“We need to really change the relationship between Indigenous peoples and governments to advance joint actions for conservation. Much more openness and political will from governments is needed,” says Myrna Cunningham, former Chairperson of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII).
Photo: Myrna CunninghamQ: Myrna, you were a Patron of the IUCN World Parks Congress in 2014, representing Indigenous peoples’ issues. What do you think are the main challenges for protected areas and for Indigenous peoples living in or around them?
A: A very big challenge is the current development paths and priorities of countries. The objectives of creating and maintaining protected areas are in many cases in direct conflict with the prevailing interests of countries’ economic development. The tremendous growth in concessions granted to extractive industries, the expansion of monocultures, and other such activities are priorities for most countries, especially in the developing world, and this is accentuated by economic crises. At the same time, many Indigenous peoples are also interested in the social and economic development of their communities. I don’t mean that protected areas are not important – on the contrary, they are more important than ever – but this is a good moment to reflect on protected area strategies and find ways to make them viable and effective. Simply asking for continuous expansion of protected areas and more ambitious targets under the conventional paradigm is not going to change the picture. What we will have is more protected areas that are only declared to satisfy the agenda of conservation organisations and are not managed effectively. There needs to be a realistic analysis of governments’ political will in relation to protected areas.
Q: How do Indigenous peoples feel in this context?
A: Many Indigenous peoples’ organisations have been voicing for some time their concerns that governments do not listen to them and when protected areas are established on their lands, they do not reflect indigenous views, sentiments, values and interests. So it is difficult to expect Indigenous peoples to support protected areas if they don’t feel ownership of them and do not identify with a concept that they perceive as threatening their rights and views.
In many cases, Indigenous peoples do want effective conservation of nature in their lands and territories. In Latin America there have been many expressions of interest, but they need clarity from governments about their own situation in matters such as tenure security of their territories, respect and support for their development proposals. They need mechanisms that integrate customary governance in protected areas. Opportunities for conservation of indigenous lands exist and have been created by Indigenous peoples through their own proposals. But even in Latin America where we have made tremendous progress in advancing indigenous rights in legislation, we don’t see as many good practices from governments as are needed to really change the relationship between Indigenous peoples and governments to advance joint actions. I think there are many opportunities to promote a protected areas agenda that is inclusive of Indigenous peoples, but much more openness and political will is needed.
Q: You mentioned the dilemmas of economic development versus conservation in the current reality of developing countries and how that affects both protected areas and Indigenous peoples’ lands and resources. Which other factors are important in addressing these dilemmas?
A: I think that a critical issue is that of the corporate sector. We face a situation where government interests in economic development are exacerbated by the influence of a corporate sector that is avid for profit from development but is not pushing for more inclusive and sensitive approaches and is not able to understand the meaning of the common good. Sometimes governments may be willing to listen to proposals from Indigenous peoples but the interests of the corporate sector are more powerful and get in their way.
Q: IUCN has been working on how to better integrate Indigenous peoples’ issues in World Heritage processes. What do you think could be done to influence the World Heritage Convention to be more inclusive of indigenous issues?
A: Efforts need to continue to bring ‘old’ international instruments – those adopted before human and indigenous rights instruments came into place – in line with current developments in various fields including human and indigenous rights. There is a need for far greater policy coherence within the UN system. UNPFII members could engage more actively with the Convention bodies to advise them in this regard. At the national level we need mechanisms that guarantee inclusiveness, such as Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) in World Heritage processes. It is so obvious, if the homelands of Indigenous peoples are to be integrated into World Heritage sites, the process has to happen with them, not ignoring or going against them. The success of conservation in those sites depends on the degree of ownership that Indigenous peoples have on their designation and management. Governments need to behave consistently in terms of policy, not with different voices in different policy processes.
Q: IUCN did a study of the Miskitu Keys (Cayos Miskitos) Biological Reserve when it published its Principles and Guidelines on Indigenous Peoples and Protected Areas in 2000. What has happened since, and has this example of co-management with Indigenous peoples been replicated in Nicaragua?
A: My homeland in the Wangki River is just in front of the Miskitu Keys (Cayos Miskitos) Biological Reserve, a valuable marine and island area that is co-managed by the Miskitu people and the government. The Miskitu governance system, part of the Regional Autonomous government system established in Nicaragua in the 1990s, is still active in managing the area.
A lot has changed in relation to co-management of indigenous lands in Nicaragua’s protected areas. Indigenous lands and territories are now formally recognised and the country has established autonomous regions with a high degree of decentralisation – we live in one of those regions, where co-management and self-management by Indigenous peoples is essential. There is a constitutional mandate for this, and the legal and institutional reforms are decisive in supporting indigenous governance. We also have indigenous representatives in national protected area commissions and locally this has helped strengthen indigenous institutions.
Q: The Parks Congress included a stream on youth, and several examples were cited of indigenous youth being engaged in managing their territories. But concerns were voiced about cultural changes affecting them. What are your thoughts on this?
A: Paying greater attention to indigenous youth is fundamental to the conservation of indigenous lands and resources in the long term. We are witnessing a loss of cultural identity among the youth and we hear many concerns about it. This loss of cultural identity happens largely because of a breakdown in intergenerational dialogue. Indigenous youth, as all other youth groups in the world, are undergoing rapid cultural change and are exposed to new realities. Maintaining their indigenous identity should not go against their wish to be part of a modern world.
Safeguarding indigenous languages is fundamental for maintaining cultural values – we need public policies that support indigenous languages and their use by young people. We need more investment in indigenous youth programmes in many fields, including nature conservation. We’re seeing a rural exodus where young people are drawn to cities. We have to help them reconnect with nature. There are some interesting trends in this regard that we should support; for example, some indigenous youth groups are reconnecting with nature through art and new cultural expressions, and in ways that are fun and interesting to them. Indigenous youth are also engaging in patrolling indigenous lands. We have to seek creative ways of supporting these young people and generate incentives to keep them connected to the land.
Indigenous peoples, with their knowledge, experience, rights and interests, are key partners in conservation and the quest for a more sustainable future for all. Some 100 sessions at the IUCN Congress 2016 relate to Indigenous peoples’ issues, highlighting the importance of this partnership.
