Defending Commons' Land and ICCAs 2018 Yearly Bulletin in support of our special programme: ‘SECURE ’ for Indigenous Land Rights Defenders Palawan, The Philippines CALG is a Member of CALG Address: 504 Rizal Avenue, Photos Cover: Oil palm nursery in Sarawak, Bgy. Bancao-Bancao, © Dario Novellino. Puerto Princesa City 2nd page: Forest conversion for oil palm plantations in Riau Province, 5300 Palawan, Sumatra Indonesia. © Dario Novellino The Philippines Back Page: Forest destruction by oil palm companies in Bataraza, Palawan 2015, © Dario Novellino. Web Page: www.coalitionagainstlandgrabbing.org Research, Design and Compilation of Issue: Thomas Worsdell Acknowledgments: CALG wishes to thank the Centre for Biocultural Diversity (CBCD) of the University of Kent (UK) for its commitment to circulate this bulletin amongst scholars and the academic community, as a whole. We also wish to express our sincere gratitude to all our foreign partners which have generously supported our work over the years and, particularly to ‘Rainforest Rescue’ (Rettet den Regenwald e.V.), Rainforest Fund – US, Forest Peoples’ Programme (FPP), the Paul K. Feyerabend Foundation (PKF) and Cultural Survival. Because of them, we have been able to empower our communities to resist and counter land grabbing, as well as assist indigenous land rights defenders and their families during moments of danger and uncertainty. © The Coalition Against Land Grabbing (CALG), 2018 All Rights Reserved The Coalition Against Land Grabbing 504 Rizal Avenue, Bgy. Bancao-Bancao, Puerto Princesa City, 5300 Palawan, The Philippines Email: [email protected] Contents 1. Introduction………………………………………………………………….….….1 2. East and Southeast Asia 2.1. Cambodia………………………………………………………………………6 2.2. China & Tibet………………………………………………………….……..11 2.3. Indonesia……………………………………………………………..………12 2.4. Laos……………………………………………………………………………23 2.5. Malaysia……………………….…………………………….………..………24 2.6. Myanmar………………………………………….….….……………………29 2.7. Philippines……………………………………….………..…………………34 2.8. Taiwan…………………………………………………………………………53 2.9. Thailand.………………………………………..………………….…………55 2.10. Vietnam.……………………………………………………….….…………58 3. South Asia 3.1. Bangladesh…………………..………………………………………………60 3.2. India…….……………………………………………………………………..63 3.3. Nepal…………………………..………………………………………………76 3.4. Pakistan………………………………………………………………………78 4. The Pacific 4.1. Australia………………………………………………………………………79 4.2. Papua New Guinea…………………………………….……………………84 4.3. Solomon Islands………………………………………………….…………88 5. Africa 5.1. Cameroon…………………………………………….………………………89 5.2. Democratic Republic of Congo………..…………………………………92 5.3. Ethiopia……………………………………………………………….………97 5.4. Gambia…………………………………………..……………………………97 5.5. Guinea……………………………………..…….……………………………99 5.6. Liberia……………………………………………………………………………….100 5.7. Kenya……………………………………………………….…………….…102 5.8. Malawi……………………………………………………………………….105 5.9. Morocco / Western Sahara………………………………………….……106 5.10. Mozambique…………………………………………..…………………..107 5.11. Nigeria……………………………………………….………………….….110 5.12. Republic of Congo………………………………………….….……..….111 5.13. Senegal………………………………………………………………….….112 5.14. Sierra Leone…………………….….………………………………..……113 5.15. South Africa……………………………………………..……….………..114 5.16. Tanzania……………………………………………………………………122 5.17. Uganda………………………………………….….………………………122 6. Caribbean 6.1. Antigua & Barbuda……………………………….…….…………………124 7. South America 7.1. Argentina……………………………………………………………..….….125 7.2. Bolivia……………………………………………………….………………127 7.3. Brazil…………………………………………………………………………127 7.4. Chile………………………………………………………………………….141 7.5. Colombia……………………………………………………………………150 7.6. Ecuador……………………………………………………………..………166 7.7. Guyana………………………………………………………………………174 7.8. Paraguay…………………………………………….………………………175 7.9. Peru………………………………………………….……………………….176 7.10. Venezuela………………………………………….………………………189 8. Central America 8.1. Belize…………………………………….….….……………………………191 8.2. Guatemala………………………………………………………..…………192 8.3. Honduras……………………………………………………………………199 8.4. Mexico………………………………………………….……………………204 8.5. Nicaragua…………………………………………….……………………..210 8.6. Panama…………………………………….………………..………………213 9. North America 9.1. Canada………………………………………………………………………214 9.2. United States of America…………………………………………………224 10. Middle East 10.1. Israel / Palestine ……………………….………………………….……..229 11. Europe, Turkey & Russia 11.1. Germany……………………………………………………………………231 11.2. Macedonia….….………………………………………..…………………235 11.3. Norway……………………………………………………………………..236 11.4. Poland………………………………………………………………………237 11.5. Sweden…….………………………………………………….……………237 11.6. Turkey………………………………………………………………………238 11.7. United Kingdom……………….………………………………….………239 11.8. Ukraine………….…………………………….……………………………241 11.9. Russian Federation………………………………………………………242 Introduction The Coalition Against Land Grabbing (CALG) is a collective of indigenous peoples from Palawan, Philippines, defending local communities against all forms of land grabbing. We reject food production systems that contribute to climate change and the privatisation of natural resources. The Philippines has been experiencing violent conflicts for almost 50 years. Behind the conflict between political ideologies lies a conflict over land and resources. It is perhaps not surprising that the Philippines has consistently been one of the most violent countries for journalists, activists and indigenous defenders. On Palawan, where CALG is based, our focus has been the rampant nature of land grabbing taking place on “territories and areas conserved by indigenous peoples and local communities” (ICCAs) or “territories of life”. Land grabbing is a vital issue to our indigenous cultures as our own existence is intimately intertwined with the land which we inhabit. Conflicts over resources and space have become conflicts for life, impacting our rights to cultural integrity and impeding on our abilities to sustain ourselves. We understand that the risks we face in Palawan are not entirely unique to our island; in fact, the issues we are dealing with are also faced by many others across the globe. This is why we have felt the need to come up with an international bulletin, contextualising our own problems within a wider global scenario. Due to the commonalities that we share with other indigenous and rural peoples around the World, we believe that a publication of this kind may contribute towards the creation of active dialogues and strategic advocacy alliances which will lead to reciprocal support when addressing common difficulties. The problems we are experiencing are not unique to Palawan nor the Philippines, the indigenous struggle for self-determination is a global issue. Environmental and Human Rights Defenders (EHRDs) are increasingly being targeted as they stand up for their rights against ‘top-down’ development projects and the pursuit of capital gains. A report by Global Witness: At What Cost?1, has been monitoring acts of violence and registered the murders of at least 207 defenders in 2017. This was the deadliest year on record showing an upward trend since monitoring began in 2015. Agribusiness was the most dangerous sector, overtaking mining, with 46 defenders killed while protesting against the way in which consumer goods are being produced. Armed forces and police accounted for 53 of the total killings, while a vast majority of the perpetrators (58) remain unknown. These figures clearly indicate the explicit complicity and indirect involvement of state actors in the destruction of both environments and traditional communities around the world. These killings are perpetrated at a time when drastic action is needed to face global climate change. It comes as no surprise and yet with great relief, that the conflict for land rights recognition and climate change have become indivisible issues. World Resources Institute has released several reports discussing this point and how tenure security generates significant social, economic, and environmental benefits for local populations and society2, 3. This trend is amplified by the fact that half of the world’s land is associated with a ‘customary land use’ claim, while only 10% is legally under indigenous and community ownership4 . There are about 1,591 concluded land deals involving foreign corporations or countries leasing or purchasing lands in low-income and middle-income countries. These deals encompass almost 49.2 million hectares. To add to this figure are the 209 intended land deals which cover almost 20 million hectares, and 119 failed deals which accounted for 8.3 million 1 Global Witness. (2018). AT WHAT COST? Irresponsible business and the murder of land and environmental defenders in 2017. London: Global Witness. Retrieved from https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/at-what-cost/ 2 Ding, H., Veit, P., Gray, E., Reytar, K., Altamirano,J. C., Blackman, A. and Hodgdon. B., (2016). Climate Benefits, Tenure Costs: The Economic Case for Securing Indigenous Land Rights in the Amazon. World Resources Institute: Washington, DC. Available at http:// www.wri.org/publication/climate-benefitstenure-costs 3 Stevens, C., R. Winterbottom, J. Springer, and K. Reytar. (2014). “Securing Rights, Combating Climate Change: How Strengthening Community Forest Rights Mitigates Climate Change.” Washington, DC: World Resources Institute. Accessible at www.wri.org/ securing-rights. 4 Dooley, K et al. (2018) Missing Pathways to 1.5°C: The role of the land sector in ambitious climate action. Climate Land Ambition and Rights Alliance. Available from: climatelandambitionrightsalliance.org/report !1 hectares5 . What has not been discussed and documented