Suriname indigenous communities need to learn more about climate change

(de Ware Tijd) PARAMARIBO – Indigenous and Marron communities have no idea what Kyoto, Rio+20 and REDD+ mean. Since last December’s United Nations (UN) climate conference in Durban, South-Africa the attention of environmental experts has been focused on REDD+ and this is also the case in Suriname. José Artist of the Association of Indigenous Chiefs in (VIDS) was at the climate conference and lobbied for the right of indigenous and tribal peoples to contribute to drafting REDD+. At the conference, Artist participated in ‘civil society’ activities, including the Gender Caucus and Indigenous Peoples Caucus. At last Friday’s discussion evening organized by Projecta, Artist related on her activities in Durban. “My aim at the Indigenous Peoples Caucus was to include passages from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) in the implementation of the REDD+ mechanism. REDD+ refers to cuts in emissions and less deforestation and forest degradation, and the plus stands for the preservation and sustainable management of forests and strengthening of carbons in the forests. “The communities living in the forests are the ones that will immediately be affected by the measures that must be taken in the framework of REDD+.” International organizations often do not consider the actual situation in the field and draft projects to replant a certain area, but they ignore the communities’ social and cultural ties to the forest. People living in the area should be involved in these projects, and must agree that no trees will be cut down or that new ones will be planted. At the discussion evening, environmental expert Cor Pigot called for better preparation and a national campaign to create awareness about environmental issues. “It is not only Indigenous and Marron peoples who do not know what all those climate terms mean. A random city dweller also won’t be able to explain the issues.”