Government Concedes to Conejo’s Demands – SATIIM Press Release

SARSTOON TEMASH INSTITUTE FOR
INDIGENOUS MANAGEMENT
81 Main Street, Punta Gorda Town,
Toledo District, Belize C.A.

Phone: 501-722-0103
Fax: 501-722-0124
E-mail: satiim@btl.net
Website: www.satiim.org.bz                                                 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Government Concedes to Conejo’s Demands

February 10, 2012 - Punta Gorda Town, Toledo District, Belize - The Department of Geology and Petroleum will order US Capital Energy to halt its illegal seismic work on Conejo’s communal lands, and remove all seismic markers from the seismic trail it cut through Conejo.

The promise follows a meeting in Conejo on 9 February between Andre Cho (Director of Geology and Petroleum Department), Pedro Cho, Mandela Wade (both of Geology and Petroleum Department), Marcelo Windsor (Forest Department), Anthony Mai (Environment Department), Eufemio Makin (Alcalde of Conejo), Enrique Makin (Chairperson of Conejo), four councilors of Conejo, and Martin Choco (Permitting Officer, US Capital Energy).

The company sacked the entire workforce from the community (23 men) last Thursday because the village did not immediately give US Capital Energy permission to operate the illegal line.

During Conejo’s subsequent village meeting on Sunday 5 February US Capital Energy’s Martin Choco presented to villagers a letter drafted by the company, granting US Capital Energy freedom to conduct seismic work throughout Conejo, and condemning the community’s leadership for objecting to the seismic line. Choco forcefully sought signatures from villagers, telling them they could then return to work.

US Capital Energy’s Alistair King then stated on Monday that the company would, on the basis of this letter, return to conduct seismic work on the trail through Conejo this week.  It is important to note that the permit granted to US Capital Energy prohibits the company from entering Conejo’s land.

The majority of Conejo’s adult population then signed a petition asserting that they did not give their free, prior, and informed consent to US Capital’s operations on their land. The leaders fortified this position and communicated it forcefully to the Government’s representatives. This represents the community exercising the rights established by the Supreme Court in 2007, which established that no operations could occur on Conejo’s territory without their consent.

The rule of law has prevailed, however Conejo’s leadership is now waiting for a written copy of the Geology and Petroleum Department’s order to US Capital, instructing them not to proceed with their operations in Conejo and instructing them to remove the markers on the seismic line.

The government has acceded to Conejo’s demand that the rule of law be respected, reinforcing indigenous peoples’ property rights. This is a landmark action by an indigenous community, proving that the judgments of the Supreme Court can be enforced on the ground through a collective resolve not to be pressured by economically powerful interests.

View the original press release here.
View the cease and desist order demand letter here.
page 1, page 2
View the Statement on the meeting with GOB representatives here.
page 1, page 2

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 The Sarstoon Temash Institute for Indigenous Management (SATIIM) is a community based indigenous environmental organization working in the far south of Belize, in a region in the Toledo District that lies between the Sarstoon and Temash Rivers. Their mission is to safeguard the ecological integrity of the Sarstoon-Temash region and employ its resources in an environmentally sound manner for the economic, social, cultural, and spiritual well-being of its indigenous people.

Accreditation and Registration to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development – Rio+20 Is Open

 

The innovative format for stakeholder participation articulated in Agenda 21, known as the “Major Groups”,  has afforded a high level of engagement for representatives within the Rio+20 process.  To continue your engagement and participate in the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (known as Rio+20) being held on 20-22 June 2012, please read carefully the information below:

a) Registration of accredited groups

All participants are required to pre-register their attendance online.  Pre-registration is automatically open to accredited groups:

- NGOs and Major Groups that are currently in consultative status with ECOSOC as NGOs (including those on the roster through the list of the Commission on Sustainable Development)
- NGOs and Major Groups that were accredited to the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002

Pre-registration will close on 20 May 2012.  There will be no more registration after that date.

b) Registration of Non accreditated groups

NGOs and other Major groups’ organisations that are NOT yet accredited to the United Nations, but wish to participate in the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), will be offered a one-time opportunity to become accredited to Rio+20.

Accreditation to Rio+20 will close on 20 February 2012.  You cannot seek special accreditation for your organization after that date.

More information on Accreditation and Registration to Rio+20 here: http://www.uncsd2012.org/registration

c) Stay informed

Receive the newsletter – Rio+20: Making it Happen – filled with important deadlines and information for participants.  Subscribe online here.

Connect with the organizing partners for Major Groups sector as soon as possible in order to receive important information pertaining to Rio+20.  The contact information for the organizing partners may easily be found on the official Conference website at http://www.uncsd2012.org/major-groups

 

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More information on Rio+20: http://www.uncsd2012.org
Read the Major Groups FAQs

 

 

 

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Tebtebba

 

(Indigenous Peoples’ International Centre for Policy Research and Education)

 

No. 1 Roman Ayson Road, Baguio City 2600, Philippines

 

Tel: +63 74 4447703  Tel/Fax: +63 74 4439459

 

Websites: www.tebtebba.org, www.indigenousclimate.org

 

 

 

“NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations”

First Peoples Worldwide Announces Partnership with Trillium Asset Management

Research and Advocacy Collaboration To Promote Indigenous Voices in the Boardroom

 

Contacts:
Lisa MacKinnon, Trillium Asset Management (617) 423-6655
Katie Cheney, First Peoples Worldwide (540) 899-6545

February 1, 2012 — First Peoples Worldwide (FPW), a global indigenous nonprofit dedicated to strengthening Indigenous Peoples, today announced a new partnership with Trillium Asset Management.  Under the terms of the partnership, Trillium is undertaking custom research and shareholder advocacy focused on how corporate policies and programs can better protect and enhance Indigenous Peoples’ rights.

Founded in 1997 by widely acclaimed advocate Rebecca Adamson, FPW supports projects that preserve biodiversity, identify contemporary applications for traditional knowledge, mitigate the impact of climate change, and advocate free prior informed consent.

Adamson, a Cherokee, has developed creative, mutually beneficial economic models since 1970 and was just interviewed for the 2013 PBS series entitled “Women Who Make America.” Her work includes creating the first microloan fund in the United States, the first tribal investment model, a national movement for reservation land reform, and legislation that established new standards of accountability regarding federal trust responsibility for Native Americans.

First Peoples’ new small grants fund, Keepers of the Earth, makes grants directly to communities in ways that ensure capital is engaged to reflect cultural values.  It is an effective platform for donors who want 100 percent of their monies directed to some of the most remote grassroots communities in the world. FPW is the only organization worldwide that distributes global grants using the collaborative intelligence of indigenous wisdom to address contemporary challenges in areas of wealth, environment and cultural preservation.

In keeping with Rebecca’s ongoing focus on innovation, she looked to Trillium to help build a new partnership to promote Indigenous voices in the corporate boardroom.

Trillium is the oldest independent investment firm focused exclusively on Sustainable and Responsible Investing. Under this partnership, Trillium is leveraging its expertise in corporate responsibility research and advocacy as well as its deep ties within the sustainable investing community. This collaboration culminates in a FPW publication called “Corporate Engagement Strategies: Indigenous Partnerships for Best Practice Solutions.”

As part of this publication, Trillium is providing FPW with regular research updates examining best practices in corporate America and reviewing new developments in legal cases and local and national legislation.

Trillium is also helping FPW engage in broader policy discussions around corporate responsibility.  For example, Trillium helped FPW provide formal input into the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Guidelines’ next generation framework. A recent letter signed by Rebecca Adamson, and supported by Trillium, makes the case that the current GRI reporting guidelines can be significantly improved by developing indicators that more explicitly address the reporting organizations’ impact on Indigenous communities and how well companies are equipped to anticipate, forestall and mitigate negative impacts.

According to CEO Matt Patsky, “We believe Trillium Asset Management is uniquely positioned to work with First Peoples in developing cutting edge research and advocacy on Indigenous peoples’ issues. We have been integrating these issues into our investment process since our founding in 1982.”

Rebecca Adamson said of the partnership, “Our partnership with Trillium signifies one of the first genuine platforms for Indigenous grassroots voices to be heard by corporate America. Trillium’s deep understanding of research and advocacy related to corporate sustainability policies is a powerful springboard that drives grassroots voices into the boardroom.”

This partnership illustrates well Trillium’s ability to provide custom research and advocacy services on behalf of other groups of investors.  Trillium believes there may be a strong demand for such a service from a variety of investor groups.

This partnership is a natural extension of the work Trillium has undertaken for some time to address Indigenous peoples’ rights. Trillium was one of the first investment companies to explicitly reference Native American and Indigenous peoples’ rights as a specific area of focus in its sustainable investment criteria. Trillium also addresses these issues through dialogue and shareholder proposals with some of the largest companies in America.

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First Peoples Worldwide is a global development nonprofit based in Fredericksburg, VA with expertise in indigenous management principles and solutions for best practice in corporate strategies. The FPW flagship fund Keepers of the Earth links donors directly with communities all over the world by making small grants in ways that successfully apply indigenous intelligence and support economically effective platforms for positive change.

Trillium Asset Management, LLC is the oldest independent investment advisor devoted exclusively to sustainable and responsible investing. With over $950 million in assets under management, Trillium has been managing equity and fixed income investments for high net worth individuals, foundations, endowments, religious institutions, and other non-profits since 1982. A leader in shareholder advocacy and public policy work, Trillium’s goal is to deliver both impact and performance to its investors.

The World Conservation Union (IUCN)

With the mission of conserving the integrity and diversity of nature and also to ensuring that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable, the IUCN small grant program using CARPE fund has the objective to strengthen civil society for sustainable forest conservation in Central Africa. Deadline is February 12, 2012. For more detailed objectives and guidelines, click here.

IEN and WMAN 2012 Grassroots Communities Mining Mini-Grant Program

From the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) and the Western Mining Action Network (WMAN):

The goal of the Mining Mini-grants Program is to support and enhance the capacity building efforts of mining-impacted communities in the U.S. and Canada to assure that mining projects do not adversely affect human, cultural, and the ecological health of communities.

 

Applications accepted are accepted three times a year: February 1, June 1, and October 1. Applicants will be notified of the funding decision within 3 weeks of the application deadline.

 

There will be an “emergency” fund for extremely time-sensitive projects that fall between grant cycles (i.e., needs that could not have been anticipated at the time of the last cycle and cannot wait to be addressed until the next cycle). These grants will be very limited and awarded on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the Mini-Grant Review Committee.

 

WMAN/IEN Grassroots Communities Mining Mini-grants program criteria:

1.     Grassroots community-based organizations, and Tribes or Tribal programs in the U.S. and Canada with any budget level may apply. However, if there are more applicants than funds available, priority will be given to organizations with an organizational or mining-specific project budget under $75,000 U.S.. Priority will also be given to community-based grassrootsgroups affected by mining.

2.     We prefer to make grants to organizations with a nonprofit 501(c)3 tax designation, or those working with a fiscal sponsor that has a 501(c)3, however this is not a requirement. We do not, however, write grant checks to individuals.

3.     Requests must be project-specific for an immediate need such as legal assistance, organizing and outreach, development of campaign materials, media development, reports, travel, mailings, interns and consultants, etc. to be fulfilled within the next six months on a specific mining campaign. Funds cannot be used for an organization’s general operating funds, staff salaries, rent or telephone bills.

4.     Priority will be given to projects that build bridges and community across socio-economic and cultural lines.

5.     Applicants may receive one grant per twelve month cycle. However, this limit does not apply to emergency grants.

6.     Each grant issued will not exceed $3,000 U.S.

7.     Funding recipients must submit a brief report detailing how funds were spent within 6 months of having received funding. Recipients will not be eligible for additional funding until the project has been completed and a project report, or an extension request, is received and accepted by WMAN and IEN.

Any questions? We are happy to help. Please contact either Aimee Boulanger, WMAN Network Coordinator at (360) 969-2028 ~ aboulanger@whidbey.com or Simone Senogles, Indigenous Environmental Network, (218) 751-4967 ~ simone@ienearth.org.

 

The application (link below) can be emailed to either Aimee Boulanger or to Simone Senogles, or it can be sent by regular mail, postmarked by June 1, 2011, October 1, 2011 or February 1, 2012 respectively, to: IEN attn: Mining Mini-grants, PO Box 485, Bemidji, MN 56619. If you are mailing the application, please call Simone or Aimee to let us know to expect it. Thank you

 

DOWNLOAD: Application (MS Word)

 

Learn more about the communities and projects funded by these mini-grants.

FPW Grant Leads to Kenya Denounced by German Tourism

First People’s Worldwide’s grant to the Loiborkineji Self Help Welfare Group in Kenya made this campaign possible:

 

SURVIVAL INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE

January 25, 2012

German travel industry warns Samburu eviction could harm Kenya tourism

The German travel industry has called on Kenya to find a solution to the recent evictions of the Samburu tribe, and warned its position as a tourist destination could be damaged. Germans currently spend more money abroad than any other nation.
In a letter to President Mwai Kibaki, the head of theGerman Travel Association (known by its German initials DRV) expressed his ‘great concern’ at the current situation in Kenya’s Laikipia district.

Read the letter to Kenya’s President (pdf, 442 KB)

A series of violent evictions by Kenya’s police have forced thousands of Samburu from the area known as Eland Downs. Houses were burnt, people assaulted and livestock stolen.

The evictions follow the purchase of the land by two conservation charities - The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF).

They have promoted the 17,100 hectares as a chance for Kenya to create its ‘newest national park’, and ‘stimulate tourism’.

DRV’s President Jürgen Büchy said its members considered Kenya ‘an important destination’, but that it was crucial tourism was carried out sustainably.

He said, ‘tourism development at the expense of human rights and local communities…does not find the support of the German travel industry’.

The DRV represents 80 percent of Germany’s tour operators and travel agents. In 2010 Germans spent over 60 billion euros on foreign trips, more than any other nation.

Büchy called on Kenya’s government to allow the ‘Samburu to reinstall in the Eland Downs and to give them a part in the preservation of the wildlife in Laikipia.’

Kenya’s government has not yet responded to The German Travel Association.

To read this story online: http://survival-international.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b14580b05b832fb959c4ee444&id=f38ee077e3&e=49296e2007

Philanthropy for the People

Dan P. Morrison – Philanthropy For the People :

Posted: 01/23/2012 10:48 am

Dan Morrison, Founder and CEO of Citizen Effect

A century ago, the term “citizen philanthropist” was an oxymoron. Any young kid aspiring to save the world had his or her work cut out for them. To be a philanthropist, in the historical sense of the word, they had to generate an amazing amount of wealth selling oil, laying railroad track or making cars. Then they could start a foundation and give large amounts of money, tax-free, to a cause close to their heart. Without going into the social history of the United States, this career path was only available to old, rich, white dudes.

But that doesn’t make any sense. Think about all the people you know that volunteer at the local soup kitchen, the community leaders at your church who are always helping people in the congregation, and the kid down the street that sells lemonade to end HIV/AIDS in Africa. The idea that we have to make a ton of cash before we help others in and beyond our community is ludicrous.

I founded Citizen Effect with the goal of providing anyone who has the passion to impact others, the tools and support to do just that. For the past three years we’ve connected hundreds of people across the country directly with critical projects that have impacted tens of thousands of lives around the world. What’s special is that these people aren’t Rockefellers. They work directly with the us to choose a project, design a unique fundraising approach, and engage their network in giving to a cause they’re passionate about. They are citizen philanthropists.

Since announcing Detroit4Detroit the number one question people ask me is, “Why Detroit?” Understandably, Detroiters want to make sure Detroit4Detroit is not another well-intentioned, yet misguided outsider coming to “save” their city. The answer is simple, it’s the people. Whether they know it or not, the “can do” attitude of Detroiters is the essence of what it means to be a citizen philanthropist.

In 2012, Detroit4Detroit will take the first steps to starting a movement of citizen philanthropy in Detroit by connecting 150 passionate citizens with 150 community projects throughout the city.
To do this, we’ve established partnerships with non-profits and local community leaders that are on the front-lines of impact in Detroit. Together, we’ve identified individual projects based on tried and tested programs that will make the most of people’s efforts.

The once held meaning of “philanthropist” no longer applies to only a few. Anyone can be a citizen philanthropist with Detroit4Detroit. Young professionals, retirees, high school students, small businesses, the list goes on and on. The power to impact the lives of others sits with the everyday people who make this incredible city what it is.

Grahame Russell to Speak on U.S., Central America, and The Global Economy

 

The U.S., Central America and The Global Economy

Thursday, Jan. 26, 7 – 9pm

Wheaton Library, 11701Georgia Ave., Wheaton

 

TheU.S.has played a major role inCentral America’s economy and politics for over 100 years, both overtly through military intervention and less obviously through political and economic manipulation.  The people ofCentralAmericahave resisted this interference, often at great cost. Come learn more about the current political and economic situation of our neighbors to the south, the role of theU.S., and what we can do.

 

Speaker: International expert and activist Grahame Russell

 

Moderators: Lindolfo Carballo of CASA de Maryland and Tim Willard of Peace Action Montgomery

 

Bio of Grahame Russell: Advocate and activist for Central America and Mexico. Engaged in development, environmental and human rights solidarity work in Guatemala, Honduras, Chiapas, Oaxaca, El Salvador and Haiti since 1984.  Speaks and publishes regularly on Central America, including the book Code Z59.5: There is Only One People Here (2010).  Director of Rights Action, a Central America advocacy group based on a “just development” model.  Check it out: http://www.rightsaction.org/

 

This event co-sponsored by Peace Action Montgomery  http://peaceactionmc.org/ and CASA de Maryland http://www.casademaryland.org/

Participation in the UN Conference on Sustainable Development

Dear colleagues,

Please find below some important participation regarding the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20).

The UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20) will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 20 to 22 June 2012. The conference will be preceded by the third Preparatory Committee meeting of the Conference, from 13 to 15 June 2012. In accordance with General Assembly resolution A/C.2/66/L.53, the accreditation and preregistration for participation in the preparatory meeting and in the Conference by relevant NGOs and other major groups is now open.

Preregistration is open to NGOs and major groups that are currently in consultative status to ECOSOC and to NGOs and major groups that were accredited to the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. Registration will close on 20 May 2012.

NGOs and other Major groups’ organisations that are NOT yet accredited to the United Nations and wish to participate in the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Conference (Rio+20) will be offered a one time opportunity to become accredited to Rio+20. The deadline for new accreditation is 20 February 2012.

For more information, please consult the following links:

Preregistration and accreditation procedures: http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/index.php?menu=90.

Preliminary information on the agenda and the conference Rio+20: http://www.uncsd2012.org/rio20/content/documents/350information%20note%2012%20December.pdf.

Best regards,

UN-NGLS

 

[via DoCip: www.docip.org}

AfricaNews.com: Kenya – Minority Group Decries Forceful Eviction

1. Find the full article here: Kenya: Minority Group Decries Forceful Evictions

    

   Posted on Tuesday 17 January 2012 – 14:00
   Evans Wafula and Portus Chege AfricaNews reporters in Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi, Kenya

   A community is accusing the African world life Foundation, The Nature conservancy, Kenya Wildlife Service and others for continuously trampling on their rights and scheming to illegally evict the Samburu people from their land(kisargei/Elan downs in Laikipia East District.

   

   The Community has appealed on the Centre for International Human Rights Law and Advocacy CIHRA to pursue any legal means necessary to hold those accountable for the current unlawful actions against this poor and marginalized Samburu community.

   Through a letter written and copied to the Attorney General Githu Muigai, Forestry and Wildlife minister Noah Wekesa and the Kituo Cha Sheria, the bone of contention is the decision by the wildlife body with the assistance of AWF and NTC to purchase 17,000 acres of land in Laikipia to convert into a national park.

   Last week the community held peaceful demonstrations to protests continuous harassment by police, who so far have killed two persons, destroyed their Manyattas and displaced them resulting to one child who got disorientated from a makeshift manyatta and eaten by a lion

   “The police have been harassing us, we don’t sleep, they are even raping women, slaughtering our goats by force and beating as like children,” said Ms Nalotuang Tepeshe

   They accused KWS of purchasing 17,000 acres of land from former President Moi which it intends to turn into a nature conservancy called Laikipia National Park.

   The community through their spokesman Mr Joseph Lekamario said KWS purchase of the land was illegal because the Samburu have acquired rights to this land under the Kenyan Constitution and international law by residing on the land continuously for over 90 years.

   Mr Lekamario argued that, the said land, is currently the subject of a lawsuit before Justice Joseph Sergon at the High Court in Nyeri reference number L.R. No. 10068.Since KWS and the police entered the land over 50 elephants have been killed and no action is being taken by the relevant authorities.

   The suit was filed by the Samburu against the African Wildlife Foundation and the former President Moi to prevent illegal forcible evictions from their land.

   According to the community KWS purchase of the land as well as actions taken before the purchase is indirect violation of the court ordered injunction. To formalise continuous police presence in the suit land, last year the provincial administration rushed to gazette the suit land as a police post.

   “KWS represents to the world that it is purchasing the land in the name of conservation, but neglects to disclose that in the process it will illegally remove whole communities of women, children, and elderly Samburu from the land leaving them homeless and without any place to go,” said Mr Lekamario.

   Last year CIHRA wrote a letter AG, Forestry and wildlife ministry and accused KWS for failing to disclose its true purpose which is to make millions of dollars in revenue from tourist visits to the conservancy.

   “The Centre, the Samburu Community, and the international community are well aware of the true intentions and consequences of KWS’ recent purchase of the land and we will do everything within our means to continue to protect the Samburu people,” Read the letter in part.

   The Human rights body through Mr Travis LaSalle said in the letter the Centre is carefully documenting all actions taken by KWS and will pursue any legal means necessary in alliance to hold KWS accountable for its current unlawful actions. The actions include filing to hold KWS in contempt of court.

   “Since May of 2009, various groups have been trying to forcibly and illegally evict the Samburu people from this land you just purchased,” the letter says in part. It is signed by Lasalle of the Centre

   The Centre has also vowed to report these actions to a variety of international human rights groups and governmental organizations.