InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA –The Governors’ Climate and Forest Task Force(GCF) meeting that runs on 25-28 September would proposed the new thing that is never done before, that is, discussing the indigenous people and the local community involvement in the active dialog with the governments and the other stakeholders in the sub – national level to realize the low emission development in each jurisdiction.
Since Rio Branco declaration in 2014, the governors realized, indigenous people and the local community are important and strategic actors in the province and state - the members of GCF to realize the commitment in making the solution of climate change. The study done by Earth Innovation Institution (2014) showed, the indigenous people are the important keepers of forest carbon for the global climate. The indigenous region in Amazonia itself contributed 32.8 % (28.247 MtC) of the total carbon on the land surface in the region. While the combination of the countries having tropical forests (Indonesia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mesoamerica, Amazon cavity) showed, 20% forest carbon are in the indigenous areas. So the province and the states - the members of GCF realized and confessed the role and made it in principles, program and action that would be discussed in the annual meeting in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan province.
Some series of preparation discussion in the annual pre-meeting of GCF in Balikpapan has been running between indigenous people in the states and province as the members of GCF. In the global level, the indigenous people organizations and the representative of the government had met in Klamath, California,on 21-24 August 2017. In the meeting, the indigenous people organizations from many countries proposed many things, called, “Klamath Leber” that consists of principles and proposal of work for the sub-national, national, and global level.
Cándido Mezúa Salazar who is the member Mesoamerican Alliance of People and Forests (AMPB) emphasized, Klamath Leber is as the pillar and proposal agreed by the alliance of people in the global level.
Besides, some indigenous people groups had more concrete proposals to help the governments – the members of GCF – to project the work plan as same as the agenda proposed by the indigenous people.
About that, the General Secretary of Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara (AMAN), Rukka Sombolongi,said, the indigenous people would not stop to support the pillar or principles only but also take the efforts in the sub-national level in some frames of work that is more attractive and would really influence the indigenous people.
“We have the concrete action plans and would be told to the governors – the members of GCF” Alfonso Chaves of COICA (Coordinadora de las Organizaciones Indígenas de la Cuenca), an indigenous people organization from 9 countries in the Amazon cavity, said in the official statement that InfoSAWIT got.
Alfonso Chavez also hoped, GCF would not be only the forum of giving ideas, but also should have the real action to protect the forest and the indigenous people whole over the world.
What the indigenous people told is admitted by the Governor of East Kalimantan, the member of GCF, Awang Faroek Ishak. The province is the host of annual meeting of GCF that will take inputs from the indigenous people groups.
He thought, GCF should play its role as the catalyst to accelerate the realization of fundamental needs, and in relationship with the indigenous people, such as, the confession of indigenous areas, participation, effective consultation with the indigenous people. “And the mechanism of clear advantage division from many climate fund nowadays,” he said.(T2)
