From Our Sister Organization in Nicaragua:

CENTER FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES' AUTONOMY
AND DEVELOPMENT: CADPI

Casa Museo, Judith Kain
Barrio Aeropuerto, Bilwi, Puerto Cabezas
Region Autonoma Atlantico Norte, Nicaragua
(505) 79-22225 | casamuseojudithkain@hotmail.com

Climate Change: Consequences for Indigenous Peoples in Nicaragua¹

The effects of climate change on natural resources as well as on human populations are well known today, and these effects are among the most debated topics of the last decade.

Along these lines, we also know that Indigenous Peoples have one of the smallest ecological footprints in the world-for example, we are some of the lowest producers of greenhouse gases-yet we are suffering the environmental consequences of other peoples' behavior. These environmental changes have a grave impact on our traditional forms of life and on our livelihoods.

The consequence of an increase in global temperature has also had repercussions for the Indigenous Peoples of Nicaragua. The increase in ocean temperature effects the fishing yield and directly relates to the growth of hurricanes and tropical storms in the last hundred years.

The frequency of storms has decreased and the strength of their winds has increased. The floods caused by "Fifi" in 1974 and by "Irene" in 1971 do not compare with the force and damage caused by Hurricane Juana in 1988. Later, in September 2007, Hurricane Felix lashed the coastline and mountainous regions of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua, resulting in the destruction of more than three hundred Miskitu and Mayangna indigenous communities and destroying the foundation for local subsistence: the forests and the fishing zones of the coastline.

This time more than 1 million hectares of deciduous and coniferous forests were affected, as were marine ecosystems and mangroves. The problem continues to be that international organizations and conservationist groups see the effects of natural disasters only for the impact they have on natural resources and not for the effects they have on the livelihood of the people that depend on these resources.

The loss of forest areas through desertification leads to forest fires that result not only in the loss of biological diversity but also impact the agricultural, forestry, and hunting and gathering systems of Indigenous Peoples. The Indigenous Peoples of the Coco River region face an increase in plagues and disease-for example, plagues of rats that that threaten cultivated fields. These plagues have a direct relation to the disruption of ecosystems.

The consequences of climate change also affect the social fabric and traditional world view of Indigenous Peoples. In the first place, often the loss of livelihood pushes men, women and young people to migrate to other rural and urban zones in search of work. These so-called "environmental refugees" are increasing every day. In the second place, climate change affects sacred areas of encounter between Indigenous Peoples and the natural world are affected, which leads to the loss of this direct relationship and the disruption of traditional belief systems.

Indigenous Women also suffer the effects of climate change in our daily lives. Looking at water collection, for example, women sometimes have to walk two or three hours to find clean water. Many times Indigenous Women no longer have close access to basic medicinal plants because, due to the disturbance of nearby forests, these plants are found ten days' walk from the communities, a situation that also applies to certain animals that are basic sources of protein for Indigenous Peoples.

State policies to mitigate the effects of climate change on natural resources often have a strong environmentalist profile that does not take into account the impact of these policies on Indigenous Peoples. A common strategy is to establish protected areas, which leads to restrictions and controls that, instead of giving incentives for the care and adequate use of resources, result, perversely, in the illegal exploitation of resources. This strategy negatively impacts the livelihoods and organization of Indigenous Peoples around these resources. Authorities see these protected areas as areas of ample biological diversity, but they do not consider the existing population, much less value our cultures, and in many cases they work under a centralized system of government that disqualifies traditional forms of management of natural resources that Indigenous Peoples have implemented for hundreds of years.

This centralized model of management for protected areas weakens local organizations and limits autonomous processes of development, since it does not take into account the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent of Indigenous Peoples. We see this in the case of the Miskitu and Mayangna Indigenous Peoples in relation to the Biosphere Reserve of Bosawas and in the case of the Ramas peoples in relation to the Indio-Maiz Biological Reserve, two protected areas that defined and managed by the central government in spite of existing regional autonomy. As of this date, central authorities have not spoken with inhabitants about climate change and its consequences.

Today we find ourselves facing a new threat in the guise of "bioproduction," the boom of agro combustibles to be developed in indigenous territories. These agro combustibles could be a threat to the traditional lifestyles of Indigenous Peoples as well as to the ecosystems from which Indigenous Peoples obtain our resources, which in turn could lead to our displacement from our ancestral lands. We have to look for the relation between these systems of exploitation and climate change.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Taking into account the situation Indigenous Peoples face in terms of the imminent impact and affects of climate change on our traditional systems of life, as well as the measures of mitigation adopted by States, we consider the following recommendations to be necessary:

1. States, in cooperation with development organizations, should provide resources to strengthen the ability of Indigenous Peoples' institutions to participate in sustainable environmental management and in the definition and application of proposals for mitigation, and to respond to the impact of natural disasters.
2. States should adopt measures that ensure that the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is the framework for discussing, agreeing to and implementing management processes for protected areas and concessions of resource extraction (this includes forest resources, hydrocarbons, mining, carbon trading, mitigation measures, etc.).
3. We must ensure the direct participation of Indigenous Peoples and our institutions in carbon trading markets through sustainable management of the forest resources of our territories and our right to autonomy and Free, Prior and Informed Consent.

- - -

¹ On the occasion of the Seventh Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Climate Change, Biocultural Diversity and Forms of Life: The Guardianship Role of Indigenous Peoples and New Challenges. New York, April 2008. Contact: Mirna Cunningham Kain, President.