades indígenas si no se cuenta con ellas

Perfidious Albion

Moves by the United Kingdom to Ban the Import of Hunting Trophies - An Analysis by Rowan B. Martin.

Themes: Conservation, Policy, NGOs

This document reviews a debate which took place at Westminster Hall in the UK Houses of Parliament on the 2nd October 2019 in which the advocacy by Animal Rights parliamentary members was extreme. In this document I challenge some of the misinformation that was prevalent. Much of the ill-informed debate was taken up with trophy hunting of lions while ignoring the social, ecological and economic realities of the rural population and their resource base in Africa.. Zac Goldsmith (Minister for DIFD (Department for International Development) and DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) has initiated a ‘consultative process’ which closes on the 25th January 2020. This paper will be submitted to the Committee responsible for the consultations.

Indigenous land rights in the Amazon Basin.

Themes: Human rights, Indigenous people, Conservation, REDD, Policy

Si no se protege a los pueblos indígenas no se está protegiendo la Amazonía. Los bosques amazónicos están protegiendo el planeta y mitigando el cambio climático por lo tanto es una prioridad alinear las políticas para proteger al mismo tiempo: territorio, pueblos indígenas y bosques. . If indigenous people are not protected then nor is the Amazon. The Amazon forest protects the planet and mitigates climate change which means that it is a priority to align those policies that protect land, indigenous peoples and the forest.

The Serengeti-Mara squeeze.

one of the world’s most iconic ecosystems under pressure.

Themes: Agriculture, Conservation, Policy, Parks, Pastoralists

New finding alters our view on what is needed to protect biodiversity.

Forest Rights Lost.

Evictions Loom Over a Million Adivasis.

Themes: Conservation, Parks, Policy, Human rights, Indigenous people, Poverty

How can the competing issues of conservation and indigenous rights work in harmony to ensure both forests and the livelihoods of their inhabitants are protected?

DRC adopts a strategy that will bolster community forestry, conservation group says.

Themes: Conservation, Human rights, Indigenous people, Parks, Policy

A new community forestry strategy in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could help provide Congolese communities with a say in the management of the country’s forests. A group of local and international organizations, government agencies and community groups developed the strategy to strengthen the capacity of provincial authorities and ensure that the country’s community forestry laws do in fact include and benefit communities. The plan calls for an “experimental phase” over the next five years to gradually provide access to areas of the roughly 700,000 square kilometres (more than 270,000 square miles) of available forest through community management permits.

Cornered by Protected Areas.

Vicky Tauli-Corpuz (UN Special rapporteur) and RRI launch an RRI brief derived from the upcoming Indigenous Peoples and Protected Areas report.

Themes: Conservation, Human rights, Indigenous people, REDD, Policy, Poverty, CBD, Financialisation

Indigenous Peoples and local communities have been conserving their lands and forests for centuries. But the rise of “fortress conservation” is forcing them from their homes, hurting people and forests alike.