sustainability
sustainability
GLASGOW: Vicky and Jing Tauli-Corpuz received their visas to travel to Great Britain for global climate talks at COP26 just six hours before their scheduled flight.
In the midst of the pandemic, the organization of trips from the Philippines to Glasgow was a task that required more patience and resilience than usual. These attributes go well with this mother and daughter, both of whom are now relative veterans of international negotiating circles. Both are proud Kankana-ey Igorot women, indigenous peoples from the Cordillera region of the Philippines. For years they have been leading voices in the fight for justice and rights for indigenous peoples and local communities in the fight against climate change, not only in their home region but around the world. The plight of indigenous groups was included as a discussion point during COP26 but it still remains largely a marginal issue. And this despite the fact that indigenous peoples protect around 80 percent of the world’s remaining biodiversity. New research shows that the land area in countries that comprise most of the world’s endangered tropical forests is 958 million hectares and captures 250 billion tons of carbon.
“That alone is proof that we are doing the right thing do, even though our rights are always violated, « said Vicky, former UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples’ Rights.
» This type of evidence is important to get into the picture because it will strengthen the aspirations of indigenous peoples to convince the dominant society that different forms of knowledge – traditional knowledge – really should have a place in developing solutions that we are. « In search of. »
The bureaucratic and structural barriers to the Inclusion and appreciation in this type of conference is real. Vicky and Jing understand the hallways and the language associated with them, but they know it is exclusive to many others that can be left behind by global pandemic. Many of them come from the global south, typically poorer nations with fewer resources to mitigate climate change or to adapt to climate change, to which for the most part they have not contributed significantly. ”Knowledge carriers from other regions could not come. Some of them don’t have passports. For some of them the visa applications are still pending. So here you can see the inequality between the developed and the developing countries, « said Jing, biologist, lawyer and member of Nia Tero, a US foundation that supports the guardianship of indigenous peoples. Meanwhile, environmental degradation continues unabated in many regions is devastating the holdings of increasingly exposed and marginalized communities. « Many indigenous communities live in the most endangered ecosystems, be it the Arctic, low-lying islands or very high mountains. If there are hurricanes, cyclones or floods, these are the places that are « really badly affected, » said the elder Vicky.
The history of Tauli-Corpuz is rooted in a dedication to protecting their home – the village Payeo in Besao Mountain Province. All around they have watched large mining and dam projects devastate natural ecosystems and damage the landscape. While they say the pristine natural environment in their land has been largely preserved, climate change is now causing seemingly unstoppable effects .
« We come from the mountains. Our people are very attached to the land, most of them are farmers and many of the agricultural cycles are based on nature, » Jing said. Those patterns have now changed so they had to change adapt to the changes and then there are now more extreme events. « Before we came here there were two storms that came at the same time. It really lashed the mountains. D he wind was very strong and landslides are a problem in the mountains. And for the first time there was flooding, which is strange for a mountain town, « she said.
The key to facing these changing challenges will be money. And as a result of COP26, more of it will be focused on helping indigenous communities deal with climate change.
The UK, Norway, Germany, the US and the Netherlands, working with 17 donors, pledged 1.7 billion last week $ 46 million annually.
In addition, more than 100 countries have signed pledges to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 to combat climate change and limit global temperature rise.
Despite the Signatory states, including some of the greatest forest rangers in the world including Brazil, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, have failed most of the countries of Southeast Asia, although forests clearly play a role in absorbing nearly a third of all forests’ carbon emissions / p> Helping the right people get access to this money is high on the duo’s agenda. They know that funding on paper does not necessarily mean funds that are available locally.
« Sometimes the requirements are so difficult and indigenous peoples cannot meet all reporting requirements that meet financial requirements, that is a great challenge », Jing said, distributing the money fairly and directly to indigenous peoples.
« In a way, it’s physically demanding and also mentally demanding. They know there is an urgency and when you see the negotiating rooms it’s like they don’t sense it. They do not know that this problem is very urgent. It’s literally a matter of life and death, « she said.
When it comes to teaming as a family unit, both have found ways to balance their efforts and advocacy. It was a coincidence, they say, that both of them are often in the same rooms and fight the same causes.
« I think it helps that we speak the same language, know the processes and know each other in terms of knowledge and sensitivity can enrich politics because we know these different spaces. So we reinforce each other. We complement each other at this stage, ”said Jing.
Vicky jokes that the strength, enthusiasm and knowledge of young people could mean that she will soon be able to retire. But Jing is not so sure. Regardless of this, their future mission is as clear as the rivers that still flow through their country.
« Our places are very beautiful, we have high mountains, we have dense forests and of course rivers that are clean until now » said Vicky.
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