“Our people’s lives are on the line. Some countries claim they do not want to commit to emissions reductions because it is not fair. Who are they to talk to about fairness, when our people have not been responsible for this climate change yet wind up suffering the most”. - Tribal Leader from the Peruvian Amazon

Indigenous Peoples at COP 17

Since my arrival in Durban I have been attending the Indigenous People Caucasus on Climate Change (IPCCC). At these daily meetings various organizations, countries and tribes address indigenous concerns and negotiations happening at the COP 17. The main issues are the commodification of nature and effects of climate change.

REDD and other carbon trading schemes are making nature an economic commodity. Putting price tags on trees, kelp beds or the air is not an ideology in alignment with the indigenous understanding of our environment. Currently, REDD plans allow for forests all over the world and in the Amazonian Basin to be purchased for carbon offsets. Many of the Amazonian forests are sacred indigenous territories, with some of territories being occupied by autonomous tribes (tribes that voluntarily decide to be in isolation).

GEAR "Neoliberalism must prevail or all of
humanity will be threatened"

In simple terms REDD is a way for developed countries and large corporations to continue polluting. This is done by purchasing forests and other carbon neutralizing environments to “offset pollution”.  REDD does not call for corporations to stop polluting, but allows them to pollute even more by buying sacred lands and forests that have been conserved by communities for thousands of years. “Corporate cowboys” is a term being used in defining corporations that are organizing one of the biggest land grabs in human history.

The Global Justice Ecology Project (GJEP) hosted a press conference today condemning the Green Economy as a failed and unjust economic model.  There also was a comic mockery by activists from Vermont who are part of the Global Economic Accountability Research (GEAR). It was a satire on how the United States lacks any respect for the environment, is only focused on corporate gain and has no commitment to dialogue during the negotiations process.

Panelists From Right Desmond D'Sa, Kandi Mosset and
Ricardo Navarro

At the press conference Ricardo Navarro, from Friends of the Earth - El Salvador, stated: “This is a serious threat to the existence of humanity. By the end of the century there will be a five degree- celsius increase in temperature. Meaning that over half the world’s population will be on the edge of survival. To bring the world to this state is criminal. Politicians do not represent us. We must take to the streets and fight. This is a moral collapse of the government”.  

The voices of our brothers and sisters from the global south and indigenous communities are being heard loud and clear at the COP 17. But it seems as if none of the developed countries are listening.