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We
stay busy at EarthKeepers with many projects and special events
taking place at home and abroad. Please check out our calendar for
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If you like, we can notify you about about updates to the site, simply click here. PRESS STATEMENT for immediate release, please circulate widely. Further information about the on-going discussions at the ABS-3 meeting and the formal statements of the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity are available through the International Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forests Secretariat (helen@international-alliance.org)
Press Statement of the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity February 17, 2005 United Nations Conference Centre, Bangkok, Thailand
ABS Ignores Indigenous Human Rights
The International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity is deeply concerned that the direction of the proposed international regime on access and benefit sharing will lead to gross violations of Indigenous Peoples rights to our lands, resources, and traditional knowledge. The current draft on the nature, scope and elements of an international regime on access and benefit sharing has ignored core proposals of the IIFB. We believe that a precondition of the proposed regime must be consistency with international human rights law.
Indigenous Peoples are rights holders with inherent, proprietary, and inalienable rights to our Indigenous knowledge and biological resources. Genetic resources and traditional knowledge are inextricably linked. We have consistently stated that we are not participating in these discussions to facilitate access to our traditional knowledge nor the genetic resources in our territories. Rather, we participate to ensure our rights are recognized and respected by the Parties in the development of the proposed regime, and to further ensure that any proposed international regime must be consistent with international human rights law and standards.
National sovereignty over natural, biological, and genetic resources under the CBD does not amount to absolute political or legal authority. Sovereignty of states is limited by the Charter of the United Nations and by other principles of international law, including human rights treaties. State Parties to the CBD are obliged to achieve consistency between international human rights laws and any legislation on access and benefit sharing; both in terms of a proposed regime’s international elements and in national legislation.
The IIFB believes that the insistence of governments to absolute sovereignty and exclusive control over genetic resources is inconsistent with international law. It is also a violation of the right of Indigenous Peoples fundamental human right of self-determination and the corresponding right of permanent sovereignty over natural resources, which is the fundamental premise upon which Indigenous peoples have asserted our proprietary, inherent, and inalienable rights over our traditional knowledge and natural resources, including genetic resources.
The IIFB will not support any developments or discussions which do not support, reflect, and respect our rights. At this time, the international regime does none of these things.
Press Statement of the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity February 17, 2005 United Nations Conference Centre, Bangkok, Thailand
IIFB calls for full and effective participation
The IIFB believes that any regime on access and benefit sharing must recognize the unique role of Indigenous Peoples as traditional knowledge holders and we call for full and effective participation in the decision-making processes on access and benefit sharing.
Toward this end, the IIFB has submitted a proposal to the chair of sub-working group 2 which we hope will be considered by the plenary of this meeting. This proposal calls upon the ABS working group to adopt more progressive and inclusive working practices during the course of their deliberations. These practices are consistent with the processes of the CBD and are already in use by the Ad Hoc Open Ended Working Group on Article 8(j) and related provisions. The deliberations of the various bodies of the CBD have serious and direct impact upon the lives of Indigenous Peoples. These adjustments can be small but constructive steps toward full and effective participation in these forums.
The IIFB also fully supports the participation of Indigenous women in forums such as these. Indigenous women are central to our concepts of traditional knowledge and to our relationship with the environment. They are holders of our knowledge and central to the passing of that knowledge to future generations. Indigenous women are vital to any actions to conserve biological diversity and their rights must be recognized, protected, and guaranteed throughout these discussions if the CBD is to succeed.
International Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the
Tropical Forests
Water Remembers? Homeopathy Explained? New research suggests water remembers what has been dissolved in it, even after dilution beyond the point where no molecule of the original substances could remain. Dr. Mae-Wan Ho reports. For more than a century, practitioners of homeopathy have used highly diluted solutions of medicinal substances to treat diseases. Some substances are diluted way beyond the point at which no trace of the original substances could remain. It is as though the water has retained memory of the departed molecules. This has aroused a great deal of scepticism within the conventional medical and scientific community. To this day, ‘homeopathic’ is used as a term of derision, to indicate something imagined that has no reality. But a series of recent discoveries in the conventional scientific community is making people think again. First, there were the South Korean chemists who discovered two years ago that molecules dissolved in water clump together as they get more diluted , which was totally unexpected; and further more, the size of the clumps depends on the history of dilution, making a mockery of the ‘laws of chemistry’. Now, physicist Louis Rey in Lausanne, Switzerland, has published a paper in the mainstream journal, Physica A, describing experiments that suggest water does have a memory of molecules that have been diluted away, as can be demonstrated by a relatively new physical technique that measures thermoluminescence. In this technique, the material is ‘activated’ by irradiation at low temperature, with UV, X-rays, electron beams, or other high-energy sub-atomic particles. This causes electrons to come loose from the atoms and molecules, creating ‘electron-hole pairs’ that become separated and trapped at different energy levels. Then, when the irradiated material is warmed up, it releases the absorbed energy and the trapped electrons and holes come together and recombine. This causes the release of a characteristic glow of light, peaking at different temperatures depending on the magnitude of the separation between electron and hole. As a general rule, the phenomenon is observed in crystals with an ordered arrangement of atoms and molecules, but it is also seen in disordered materials such as glasses. In this mechanism, imperfections in the atomic/molecular lattice are considered to be the sites at which luminescence appears. Rey decided to use the technique to investigate water, starting with heavy water or deuterium oxide that’s been frozen into ice at a temperature of 77K. The absolute temperature scale (degree K, after Lord Kelvin) is used in science. (The zero degree K is equivalent to –273 C, and deuterium is an isotope of hydrogen which is twice as heavy as hydrogen). As the ice warms up, a first peak of luminescence appears near 120K, and a second peak near 166 K. Heavy water gives a much stronger signal than water. In both cases, samples that were not irradiated gave no signals at all. For both water and heavy water, the relative intensity of the thermoluminescence depends on the irradiation dose. There has been a suggestion that peak 2 comes from the hydrogen-bonded network within ice, whereas peak 1 comes from the individual molecules. This was confirmed by looking at a totally different material that is known to present strong hydrogen bonds, which showed a similar glow in the peak 2 region, but nothing in peak 1. Rey then investigated what would happen when he dissolved some chemicals in the water and diluted it in steps of one hundred fold with vigorous stirring (as in the preparation of homeopathic remedies), until he reached a concentration of 10 to the power -30 g per centilitre, and compare that to the control that has not had any chemical dissolved in it and diluted in the same way. The samples were frozen and activated with irradiation as usual. Much to his surprise, when lithium chloride, LiCl, a chemical that would be expected to break hydrogen bonds between water molecules was added, and then diluted away, the thermoluminescent glow became reduced, but the reduction of peak 2 was greater relative to peak 1. Sodium chloride, NaCl, had the same effect albeit to a lesser degree. It appears, therefore, that substances like LiCl and NaCl can modify the hydrogen-bonded network of water, and that this modification remains even when the molecules have been diluted away. The fact that this ‘memory’ remains, in spite of, or because of vigorous stirring or shaking at successive dilutions, indicates that the ‘memory’ is by no means static, but depends on a dynamic process, perhaps a collective quantum excitation of water molecules that has a high degree of stability. Source Living with the Fluid Genome Inside story from a scientist who has warned that genetic engineering is both dangerous and futile. Tells you why the whole biotech enterprise - from GM crops to gene drugs and human cloning – is a phenomenal waste of public finance and scientific imagination, and what it means to be living with the fluid genome.
on Sustainable Development
We, the Indigenous Peoples, walk to the
future in the footprints of our ancestors We the Indigenous Peoples of the World assembled here reaffirm the Kari-Oca Declaration and the Indigenous Peoples' Earth Charter. We again reaffirm our previous declarations on human and environmental sustainability.* Since 1992 the ecosystems of the earth have been compounding in change. We are in crisis. We are in an accelerating spiral of climate change that will not abide unsustainable greed. Today we reaffirm our relationship to Mother Earth and our responsibility to coming generations to uphold peace, equity and justice. We continue to pursue the commitments made at Earth Summit as reflected in this political declaration and the accompanying plan of action. The commitments which were made to Indigenous Peoples in Agenda 21, including our full and effective participation, have not been implemented due to the lack of political will. As peoples, we reaffirm our rights to self-determination and to own, control and manage our ancestral lands and territories, waters and other resources. Our lands and territories are at the core of our existence - we are the land and the land is us; we have a distinct spiritual and material relationship with our lands and territories and they are inextricably linked to our survival and to the preservation and further development of our knowledge systems and cultures, conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem management. We have the right to determine and establish priorities and strategies for our self-development and for the use of our lands, territories and other resources. We demand that free, prior and informed consent must be the principle of approving or rejecting any project or activity affecting our lands, territories and other resources. We are the original peoples tied to the land by our umbilical cords and the dust of our ancestors. Our special places are sacred and demand the highest respect. Disturbing the remains of our families and elders is desecration of the greatest magnitude and constitutes a grave violation of our human rights. We call for the full and immediate repatriation of all Khoi-San human remains currently held in museums and other institutions throughout the world, as well as all the human remains of all other Indigenous Peoples. We maintain the rights to our sacred and ceremonial sites and ancestral remains, including access to burial, archaeological and historic sites. The national, regional and international acceptance and recognition of Indigenous Peoples is central to the achievement of human and environmental sustainability. Our traditional knowledge systems must be respected, promoted and protected; our collective intellectual property rights must be guaranteed and ensured. Our traditional knowledge is not in the public domain; it is collective, cultural and intellectual property protected under our customary law. Unauthorized use and misappropriation of traditional knowledge is theft. Economic globalization constitutes one of the main obstacles for the recognition of the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Transnational corporations and industrialized countries impose their global agenda on the negotiations and agreements of the United Nations system, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization and other bodies which reduce the rights enshrined in national constitutions and in international conventions and agreements. Unsustainable extraction, harvesting, production and consumption patterns lead to climate change, widespread pollution and environmental destruction, evicting us from our lands and creating immense levels of poverty and disease. We are deeply concerned that the activities of multinational mining corporations on Indigenous lands have led to the loss and desecration of our lands, as exemplified here on Khoi-San territory. These activities have caused immense health problems, interfered with access to, and occupation of our sacred sites, destroyed and depleted Mother Earth, and undermined our cultures. Indigenous Peoples, our lands and territories are not objects of tourism development. We have rights and responsibilities towards our lands and territories. We are responsible to defend our lands, territories and indigenous peoples against tourism exploitation by governments, development agencies, private enterprises, NGOs, and individuals. Recognizing the vital role that pastoralism and hunting-gathering play in the livelihoods of many Indigenous Peoples, we urge governments to recognize, accept, support and invest in pastoralism and hunting-gathering as viable and sustainable economic systems. We reaffirm the rights of our peoples, nations and communities, our women, men, elders and youth to physical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being. We are determined to ensure the equal participation of all Indigenous Peoples throughout the world in all aspects of planning for a sustainable future with the inclusion of women, men, elders and youth. Equal access to resources is required to achieve this participation. We urge the United Nations to promote respect for the recognition, observance and enforcement of treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements concluded between Indigenous Peoples and States, or their successors, according to their original spirit and intent, and to have States honor and respect such treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements. Language is the voice of our ancestors from the beginning of time. The preservation, securing and development of our languages is a matter of extreme urgency. Language is part of the soul of our nations, our being and the pathway to the future. In case of the establishment of partnerships in order to achieve human and environmental sustainability, these partnerships must be established according to the following principles: our rights to the land and to self-determination; honesty, transparency and good faith; free, prior and informed consent; respect and recognition of our cultures, languages and spiritual beliefs. We welcome the establishment of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and urge the UN to secure all the necessary political, institutional and financial support so that it can function effectively according to its mandate as contained in ECOSOC Resolution E/2000/22. We support the continuation of the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations based on the importance of its mandate to set international standards on the rights of Indigenous Peoples. We call for a World Conference on Indigenous Peoples and Sustainable Development as a culmination of the United Nations International Decade for the World's Indigenous Peoples (1995-2004) and as a concrete follow-up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development. We continue to meet in the spirit of unity inspired by the Khoi-San people and their hospitality. We reaffirm our mutual solidarity as Indigenous Peoples of the world in our struggle for social and environmental justice. *Including the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; the Charter of the International Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forests; the Mataatua Declaration; the Santa Cruz Declaration on Intellectual Property; the Leticia Declaration of Indigenous Peoples and Other Forest Dependent Peoples on the Sustainable Use and Management of All Types of Forests; the Charter of Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic and the Far East Siberia; the Bali Indigenous Peoples Political Declaration; and, the Declaration of the Indigenous Peoples of Eastern Africa in the Regional WSSD Preparatory Meeting.
July 29, 2003
My heart broke again today. The tears are tracing trails down my dusty, dirty face, landing softly on the burnt and desecrated ground. I kneel in the middle of a clear-cut so vast that I feel swallowed by its devastation. Around me are first nation’s people and others from Canada, England, and the U.S., but they fade into the background until I am no longer conscious of them, eclipsed by the magnitude of this profound human declaration of ignorance and arrogance called industrial logging. As I sit among the emptied lands of the Grassy Narrows First Nation in Northern Ontario, my heart torn open, I see all the newspapers, magazines and books that underlie this terrible loss. I want to start screaming and yelling, I am so angry at how many authors write books about "groovy, conscious" things - yet print these books on virgin paper, showing their own appalling lack of consciousness. I think about all the magazines and journals that do the same thing. Of course, I think about the unconscious people who do this as well, but ultimately my rage flows towards those who know better yet use weak excuses to explain away their culpability in the rape, plunder, and desecration of the Sacred Earth and its Sacred Peoples. Time and again, we point fingers at the greedy corporations and governments - in this case it is Canada’s Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and the corporation Abitibi-Consolidated. Yet, time and again, we refuse to look at the three fingers pointing back at ourselves, every time we support and feed the very same destructive system that we claim to want to end and transform. I do not hold onto my anger and rage, letting it instead be washed away by my tears. But one way I heal from the grief of bearing witness to such brutality is to make a commitment to this place, to continue doing all I know to do to awaken more people to the incredible impact of our personal and collective choices. Yes, there are systems in place that feed the greed of a select few at the expense of people and the planet. And yes, those very same systems often strip away the accessibility of more conscious solutions. And yes, we must hold systems, governments, and corporations accountable. Yet, I know that when we take a real, hard look in the mirror of ourselves, we can see so many ways that we are culpable for helping this system in its oppression and destruction of our world. We can make better choices. In so many little ways, we make excuses that cloud that mirror, so that we don't have to truly accept the responsibility of our actions. We are either part of the problem or part of the solution. We need to walk our talk (our hypocrisy is literally killing us), and we need to do so with compassion for ourselves and, of course, for our world. There are no perfect choices. We do not live in a perfect world. But any time we have the opportunity to choose between "A" or "B" (or, for many of us, even "C", "D", or "E"!), we must recognize the privilege that exists right there - the privilege to choose. And for every privilege there is responsibility. The more privilege we have, the more responsibility we need to accept. Maybe you cannot afford tree-free paper at this moment, but you can begin to reuse every scrap of paper, envelope, etc., that comes into your life. You can decide to replace paper towels with hand towels. You can decide no longer to use paper napkins, paper plates, and paper cups, at any time, for any excuse (there is NO "reason" to use them). You can choose to not buy new books that are printed in ecologically unfriendly ways, and you can write to the author and publisher explaining your reasons why. You can ask your local copying center to make available 100% recycled paper for all your printing and copying needs - it's very viable, easily accessible and economical. You can buy tree-free paper for your specialty cards and letters, which are occasional-use items. These choices do make a difference. Your choices change the world. You make the difference. ACTION: PLEASE HELP THE GRASSY NARROWS
COMMUNITY: 1) Help make the plight of Grassy Narrows known in your local and international media. They need wider publicity. 2) If you represent an environmental group or agency, please send a brief letter or fax supporting their concerns and their position about the extensive clear-cutting occurring in Ontario's forests. This is a small community-based group that feels very alone in their struggle against a huge rich multinational corporation. They need to know that there are many who will support their message - moral support can go along way. They are looking for a united outcry. Letters or faxes of support should be forwarded to: Judy DaSilva For more information contact: Judy DaSilva, Grassy Narrows First Nation
Roberta Keesick (807) 925-2201 days
Article at www.firstnationsdrum.com
June 15, 2003
It made me think about our world and lives. So often there is very little that separates the dark from the light, positive from negative, hurt from healing, hope from despair. And yet often, what is so little can at the same time be so big. If I were a homeless person living on the streets, this bridge crossing would be a much different one. The "golden gate" might not feel so golden to me. If I were someone stuck behind the wheel of my insulated, disconnected life of cars, I would barely even have the opportunity to notice the differences, let alone, take the time to ruminate over and appreciate them. The way we view the world is seen through the lens of our environments (all kinds), experiences, as well as our beliefs and thoughts. It helps to remember this when, overwhelmed with life's struggles and fears, we sometimes feel hopelessly caught in the cold, grey fog, unable to see through to the sunny side. Sometimes, all it takes to see the sunshine is a new perspective. Other times, it takes challenges and work. Either way, the results can be golden. May your inner light shine out into the world as well to help warm those who are currently caught in the fog. May we be guides and bridges for each other, ourselves, and our world. Posted by COL at 09:56 PM
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