UN Biodiversity Convention Captures Hopes of Customary People

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Representatives of the Papua and West Papua customary people attended the United Nations (UN) Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 15) in Montreal Canada, which will take place from December 3 to December 17, 2022. Along with customary people representatives from various countries such as Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Canada, and Cameroon, these people expressed the importance of protecting biological diversity and the rights of indigenous people.

'We understand the most about how precious our forests are and how to protect it," said Orpha Yosua, a woman of the Namblong Tribe from Papua during the convention on December 9, 2022, as quoted from a Greenpeace Indonesia press release.

At the event, Orpha highlighted the fight of indigenous people against PT Permata Nusa Mandiri, a palm oil company wanting to make investments in the Nimbokrang District in Jayapura. The company is suspected of illegally cutting down forests that act as a source of living for the local indigenous residents.

"The government must acknowledge our rights, and we will continue to protect our forest and land. Not just for us, but also for other creatures on earth," Orpha added.

Through the joint press conference, it was discovered that since long ago, customary people have been living in harmony with nature. Customary people, which only constitute 5% of the total world population, have provided a contribution to protecting 80% of the world's biological diversity, despite multiple incidents of violence and criminalization against them.

The representatives also called on nations to change their colonial view of extracting nature to a policy that focuses on protecting nature and upholding customary rights. They also hoped that in the future, customary people can be more involved in policy-making processes, especially policies that relate to their land.

"We hoped that COP15 will acknowledge our rights and will open the path for us to e more involved in policy-making processes," said Dinamam Tuxá, a  customary people representative from Brazil.

The administrator of the West Papua Knasaimos Customary Council Arkilaus Kladit, also hoped that the COP15 Convention on Biological Diversity can serve as a forum that supports customary people in fighting for their rights. Arkilaus himself once fight for a village forest status for a forest in South Sorong to defend against logging.

Arkilaus' fight resulted in the Ministry of Environment and Forestry determining the forest as a village forest back in 2014. "Our principle is that forests are limited. Once forests are damaged, our children of the future cannot live," Arkilaus argued.

Sekar Banjaran Aji, Greenpeace Indonesia forest campaign director was also present in Montreal. She asserted that this year's UN Convention on Biological Diversity will become a moment that determines many countries' policies on biodiversity for the next decade.

"Our nature is in critical condition and in need of protection," Sekar said. "And the success indicator of the negotiation is how significant [countries] consider customary people and their knowledge as the core of all policies and actions," she added. 

Sekar further explained that in the context of Indonesia, the government should have strengthened the protection of customary people by enacting the Customary People Draft Bill, which has been discontinued since 2009.

Sadly, however, during the CBD COP 15, the Indonesian delegates declared to decline the 30x30 principle, which sets the global target to preserve at least 30 percent of land area and 30 percent of the ocean until 2030.

ZACHARIAS WURAGIL

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo in Google News