Annual Report 2019 Acknowledgements

For nearly 30 years, we have worked with forest peoples in Africa, Asia, and South and Central America in their struggles for land rights and control over their traditional territories. This year they have made significant progress in gaining recognition of their ownership of their customary lands. We have helped to create spaces for their voices to be heard across complex political and social global landscapes. This report sets out the ongoing challenges of this work, as well as the achievements, and we would like to acknowledge and thank all those who have made our work in 2019 possible.

Forest Peoples Programme acknowledges and Service contracts and other funding: expresses our grateful thanks to: Food and Organization of the United Arcus Foundation Nations CHK Foundation Forest Stewardship Council The Christensen Fund High Carbon Stock Approach Steering Group Climate and Land Use Alliance The International Land [and Forest] Tenure Facility, The Embassy of France in the and through the Amerindian Peoples Association of Northern Ireland Guyana (APA) Evan Cornish Foundation Natural Justice European Commission Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil Ford Foundation Wildlife Conservation Society Forest Stewardship Council World Wildlife Fund Good Energies Foundation Institute for Global Environmental Strategies Thanks also to our individual donors. International Institute for Environment and Development International Labour Office The International Land [and Forest] Tenure Facility, through the Amerindian Peoples Association of Guyana (APA) International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs Ministry of the Environment, Finland Nia Tero Foundation Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative Rainforest Alliance Rainforest Fund Rainforest Foundation US Sage Foundation Sall Family Foundation Samdhana Institute Samworth Foundation Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity Size of Herefordshire Size of Wales Stockholm Environmental Institute Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) through SwedBio at Stockholm Resilience Centre Timby Productions Inc Torres Strait Regional Authority United Nations Environment Programme, World Conservation Monitoring Centre Waterloo Foundation

Kichwa farm in San Martin, Peru. Credit: Vicki Brown/FPP Forest Peoples Programme Peoples Forest

2 Annual Report 2019 Contents

About us 4 Director’s message 5 Our global reach at a glance 6 Land, forests and territories 8 Global finance and trade 10 Law and policy 12 Cultural identity and knowledge 14 Publications 16 Guiding principles 17 Financial summary 18 Board of trustees and staff 19

The Bagyeli community at Nkollo is one of several communities who are challenging a large proposed oil palm plantation through the Cameroon courts. Credit: Madeleine Ngeunga Forest Peoples Programme

Annual Report 2019 3 About us

We are a human rights organisation supporting forest peoples around the world to secure their rights, control their lands, and decide their own futures. We work with them to protect and restore the well-being of their societies and lands. Nearly all forests around the world are inhabited Yet forests are commonly treated as empty lands controlled by the state and available for development (logging, dams, mines, oil wells, gas pipelines), agribusiness (plantations, pasture), or ‘protected’ for conservation. The peoples who live in these forests have customary rights and have developed ways of life and traditional knowledge that are attuned to their environments, but these encroachments often force peoples out of their forest homes. Our Vision

We support forest peoples and indigenous organisations to promote an alternative vision of how forests should be managed, based on respect for the rights, knowledge, cultures and identities of the peoples who know them best. This work includes advocacy, practical projects and capacity building, working alongside more than 60 partner organisations. We do this so that forests can be owned and controlled by the people within them, ensuring sustainable livelihoods, equity and well-being for future generations and for the protection of the forests and nature. Strategic Approaches Self-determination Supporting and advancing the exercise of self-determination by indigenous and forest peoples by strengthening territorial governance, mobilisation and representation, and the creation and use of political spaces where indigenous and forest peoples’ voices can be heard. Access to Justice Ensuring access to justice by developing and using accountability and redress mechanisms – in both public and private institutions – that are directly accessible to indigenous and forest peoples and their communities. Legal and Policy Reform Partnered advocacy towards legal and policy reform and the development of best practice and standards consistent with indigenous and forest peoples’ rights in international law. Building Solidarity Networking, sharing information and building solidarity for coordinated action among a wide range of actors. Forest Peoples Programme Peoples Forest

4 Annual Report 2019 Director’s message

Uncertain times for forest peoples

With the global spread of COVID-19, indigenous peoples and local communities face new challenges. While we don’t yet know the full impacts, we do know that they face difficulties beyond those experienced by other populations in national societies.

We are concerned about forest-dependent communities living far from urban settings, often with rudimentary healthcare provision, where the impacts of the coronavirus could be severe. At the same time, we see governments using the pandemic as a cover for the deregulation of damaging industries, intensification of resource extraction and removal of environmental regulations. This offers impunity to illegal and unscrupulous actors, and can allow for the expansion of harmful businesses, increased deforestation and the repression of forest peoples.

We will be working closely with these communities and our partners, responding to their needs and continuing to hold these actors to account in the months ahead.

Looking back

This Annual Report highlights important advances for forest peoples at the local and global levels. In Peru, for example, Shipibo organisations in Ucayali, Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) and local legal partners completed major efforts to challenge harmful government plans to open up 3.5 million hectares of indigenous territories and forests to agribusiness development. Actions included local legal actions and international pressure including from the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Globally, FPP continues to make space for the voices of those with whom we work. Indigenous and community leaders, FPP and international allies launched the Zero Tolerance Initiative, pushing for an end to attacks on environmental and human rights defenders in supply chains.

With our local partners, we helped influence several other major government and certification initiatives. These included pushing for stronger regulations for UK and EU companies in deforestation-risk supply chains, and closing loopholes that allow shadow companies in the palm oil sector to escape the scrutiny of certification schemes.

Indigenous peoples and local communities, closely supported by FPP, have ensured that their perspectives, wisdom and solutions on how to address the current global humanitarian, ecological and climate crises are prominent in the ongoing discussions around post-2020 biodiversity agreements at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. And we have continued to support forest peoples from Costa Rica to Cameroon, from Kenya to , to take legal action and file complaints when their rights have been abused and their lands threatened.

James Whitehead Director, Forest Peoples Programme Forest Peoples Programme

“One day we can achieve what we are striving for as communities: truth, justice and reparation... To do this alone is difficult, but with the help of other countries our voices can be heard, and people can know the truth of what is happening to us.” Member of displaced community, Antioquia, Colombia

Annual Report 2019 5 Our global reach at a glance

London, UK Utrecht, Netherlands Contributed to UK’s Global Ensured that indigenous Resource Initiative on issues were tabled ethical supply chains and at the Amsterdam corporate due diligence Declaration Partnership, on human rights and the European Sustainable environment Palm Oil dialogue and Accountability Framework Initiative, and enabled Montreal, Canada partners to challenge Supported indigenous Dutch officials and caucus at the Convention development bank FMO Bogota, Colombia on Biological Diversity to about harmful finance for influence the post-2020 agri-commodities Shadow report submitted biodiversity framework to UN-CERD by six local partners and the National Paris, France Indigenous Territorial Commission Positively influenced messaging about the contribution of Bogota, Colombia Salitre, Costa Rica indigenous peoples to Trained community Provided legal assistance biodiversity conservation organisations and and global media support at the Intergovernmental companies in the RSPO to the BriBri people after Platform on Biodiversity FPIC standard, jointly the assassination of their and Ecosystem Services with RSPO Secretariat leader

and human rights NGO - Guna Yala, Panama Liberia Indepaz Strengthened food Increased women’s security of the Guna participation in land Amazonas, Colombia Usdub community against matters and contributed Supported community the impacts of climate to the Land Rights Act mapping of the territory change regulations of the Nipodimaki people

Suriname Parabara Village, Two draft laws submitted Guyana to government: a Parabara Village was Collective Rights Act for approved for land title by Indigenous and Tribal San Martin, Peru Soledad, Peru Cabinet and should be Peoples in Suriname 3D mapping of Kichwa Brought together 23 demarcated and receiving and a proposal for an territory generated vital community leaders from title documents in 2021 amendment of the cultural and historic Colombia and Peru to constitution information share challenges and strategies for protection and stewardship of their Yarinacocha, Peru territories Workshop with indigenous communities and Lima, Peru organisations from Peru Multi-stakeholder and Colombia, followed dialogue on community by a public forum on consultations and the deforestation and threats right to FPIC at the to human right defenders International Association for the Study of the Commons Forest Peoples Programme Peoples Forest

6 Annual Report 2019 Our global reach at a glance

Oslo, Norway Supported Colombian human rights defenders to discuss the Peace Process with the Norwegian Government, and give evidence on land conflicts, violence and intimidation against communities in supply chains

Bonn, Supported indigenous peoples & community leaders to put forward a ‘Gold Standard’ for Sundarbans, Bangladesh protecting human rights in conservation, restoration Supported traditional and sustainable resource users of the development at the Global Sundarbans to promote Uganda Landscapes Forum their traditional Supported the knowledge and Subic Bay, Bata’an development of the Kisoro sustainable management Province, Philippines Geneva, Switzerland Memorandum and its of forest resources Convened representatives Launch of the Zero inclusion in policy reform from across SE Asia for the Tolerance Initiative against within the government 9th annual Human Rights & violence and killings in Business- Conference supply chains at the UN Kenya Business and Human Rights Forum Supported the Elgon Ogiek and Sengwer Northern highlands, court cases, and Sengwer Thailand women in a cultural and Supported indigenous bioconservation project in peoples in the northern Embobut Forest highlands to monitor land laws and policies Kasaï Central, and promote traditional Democratic Republic of practices and customs in the Congo their customary lands Supported partners and indigenous communities Indonesia Bangkok, Thailand to submit requests The Dayak Bahau Long Advocacy for forest for community forests Isun community halted peoples’ rights at through the request for logging and blocked Roundtable on Local Community Forest concessions on their land; Sustainable Palm Oil Concessions the Toba Batak of Ompu and High Carbon Stocks Cameroon Ronggur filed a complaint Approach Began first ever legal under ILO Convention 111 proceedings on behalf Republic of Congo of Bagyeli communities CoNGOs and ENRTP Forest Peoples Programme against a proposed oil projects strongly palm plantation; launched influenced legal reform the “Keta” project to processes and contributed support indigenous to the roadmap on natural resource community forestry management and human rights

Annual Report 2019 7 Land, forests andterritories

8 Forest Peoples Programme organisations andcommunities from around theworld. developed over anumberofyears with indigenous Navigator toolkit. This ground-breaking framework was territories andareas, includingthrough theIndigenous conditions anddevelopment indicators intheir proactivelyPartners monitored thehuman rights Annual Report 2019 Annual Report N to maptheancestral capacity community forests ofthe provided improved inColombia also supported to engage withthelocalgovernment. training Mapping and was used, inCameroon for example, by communities thelandsituations described ofindigenouspeoples clearly inCameroon,Mapping Kenya ofCongo andRepublic lands, on humanrightsviolations. andto track andreport map theirlandsandmonitor threats to theirterritoriesand communities andindigenouspeoplesto useothertools to Colombia, andEastAfrica we Guyana, Indonesia supported illegal logging, oilpalmandgoldminingontheirlands. In began gatheringdata to feed into legalprocesses to stop MAPEO appShipibo, Wampis andKichwa peoplesinPeru Democracy, isoneexample ofsuchtechnologies. Using the mapping tool, Digital developed by ourpartner The ‘MAPEO’ community-based monitoring and international levels. theirrightsat thenational,spaces toregional assert and and safeguard theirterritories, and create thepolitical and indigenouscommunities withtools to manage to secureefforts isequippingpartners rightsinpractice land rightscutsacross amajorfocus allourwork, of our the ecosystems onwhichtheydepend. While securing livelihoods offorest andprosperity communities, and Recognising landrights isvitalfor thesecurity, Brown/FPP Credit: Vicki Wampis community forest patrol coordinators usingthenew MAPEO appto monitor threats inPeru. andmaptheirterritory i podi mak i people, work that willcontinue. the ‘Brazzaville Map’ Road forestry. oncommunity influenced legalreform processes andhelpedelaborate project. held undertheEU-fundedENRTP We strongly andmeetings intheCoNGOs consortium participation international NGOsacross Central Africa through We to helped buildstrong collaboration between and supported. managing theirown territoriesandlandsacknowledged protected, andfor indigenouspeoplesto have theirrole in peoples andlocalcommunities to berespected and the approach for to conservation, therightsofindigenous andelsewhere.India of The letter callsfor are-thinking allegations ofabusesin inCameroon, projects Nepal,WWF thorough, fairandtransparent investigations into serious world sent anOpenLetter to International, callingforWWF agencies. organisations FPPandsignatory from around the on humanrightsfor managersandconservation park ofCongo), (Republic reserve Dja andtraining Messok andinformedprior consent process for theproposed agenciesincludedassessment ofthefree,conservation Landscapes Forum inJune. engagement Our with resource management, whichwas released at theGlobal humanrightsinlandscapeapproachesaffirming to We aproposed alsohelpeddraft ‘Gold Standard’ for human rightsisessential for successful conservation. – arights-based approach, stressing that protection of a widelyshared think-piece Transforming conservation central plankofconservation agendascontinued with for long-term humanrightsOur efforts to madea be addressing healthneedsinSuriname. community citizenship inCameroon, andreviving traditional foods and needs, andaccessing including registering births to pilotprojects address 2019 we identified In supported

“The land is not for who works it. The land is for who cares for it ... Why do we keep separating people and the land? We have seen that that formula has failed.” Community member, Guarani people, Argentina national indigenous organisation

Country focus

Colombia The Emberá Chami people of the Cañamomo Lomaprieta Indigenous Reserve in Caldas secured a preliminary delimitation of their collective territory by the National Lands Agency, using community mapping data collected with FPP’s support.

Peru 3D mapping of Kichwa territory in the Cordillera Escalera Protected Area generated vital cultural and historic information about the significance of this land. This will serve as a key tool to strengthen Kichwa convictions and knowledge, and to educate a wider public as part of a broader advocacy Baka community members in Cameroon. Credit: Adrienne Surprenant/FPP strategy.

Guyana request for an average 111,760 ha of communities. IMPECT and community Parabara Village was approved for CFCL divided between 4 indigenous leaders took part in consultations land title by Cabinet and should clans: Micha, Bondo, Kombe, and on the management of Ob Luang be demarcated and receiving title Tongonuena. National Park and Doi Inthanon documents in 2021. This is one of the National Park. Efforts continued three largest titles in Guyana and a Cameroon to strengthen the Highland significant percentage of Wapichan Cameroon’s national platform for Environmental Management territory. The Wapichan may also indigenous forest peoples, Gbabandi, Network and Watershed Network to benefit from the Ministry of Natural launched the Keta project (Baka support community forest resource Resources’ promised enforcement of a for ‘Dream’). The project aims to management, coordinate with 2009 order banning mining in major strengthen indigenous participation in relevant agencies and push for policies rivers and their tributaries below the natural resource management at local and laws on forest, land and water 4th parallel and its expansion to include and national levels, and to enhance resources. the lands around their headwaters. the respect of human rights. It will also provide capacity building, training Indonesia Democratic Republic of Congo and support for a newly formed The Long Isun community once again We supported 21 indigenous indigenous women’s network. faced down logging on their land, communities in Tshiefu, in the territory which PT Kemakmuran Berkah Timbers of Dimbelenge, in the province of Thailand tried to impose by intimidatory Kasaï Central to secure their customary Our partner IMPECT held 16 tactics in order to continue operating forests through the request for Local workshops about monitoring laws under the Forest Stewardship Council Community Forest Concessions and policies on forest and land umbrella. (CFCL). The communities submitted a management affecting indigenous Forest Peoples Programme

“Now I feel worried, because five years have passed. Because of corruption, I think, we are not titled fast; they keep messing us around. But we as a community continue to fight to reclaim our lands, for our children.” Member of Santa Clara de Uchunya, Peru

Annual Report 2019 9 Global financeandtrade 10 Forest Peoples Programme Annual Report 2019 Annual Report RSPO meeting in November, 50othercommunities remains released asystemic at problem.areport an In of communities’ rightsby Wilmar anditssuppliers has returned landsto onecommunity. But violation trader inpalmoil, began to show results as Wilmar Sumatra against Wilmar International, theworld’s largest peopleof Palm by the Minangkabau oil:Efforts West communities inColombia, andIndonesia. Liberia consent andcontracted us to train palmoilcompanies and adopted our newtraining tools onfree, andinformed prior in theRSPOcomplaints system. More positively, RSPO Sur’s rogue plantation, thereby flaws exposing serious and palmoilmillerOLPESA,for buyingpalmoilfrom Ocho complaints againstconsumer goodscompany Alicorp, Santa Clara deUchunya andalliesbrought community human rightsdefenders Peru, andwhistle-blowers.In the procedures. We alsotracked closelyRSPO’s on newpolicy communities andfor more robust andcredible auditing we pressed for increased company accountability to At theRoundtableonSustainablePalm (RSPO), Oil mechanisms. land tenure protection, genderelements andgrievance expressed,clearly strong requirements onhumanrights, create ethicalsupplychains)ensured that itcontains guidefor toInitiative (apractical companies seeking regulation. inputsto Our theAccountability Framework trade andbusiness certification, dealing withcommodity defenders to advocate for theirrightsat meetings forestchains by peoplesandenvironmental supporting ofglobalsupply rights thesustainability inensuring We continued ourfocus role onthecritical ofhuman companyBrown/FPP practices. Credit: Vicki against take over by oilpalmcompanies andto challengeandreform local communities inLatin America, Asia andAfrica to defend theirlands palmfruitsinColombia.Oil FPPworks withindigenouspeoplesand Geneva. Forumchains at theUN BusinessandHumanRights in Tolerance insupply Initiative againstviolence andkillings defenders, FPPandinternational alliessetintrain theZero out againstinjustice, indigenousleaders, humanrights Highlighting thethreats to communities whospeak Sustainable Development Goals. fund managerstoward investments that advance the by theUNDevelopment Programme to guideprivate negative ofaPrivate impacts Standard Equity proposed due diligence. We alsoraised concerns aboutthepotential processes development andEuropean oncorporate policy we achieved majorinputstopartners EUforest policy Working NGOsand Southern withlike-minded genuinelymeetRSPOstandards.jurisdiction to ensureto that localjurisdictions allproducers ina out how regulations andenforcement canbeapplied West andCentral andEcuador Sabah to figure Kalimantan, communities andindigenouspeoples. We in are working to play arole inadvocating for landsecurity local The Forests to encourage Dialogueisseeking companies policies onConversion andSustainable Intensification. pushing thisintheemerging Forest Stewardship Council which now requires remedy for pastviolations; we are Requirements Carbon Stock undertheHigh Approach through voluntary standards were agreed intheSocial Further commitments to forest protect peoples’ rights companies. raisingand criminalisationafter concerns withthe oftheirlands, andintimidationdocumented take-over “Now the people who used to support the company began to complain about the impact of the company’s presence, and many of them began to support our struggle to rights of the community.” Village Community Leader, Indonesia

Country focus

Netherlands the UK’s Global Resource Initiative indigenous-led renewable energy Advocacy by FPP and our Dutch ally on sustainable supply chains. Part of projects and the explicit participation Both ENDS ensured that indigenous this initiative plans to chart a path for of women in all land-use decisions. issues and human rights were on policies and regulations defining the the agenda, and local partners from due diligence that companies must Peru Indonesia, Paraguay and Liberia carry out to reduce the contribution Santa Clara de Uchunya presented were able to give testimonies, at the of UK trade and business to formal complaints to two European Amsterdam Declaration Partnership deforestation. banks calling on them to use their meeting, the European Sustainable shareholder influence to insist that Palm Oil dialogue and the launch Philippines consumer goods company Alicorp of the Accountability Framework With our partners, we convened remove Ocho Sur from its palm oil Initiative. Our partners also engaged the 9th Southeast Asia Conference supply chain. The Shipibo community directly with Dutch officials and on Human Rights and Business in also requested that both banks adopt the Dutch Development Bank FMO Bata’an Province, bringing together stringent procedures to prevent any to challenge harmful finance for representatives from indigenous further sourcing of commodities agri-commodity production. peoples’ organisations, civil society linked to human rights violations and and national human rights institutions. deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon. United Kingdom The Bata’an Declaration called for With partners in the UK NGO Forest zero tolerance against killing and Coalition we worked to influence violence in supply chains, as well as

“Today in Colombia, the word ‘leader’ means death. Why? Because leaders give a voice to those who can’t speak, and there are people who don’t like this.” Human rights defender and community member, Montes de Maria Forest Peoples Programme

Pastolan elder at the 9th SE Asian Conference on Human Rights and Business. Pastolan and Kanawan communities have acquired official titles over their ancestral lands and are now deciding how best to manage their domains with or without formal agreements with the local management authority. Credit: Kate Newman/FPP

Annual Report 2019 11 Law andpolicy 12 Forest Peoples Programme on theirancestral lands. to the quickly react ‘Block 200’ planned project oildrilling Shipibo andAwajunAshaninka, communities inPeru to on defending landrights. totogether share legalpractitioners strategies andtactics could escape credible death threats madeagainsthim. leader andhumanrightsdefender sothat heandhisfamily Annual Report 2019 Annual Report • • • work include: to justice least accessible. isoften ExamplesoftheSLRC’s incountries where willalsobuildlegalcapacity accessIt isneeded. whererespond urgent quickly legalsupport provide for more legal test casesand flexible support at national andinternational levels. The aimsto SLRC with strategic useofjudicialandnon-judicialmechanisms inaccompanyingbuilds onourexpertise communities andothers, theSLRC practitioners, landrightsexperts Working inalliance withleadingacademics, legal peoples’ rightsanddeliver accountability. experience ofusingthelaw to protect forest CentreResponse basedonour30-year (SLRC) legalteamOur piloted aStrategic Legal cancelling theinitiative. CERD requested thegovernment to consider Discrimination (CERD), following which the UNCommittee onElimination ofRacial request includedanurgentActions to action for commercial andplantations. farming of upto oftropical 3.5millionhectares forest Government’s plansto approve conversion successfully challenged theUcayali Regional FECONAU IDL andournational partner with ourgrassroots indigenouspartner Peruvian Amazon andlegalactions advocacy communities andtheirforests. the In publicpoliciesthreatening harmful overturn to access withaction justice,conjunction to established rightsofindigenouspeoples, in FPP’s ofchange, whichappliesthe theory delivered results through important Our ‘Focus ontheFrontline’ project legal reform andhumanrightsadvocacy. industries, inin-country aswell asparticipate against international finance andspecific mechanisms andcomplaint mechanisms regional andinternational humanrightslaw proceedings andtodomestic court use themto accesssupported justice through and regional meetings. sharing We also through grassrootspartners capacity-building and provided advice and assistance to to uselegaltools effectively partners society We worked withcommunity andcivil

Enabling access to legaladvice andfundingfor Organising DialogueinLondon, aLandRights bringing channellingfundsto aColombianRapidly community Land andEnvironment Credit: Court. TomLomax/FPP Sengwer community membersduringthehearingoftheircaseinKenya’s deforestation andhumanrightsabuses. and supplychains, to ensure that thesedonotinvolve products outduediligence onimported carry sector includingEUandUKinitiativesof work, to make theprivate workOur onlegalreform continued across ourportfolio to theMau Task Force submissions. alongsideourexpert Programme. ElgonOgiek andSengwer peoplegave input County Governments, theEUand theUNDevelopment on theviolation oftheirrights, aswell asdialoguewith cases ElgonOgiekandSengwer court we supported regulations ofthecountry’s Kenya, Act. In newLandRights laws. we Liberia national contributed property In to the international humanrightsstandards to challenge on behalfofcommunities affected by Biopalm, using we beganthefirstever legalproceedings inCameroon governance andhumanrightscompliance. For example, overcome laws discriminatory andimprove forest We to seeking for partners maintained support Country focus

Suriname Costa Rica UK In October, after decades of work After the brutal assassination of We publicised an effective Sengwer by the Association of Indigenous a BriBri indigenous human rights march in Nairobi to present a petition Village Leaders, and other tribal defender we helped the BriBri fill their to President Kenyatta calling for peoples’ organisations, two draft laws leadership vacuum and negotiate recognition of Sengwer rights, and were submitted to the Minister of with the government to remove parallel action in London at the Regional Development: a proposal illegal non-indigenous occupants Kenyan High Commission. for a Collective Rights Act for from their territory. We prepared Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in partners to meet with the Inter- Suriname (including land rights), American Commission on Human and a proposal for an amendment of Rights delegation visiting Costa the constitution. We are continuing Rica to assess the government’s to support communities’ work on implementation of Precautionary capacity building, demarcation of Measures after the assassination. customary territories, collection of information on traditional occupation and use, drafting of concept-laws “It’s true that we are young compared to our great and awareness-building about grandparents, but we still have our culture, we still have the collective rights of indigenous our background, we are not happy outside the forests. peoples. By the time we were young we lived by the forest and our Uganda parents passed on the knowledge. The huts our fathers We supported a coalition of five used to have were warm. The houses we have [now] are indigenous peoples to press for the inclusion of the Kisoro Memorandum cold. We still have the knowledge in our head.” to be included in policy reform within Batwa woman (born outside the forest), Uganda the government.

Indonesia The Toba Batak of North Sumatra filed a complaint that the government’s handover of their customary lands and resin forests to a huge pulp and paper company violates Indonesia’s obligations under International Labour Organisation Convention 111.

Colombia Six indigenous and civil society organisations and the National Indigenous Territorial Commission submitted a shadow report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. We supported partners’ advocacy targeting flawed national forest policy proposals.

Signboard on the customary lands of the Toba Batak indigenous people which reads: ‘State Forest Area - Work Area of Industrial Timber Plantation Permit of PT Toba Pulp Lestari Tbk Collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and Provincial Forestry Office of North Sumatra. Prohibited: clearing, burning, buying or selling land and other Forest Peoples Programme illegal activities in forest area.’ Credit: Marcus Colchester/FPP

“We are guardians of the lands and forests, and defenders of human rights and the environment, yet we suffer from intimidation, violence and imprisonment. Our basic rights to freedom of expression, association and free speech are attacked, limited and suppressed.” Joint statement by a collective of indigenous leaders from West Papua

Annual Report 2019 13 Cultural identity andknowledge Cultural identity 14 Forest Peoples Programme Annual Report 2019 Annual Report wildlife monitoring marine (Madagascar), suchasturtle afforestation ofriver banks(Bangladesh),illegalfishing Antigua, Panama), plasticpollution(Tuvalu, Antigua), areas. This included work onmangroves (Madagascar, researchcommunity andcoastal inmarine andaction Tuvalu, Madagascar, Antigua supporting andBarbuda, collaborated withindigenouscommunities andNGOsfrom resource governance 2019,we andmanagement. In also andindigenous education,learning aswell ascustomary knowledge, cultural resilience, inter-generational Suriname, Panama, Bangladeshand Thailand ontraditional organisations NGOsin andlocal indigenous partner We for continued ourlong-standingsupport Tree planting inMaeYa-MaePon community, Thailand. Credit: IMPECT our culture islost?” futuredo we butwhat (insomeareas); have if supported and of liferecognised “We ingettingourrightsto someprogress land, making resources are way and Community member, village, Daeng Thailand Din San peoples to helpfindthesolution.’ at rate analarming –itistimeto lookto indigenous oftheCBDsaid Secretary ‘Nature isdecreasing worldwide and sustainableuse. herclosingspeech,theExecutive In andIPLCslocal knowledge to biodiversity conservation contributions ofindigenousand about theimportant communicating keymessagesfrom theGlobalAssessment was launched. Services Together we succeeded in the Platform onBiodiversity andEcosystem where Services, participated at the7 participated andLocal Knowledgeon Indigenous network, we fromWith theCentres partners local ofDistinction Global Assessment on Biodiversity andEcosystem onBiodiversity Global Assessment published by theCBD. Outlook of theGlobalBiodiversity edition peer review alongsidethefifth second editionwhichwas openedfor We gathered information for thedraft and climate changecommitments. biodiversity, sustainabledevelopment of evidence ofIPLCs’ contributions to publication hasbecome akeysource The Local Biodiversity Outlook biodiversity. cultural diversity) rather thanjuston nature andculture (orbiological and of biodiversity loss, andafocus on address drivers andunderlying direct mechanism, more effective ways to approaches, arobust compliance for theadoptionofrights-based post-2020 framework. They alsocalled to beplaced at thecentre ofthe made strong for interventions IPLCs in thesekeyglobaldialogues, who to IPLCprovided support organisations Framework leadingupto 2050. We the Post-2020 GlobalBiodiversity CBD provisions onIPLCs, aswell as sustainable useandother customary and on traditional knowledge discussed theCBD’s future work communities (IPLCs). These meetings for indigenouspeoplesandlocal meetings whichwere important Diversity (CBD) of heldaseries The Convention onBiological and invasive fishspecies(Panama). nesting sites (Madagascar, Panama) th Plenary oftheIntergovernmental Plenary

Country focus

Panama Thailand secure land rights. On International The Guna Usdub community worked Through inter-generational learning Indigenous Peoples’ Day, they to strengthen their food security activities, 14 indigenous children and organised a culinary festival, to against the impacts of climate change, youth gained more understanding of celebrate their diverse and healthy including new systems of food the Karen’s knowledge and practices traditional foods. production, identifying seeds most on management of natural resources. resistant to climate change and saving Sixty-two communities implemented Peru of native seeds. They continued to environmental management plans The Wampis community of Shinguito monitor and restore mangrove sites and developed livelihood and climate successfully piloted a community-led and monitor invasive fish species. adaptation strategies. These included programme providing fresh, healthy growing perennial plants to reduce school meals for children, to replace Bangladesh chemical use and monoculture, the national breakfast scheme known The cooperatives of traditional developing environmentally-friendly as Qali Warma. These meals use resource users of the Sundarbans, alternative careers (such as women’s traditional ingredients sourced from established with our support during groups on natural dyeing and the territory, thereby strengthening the past decade, continue to share and weaving) and waste management in local livelihoods and creating no promote their traditional knowledge the communities and their forests, waste. and keep records of their practices. The sacred forest, and drinking water members maintain their work in task sources. Kenya forces on sustainable management We supported the Sengwer Women’s of forest resources, in which women Suriname Singing Group in a project on Cultural also effectively participate. At their Our partner organisation VIDS and Biological Conservation in Annual General Meetings, members promoted traditional healthy lifestyles, Embobut Forest. discussed participatory monitoring of including awareness raising on the biodiversity and climate change and importance of traditional foods for their roles as rangers in managing the culture and wellbeing of the forest resources and securing indigenous communities, and the sustainable livelihoods. linkages between food security and

“The Wampis Breakfast is much better than Qali Warma, because local people benefit from the fact that everything is bought here. We are also avoiding health problems: the students, when they consume local food, do not get sick. We are also avoiding pollution, because the cassava peel, pineapple peel, papaya peel and banana peel don’t produce contamination. But cans and plastics, how many years will they take to break down? A long, long time.” Wampis community member, Peru

Local partners the changing needs of others and our readiness to be flexible and responsive. We value long-term commitment We partner with indigenous peoples and local and to indigenous communities – the struggles they face Afro-descendant community organisations to support take decades to address, and we believe that trust and their struggles for the recognition of their rights. Our solidarity are strengthened with time. relationships with communities, organisations and movements are linked to our principle objective of Global allies enhancing self-determination, understanding that self-determination occurs across many levels and in many We work to connect our local organisations and spaces. partners with global allies, knowing that the power Forest Peoples Programme of our movement is in our networks. We partner with We are not prescriptive about the shape of our working international organisations including IWGIA, Land Rights relationships, but take a context-specific approach, Now, Rights and Resources Initiative, the International respecting that each community is different, and Land Coalition, Global Landscapes Forum, the UN every community will evolve over time. The voices and Convention on Biological Diversity, UK NGO Coalition on preferences of the communities with which we work Forests and many others. take precedence over our own. Our relationships reflect

Annual Report 2019 15 Publications

Enough! Pledging zero tolerance to resources, through two case studies, attacks against environmental and covering four protected areas in South human rights defenders (Report and East Cameroon: the Ngoyla Wildlife and briefing) (En/Sp/Fr) Reserve, and the Lobeke, Boumba Bek November 2019 and Nki National Parks. A critical assessment of the

various initiatives by states, In and Around Cameroon’s Protected Areas: A rights-based analysis of access and resource use agreements intergovernmental bodies, the private between Indigenous Peoples and the State sector and development finance institutions that seek to protect environmental and human rights Briefing: There’s a long, long way to defenders. go: the story of FPIC in Cameroon’s Ngoyla Wildlife Reserve (En) Free Prior and Informed Consent August 2019 Protocols as Instruments of WWF, the World Bank and the Autonomy (En/Sp) Government of Cameroon have hailed the Ngoyla Wildlife Reserve November 2019 in Cameroon as a success for Case studies from Peru, Brazil and conservation. Our work with the Colombia demonstrate the potential communities revealed that the contribution of FPIC protocols Government and WWF did not follow to tackling critical shortcomings a proper process of free, prior and informed consent for the in existing law, as well as State creation of the reserve and that ‘benefits’ for communities and corporate practice, around have been inadequate or ineffective. consultation and consent. Challenges and opportunities Our Land, Our Life: Report on in the adoption of community Indigenous Land Tenure in Guyana forestry in Republic of Congo (En) (En/Fr) October 2019 May 2019 A report by the Amerindian Without a land tenure system Peoples Association on the land establishing clear collective tenure situation of 20 indigenous ownership rights, community forestry communities in the Cuyuni-Mazaruni appears to be the most efficient Region of Guyana. The report informs option to secure customary land ongoing efforts to reform existing tenure in Republic of Congo. and draft national policies and laws on land and resource tenure in line with Guyana’s The situation of indigenous forest international human rights commitments and obligations. peoples in Cameroon – Factsheet (En/Fr) Briefing: Securing customary rights March 2019 is key to sustainable community Produced by the Gbabandi forestry (En/Fr) Platform, Okani and FPP as part of September 2019 the Indigenous Navigator project, The laws in the Republic of Congo this factsheet describes the situation and the Central African Republic of indigenous forest peoples in provide limited protection to Cameroon, including Cameroon’s indigenous peoples and local legal and policy framework, key communities regarding access to land challenges for forest peoples and policy recommendations. and forest resources. However, the development of community forests Cameroon FPIC Training Materials: can help secure customary tenure and improve livelihoods ‘Communities in Control’ (En/Fr) for indigenous peoples and local communities. March 2019 This suite of training materials has In and Around Cameroon’s Protected Areas: A rights- been developed for communities in based analysis of access and resource use agreements Cameroon to help increase awareness between Indigenous Peoples and the State (En/Fr) of the key principles surrounding free, September 2019 prior and informed consent (FPIC) and This report analyses the effectiveness in practice of MoUs in to improve the implementation of improving indigenous communities’ access to their lands and Forest Peoples Programme Peoples Forest these principles in practice.

16 Annual Report 2019 Guiding principles

Free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) Land rights A community has the right to give or withhold its If forest peoples are to survive and flourish, they need consent to proposed projects that may affect the lands it secure rights to the lands, territories and natural resources customarily owns, occupies or otherwise uses. We have that they have always depended on. Under international worked to advance FPIC for many years, and it is now law, governments have an obligation to respect and a key principle in international law and jurisprudence protect indigenous peoples’ land rights. For forest peoples related to indigenous peoples. FPIC implies informed, themselves, secure rights to their lands and territories are non-coercive negotiations between investors, companies not just a matter of law, they are the ground of their being or governments and indigenous peoples prior to the and the source of their identity. Long-term stewardship development and establishment of oil palm estates, of lands and forests requires that communities have clear timber plantations or other enterprises on their customary rights and the authority to own, use, manage and control lands. It means that those who wish to use the customary these areas. Along with our partners, Forest Peoples lands belonging to indigenous communities must enter Programme puts land security at the heart of our work. negotiations with them. The communities have the right We help forest peoples clarify their land rights, map the to decide whether they will agree to the project or not way they own and use lands and forests, file claims for once they have a full and accurate understanding of the government recognition of these areas and develop implications of the project for them and their customary long-term community plans so they can act as effective land. custodians of natural resources that their livelihoods depend on. Self-determination This is a fundamental right and means that indigenous Gender peoples can decide their political status and freely pursue Gender equality is an incredibly important part of all of the their economic, social and cultural development. They work we do to support forest peoples in their fight for land have the right to autonomy or self-government and justice. Our approach recognises the diverse gender and can choose and drive their own means of subsistence customary norms across the communities we work with, or livelihoods. The right to self-determination is made whilst harnessing women’s activism and knowledge to explicit in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights elevate community land struggles. Our Gender Framework of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in Articles 3 and 4. Our and Policy is embedded across all our programmes and self-determination work focuses on getting the rights aims to foster a safe and participatory environment for and interests of forest peoples recognised in policies women and men to discuss and decide (separately or and programmes; supporting forest peoples to build together) the rules in their own community, on the basis their capacity to claim and exercise their human rights; of a broad human rights framework. This community-led countering top-down policies and projects that affect forest approach ensures that it is culturally-appropriate and peoples; promoting community-based, sustainable forest owned by the communities and peoples we work with. management; coordinating NGO actions on forests in line Working with indigenous women’s organisations to ensure with forest peoples’ visions; and linking up indigenous and women’s rights are protected in land rights struggles, we forest peoples’ movements regionally and internationally. support women’s groups and highlight gender in business and human rights work. We also facilitate the role of women in legal reform at all levels.

“NGOs that work with Indigenous women [must] be guided by principles of mutual respect and promote the full participation of Indigenous women in action and in articulating issues regarding Indigenous women and Indigenous peoples.” Beijing Declaration of Indigenous Women (1995), Para.46

Dinámicas del despojo: of highly lucrative extractive activities. Even today, indigenous Factores detrás de la violencia Peruvians endure the plundering and destruction of their Forest Peoples Programme y deforestación en la Amazonía territories. Neo-extractivism and its logic continue to besiege peruana them, while the State’s response remains non-committal. January 2019 Although they are the ancestral owners of the Peruvian Amazon, for centuries indigenous peoples have been dispossessed, displaced and even exterminated to guarantee the advance

Annual Report 2019 17 Financial summary 18 Forest Peoples Programme Annual Report 2019 Annual Report financialstatementsOur are available through ourwebsite www.forestpeoples.org grants cover thefullcost ofimplementation andourcharging basisisfairandtransparent. coronavirus ofchangesinprogramming. andthefinancialimpacts thistime, ensure During we that willlookto further at theinception stage. onhow togetherto FPPwillalsobelooking, with itspartners, respond mosteffectively to the ifcombined grant withafive-year years, from government particularly theGerman at whichwe have beensuccessful applicationin 2021.Our isunderconsideration andifsecured willprovide for considerable thefollowing certainty five As we lookforward, government thebiggestarea iswhethertheNorwegian offinancialrisk fundingwillberenewed that UKgovernment fundinghasceased following grant. theendofaDfID funding asashare andmostotherareas offundinghave alsoincreased inabsolute terms –themainexception being spent onadministration, overheads andfundraising. The newgrant hasincreased from European Norway government and grants from theFord Foundation. The expenditure ratios have similarto remained 2018withonly9%being very Latin andAsia America hasincreased; funding by theincrease Norwegian inLatin hasbeendriven America inparticular With thecompletion ofthegrant intheCongo Basin,expenditure inAfrica hasreduced noticeably whileexpenditure in only grow. years that we cancontinue to operate effectively atimewhere during theneedfor FPP’s will andintervention support coronavirus. islikelythat we to willneedthesereserves provide It assurance to ourdonorsandauditors over few thenext much better place compared to previous years, dueto whichisvitalaswe the gothrough atimeofhugeuncertainty higher dueto goodfundraising andthegenerosity ofdonors. This are meansthat reserves ourunrestricted ina expenditure hasbeenlower, dueto better allocation ofcosts to grants, restricted income andunrestricted hasbeen underanewlargewith theusualrampgrant upofactivities from Development theNorwegian Agency. Unrestricted FPP spent slightly lessin2019thantheprevious year mostlydueto theebbandflow grants, ofrestricted inparticular FPP sources offunding2019­ Income receivedIncome (£) 1,000,000 1,200,000 1,400,000 1,800,000 1,600,000 200,000 400,000 600,000 800,000 — Grants from other NGOs Governments Aid – £4,400,000 European Commission European foundations Trusts and Donations FPP expenditure 2019­ Fundraising 1% Administration andoverheads Project operational costs Partner work inthefield costs project Direct Sundry income Sundry – £4,190,000 27% 55% 8% 9% Board of trustees and staff

Board of Trustees Adrian Marshall Interim Project Manager Kate Geary Co-Chair Clare McVeigh Policy Advisor Michel Pimbert Co-Chair Lan Mei Legal Officer Séamus P Finn Treasurer Chantelle Murtagh Project Manager Sarah Morrison Head of Audit Committee Kate Newman Logistics and Administration Officer Marie Josée Artist Stephen Nounah Lawyer, Cameroon Cathal Doyle Macnight Nsioh Project Officer, Cameroon Johan Frijns Julia Overton Logistics and Administration Manager and Publications Officer Silas Siakor Anouska Perram Lawyer Barney Tallack Agata Pilarz Project Manager, Central Africa Brian Rault Project Finance Officer Staff Sarah Roberts Institutional Finance Manager and James Whitehead Director Charity Secretary Fiona Cottrell Finance Lead María del Rosario Louise Henson Managing Director Arango Zambrano Project Officer, Colombia Helen Tugendhat Operations Lead, Policy Advisor Tom Rowley Community-based Mapping and Monitoring Officer Nelsith Sangama Programme Assistant Peru Oda Forberg Almas Project Officer Miluska Elguera Patrick Anderson Policy Advisor, Indonesia Solar Project Officer, Peru Viola Belohrad Community-based Mapping and Hannah Storey Project Officer Monitoring Officer Bryony Timms Head of Programme Engagement Gordon Bennett Senior Counsel Jak Wagnon Communications Officer Claire Bracegirdle Communications Officer Clare Whitmore Database and Technical Officer Vicki Brown Communications and Media Officer Peter Willis Finance Manager Joji Cariño Senior Policy Advisor Tom Younger Project Officer, Peru Catherine Clarke Country Lead, Cameroon Marcus Colchester Senior Policy Advisor Tom Dixon Communications and Media Associates Manager Sue Donaldson Finance Officer In 2019 we further developed our group of Associates who act as advisors to our Board and Staff. Associates are Conrad Feather Policy Advisor experts in their field, and are invited, known and trusted Gavin Fielding Project Officer, Latin America allies to our work. Maurizio Farhan Jérémie Gilbert Ferrari Senior Policy Advisor Norman Jiwan Tom Griffiths Coordinator, Responsible Finance Helen Newing Programme (RFP) Messe Venant Charlie Hammans Project Officer Vanessa Jiménez Senior Attorney Volunteers Caroline de Jong Co-coordinator, Environmental Governance Programme (EGP) Gemma Love Justin Kenrick Senior Policy Advisor Emily Ray Chris Kidd Co-coordinator, Environmental Governance Programme (EGP) Poppy Kohner Project Officer Lassana Kone Lawyer Tom Lomax Lawyer, Coordinator, Legal and Human Rights Programme (LHRP) Catherine Long Policy Advisor

Angus MacInnes Project Officer Forest Peoples Programme Fergus MacKay Senior Counsel Frances Maclean Finance Officer

Sunset over Wampis village of Soledad, Peru. Credit: Vicki Brown/FPP

Annual Report 2019 19 Forest Peoples Programme is a company limited by guarantee (England & Wales) Reg. No. 3868836, registered office address 1c Fosseway Business Centre, Stratford Road, Moreton-in-Marsh, GL56 9NQ. England & Wales registered Charity No. 1082158. It is also registered as a non-profit Stichting in the Netherlands, and holds Special Consultative Status with the UN ECOSOC.

Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) Stichting Forest Peoples Programme 1c Fosseway Business Centre, Moreton-in-Marsh, Nieuwe Keizersgracht 45, 1018 VC Amsterdam GL56 9NQ, UK The Netherlands Tel 00 44 1608 652 893 [email protected] www.forestpeoples.org

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The publication is freely available online at www.forestpeoples.org. Copyright is retained by the Forest Peoples Programme.

This overall copyright attribution of the publication does not overwrite the copyright attributions of the single images inside the publication. For all the images that are not FPP originals, the photographer and/or original source has been credited, and the copyright is with the authors of those images/graphs.

Photo front page: A member of the Long Isun Dayak community, patrolling their forest in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Credit: Angus MacInnes/FPP