HOW TO ENSURE THAT REDD+ DELIVERS THE FULL RANGE OF SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CO-BENEFITS

Jen Rubis, JOAS | Not seeing the forest and people for the carbon | 8 November | Copenhagen

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THE WHAT OF LAND MANAGEMENT

• Tell which continent your country is located on and which countries are its neighbors.

Land Type Definition

Tolun tana’ Territory (e.g. Tolun tanah Jagoi)

Tu’an Primary Jungle

Obud Primary and secondary jungle, usually denoted as a place where spirits reside

Tinungan Area in the jungle designated for cremation, burial. Includes area where they collect wood for cremation

Tiboie Area under secondary growth, not yet fit for cultivation

Damon Area under secondary growth fit for cultivation

Umoh Padi field

Lison Orchards (fruit trees)

Toyak Gardens (e.g. vegetable gardens, cash crop gardens, corn fields etc)

Kupuo Village

HOW LAND IS MANAGED• Signs from the spirits, as interpreted by

birds and animals tell us which lands can or cannot be used for cultivation

• The process of listening is called ‘ngawah’ – involves going to the area intended for

farming, clearing a small area and marking it with two bamboo sticks. Omen birds and other signs (falling trees, emerging worms, snakes, barking deer) are to be observed and heard. The combination of dreams and signs are then interpreted by the farmer or an expert. When signs point to dangers like floods, increased pests and fungus, rituals are carried out to mitigate these threats.

– Bokah buku – – Geriak & Kutieng –

Altar for offerings. Serikin, Bau. Photo by: Patau Rubis, 2010

THE WHEN OF LAND MANAGEMENT

• Tell about the typical weather patterns in your country throughout the calendar year.

Task Adat, RitualDecision making on land used Omens to determine whether land is favourable for farming that year. (Bird

calls)Cutting undergrowth Omens guide individual farmers in whether the days are appropriate to go to

the field or stay at home (presence of birds, animals). Bans on eating certain types of food as well as hunting animals in the area.

Felling trees/bamboo Burning cut growth, clearing away remains, adding fertility to the soil and reducing pests

After burning, nyipotih may be made in reparation for destroying the spirits’ land

Planting seed New seed is blessedGawea

Fencing and building farm shelter (as necessary)

August/September

Weeding and cutting grass Gawea Pak may be performed in the period before ripening to limit the damage due to pests

Harvesting padi Threshing, drying and winnowing padi

Transporting padi from the farm huts to the village house and storing it

Gawea Pali Pu’un is performed before eating the new rice to ensure that the elders do not fall sick

Community rests Gawea Sowa, communal rice harvest festival

• This landscape is more than a reservoir of detailed ecological knowledge or a setting in which they satisfy their nutritional needs. It is also a repository for the memory of past events, a vast mnemonic representation of social relationships and of society. (Brosius, 2005)

HISTORY OF YOUR COUNTRY

Name of Event 1

Name of Event 2

Name of Event 3

Name of Event 4

Name of Event 5

Name of Event 6

1st date 2nd date 3rd date 4th date 5th date 6th date

Description of event

Description of event

Description of event

Description of event

Description of event

Description of event

ENVIRONMENT OF YOUR COUNTRY

• Describe some of the native animals and plants that can be seen in your country.

INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE• A cumulative body of knowledge, practice, and belief, evolving

by adaptive processes, and handed down through generations by cultural transmission, about the relationship of living beings (including humans) with one another and with their environment. (Berkes, 2012)– These knowledge systems are transmitted and renewed by each

succeeding generation– ensure the well-being of people around the globe by providing food

security from hunting, fishing, gathering, pastoralism or small-scale agriculture

– healthcare, clothing, shelter and strategies for coping with environmental fluctuations and external forces of change

• Science, technology, belief, social organization, spirituality, rites combine with a holistic understanding of the environment

WEATHERING UNCERTAINTY: KEY FINDINGS

• Indigenous observations and interpretations of meteorological phenomena have guided seasonal and inter-annual activities of local communities for millennia.

• This knowledge contributes to climate science:– by offering observations and

interpretations at a much finer spatial scale with great temporal depth;

– by highlighting observations that may not normally be considered by climate scientists;

– by focusing adaptation efforts on indigenous-defined priorities.

WEATHERING UNCERTAINTY: CONCLUSIONS

The transformations brought about by global climate change will surpass the lived experience of everyone, including indigenous peoples.• Nevertheless, indigenous peoples and local communities

have been confronted with environmental variability and unpredictability for millennia.

• Indigenous knowledge and knowledge-based practice provide a solid foundation for indigenous resilience in the face of change.

Environmental policy decisions, both in climate change and biodiversity, should be informed by the best available knowledge, including indigenous knowledge.

• REDD+ -- local action, nationally monitored, for global benefits; acknowledging complex issues that need to be addressed but urging action; intergovernmental agreement with diverse & multiple financing sources– What gets lost in translation across knowledge systems, cultures

and scales?

• International standards and principles can ensure the inclusion of diverse perspectives but…– Dangers of reductionism and approaches that overlook

heterogeneity– “According to national circumstance”

• burden of struggle back to local communities and national organizations

QUESTIONS TO ASK• How can indigenous knowledge be [integrated] in

REDD+ policy and decision-making?– Information systems related to safeguards– Contribution to MRV systems

• Monitoring carbon, monitoring drivers

• How can indigenous expertise and experience be a part of REDD+ policy and decision-making?– “Facilitators” – diversity of roles that indigenous

peoples and organizations can play• International standards need understanding at national level

– Support and embrace, not marginalize diversity of views

HOW TO ENSURE THAT REDD+ DELIVERS THE FULL RANGE OF SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CO-BENEFITS

• How to facilitate the inclusion of indigenous knowledge in REDD+?– Participation; indigenous

peoples and communities as ACTORS, more than beneficiaries

– Need to create spaces of engagement and methodologies that can cross cultures, scales and provide an enabling environment

– Flexible policy and programming that take into account holistic nature and multiple ways of knowing

“United in struggle”Indigenous Peoples Network of Malaysia

(JOAS)

TERIMA KASIH

• jen.rubis@gmail.com / j.rubis@unesco.org• To download “Weathering Uncertainty” www.ipmpcc.org

• Borneo Independent News Service FB page