Fidelis E Satriastanti – Indonesia has a lot to gain from a deal at Copenhagen on the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation scheme. But its hopes of being the poster child for REDD will not work without the inclusion and participation of the country's indigenous communities, activists said.
Indonesia and other countries that stand to earn billions of dollars annually from REDD, such as Brazil and Congo, want the scheme to be part of any new treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol. While a new protocol is more likely to be agreed to next year rather than during Copenhagen, carbon credit sales through REDD could begin as early as 2013.
"But it is impossible to implement REDD if the country still does not include indigenous people's rights at the negotiating table," said Abdon Nababan, secretary general of Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago, a Jakarta-based organization.
Mina Susana Setra, the group's director of international advocacy and foreign affairs, said they were demanding that any new agreement through the Long-Term Cooperative Action Working Group, which deals with mitigation efforts such as REDD, must adopt the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People as its framework. The group is also demanding "prior informed consent" about any carbon trading projects in forest lands where indigenous communities live, as well as involving them in any decision-making on policies related to their use.
Alliance officials said they were facing stiff resistance from some developed nations, in particular the United States, Canada and New Zealand, which have objected to including the UN declaration as part of any new agreements.
"Indonesia is the opposite of that, because we still acknowledge community rights here," Adbon said. "We also have at least 50 to 70 million indigenous people out of 222 million people in this country. So, those voices should be taken into consideration."
He said the central government, as well as local administrations, had little choice but to include indigenous communities in any plans to implement REDD if they wanted to avoid alienating them.
"Most intact forests in this country are managed by indigenous people, compared to the state forests, which have been mostly damaged through exploitation," he said. "So, the government should realize that they need all the help they can get from indigenous people."
Tri Tharyat, a senior official from the National Council on Climate Change, said indigenous people's rights have always been part of their negotiation position. "But the biggest challenge is coming from the US, which strongly objects to including human rights in climate issues," he said.
Furthermore, he said the UN declaration on indigenous people's rights was not a legally binding document. He said the Indonesian government should incorporate articles to protect indigenous people's rights in its national policies regarding REDD if there wasn't an international agreement.
In addition, Riza Damanik, secretary general of the Fisheries Justice Coalition, warned against Indonesia's oceans being included in any carbon trading scheme.
Last May, former Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Freddy Numberi told the World Ocean Conference in Manado, North Sulawesi, that Indonesia's oceans could absorb 66.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year and coastal areas an additional 245.6 million tons.
The statement drew sharp criticism from civil society groups, which accused the government of laying the groundwork to commercialize oceans and coastal areas for financial gain, while neglecting the welfare of traditional fishermen.
Adding to the debate, Alan Koropitan, an ocean expert from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, said last week that Indonesia's waters had much more potential to release carbon dioxide than absorb it, given that the country is tropical.