Give Us Back Our Land, Indigenous Peoples' Urge

Give Us Back Our Land, Indigenous Peoples' Urge

10 September 2003

By Tony Carnie

Durban: "Give us our land back!" was the clear message yesterday from representatives of indigenous peoples taking part in the fifth World Parks Congress.

Noting that indigenous communities had been dispossessed throughout the world to make way for national parks and nature reserves, members of the delegation said it was not possible for them to move sacred sites where community leaders had given their lives in defence of their people.

Nor was it possible for indigenous people to pack their culture into a suitcase and move away to make space for a new protected area, said a Costa Rican delegate.

Nearly 120 members of indigenous peoples' groups are attending the congress.

Senior World Conservation Union leaders said indigenous groups had been invited to the city to engage in "honest and open" debates and help resolve past and future clashes involving nature conservation areas.

Asked whether they believed the congress was taking their concerns seriously, Janni Lasimbang of Malaysia said she was heartened by the tone of the opening plenary discussions, but noted that the theme of the congress - "Benefits beyond Boundaries" - would have no meaning if their concerns were not taken seriously.

Esther Camac of Costa Rica was more blunt: "There are members of the conservation family here today who are absolutely opposed to the participation of indigenous communities and who believe that the only way to protect nature is to create parks without people."

Camac said some of the most influential groups at the congress did not recognise the rights of indigenous people and there appeared to be a general reticence to recognise the value of traditional conservation management models.

Lasimbang also read out a 13- point Indigenous Peoples' Declaration to the World Parks Congress. Reaffirming their vision of a "respectful relationship by all peoples towards Mother Earth", the declaration says respect for nature should not be limited to protected areas only, but should encompass the globe.

It asserts that the world's current economic models contradict the aims of conservation and preservation of nature.

Indigenous people should not be seen as mere "stakeholders" but as possessing an inherent right to self-determination. The forced removal of indigenous peoples to make way for protected natural areas should also be halted immediately because it was a form of cultural genocide.

Sapa reports that more than 100 000 protected areas have been established across the world, according to the United Nations 2003 List of Protected Areas report. It was released at the congress.

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