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Paris (AFP) – Long stereotyped as victims of climate change and indigenous peoples who have fought for centuries to preserve their ancestral lands, ways of living, and land from destruction were finally recognized as important players in protecting precious environments.
“In the face climatic, economic, and health catastrophes the reality forces the recognition and respect of indigenous peoples’ knowledge,” stated Gregorio Mirabal (head of COICA indigenous organisation).
“Now we’re not victims, we’re the solution!”
UN climate experts published a detailed report on Monday on the effects and adaptation of global warming. This report reinforced that message.
It shows that many indigenous peoples are at the forefront of global warming, such the ones in the Arctic, whose traditions and communities are being threatened by rising waters and melting sea ice.
It also highlights what these communities and their intimate understanding of nature can do to fight climate change, and in particular to limit its impacts.
This is important because indigenous communities, which number less than half of a billion people around the world, steward land that contains 80 percent of Earth’s remaining biodiversity.
It said that these communities, ranging from Siberia to Amazon, have had to devise strategies for dealing with external challenges “for hundreds of years” and “have developed strategies to resilience in changing environments that enrich and strengthen other adaptation efforts.”
Colonialism is a major factor in their vulnerability, which was first acknowledged by the IPCC in this new report.
Sherilee Harper, from the University of Alberta, Canada, said that “It’s a huge advance.” She also added that this context is crucial in helping not only to understand the problems faced by indigenous groups but also to formulate solutions.
Harper was one the IPCC report’s authors. This first IPCC report included peer reviewers as well as indigenous contributors.
She previously told AFP that there was a tendency to portray them as victims of climate changes without the agency taking action.
“Of course, this is not true.”
– ‘Arrogance’ –
Although indigenous groups welcome the IPCC’s recognition and acknowledgement of ancestral knowledge, they say that the situation is more than words.
Rodion Sulyandziga, International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change, stated that “we need to come up with an action-oriented plan.”
“We must combine all of our efforts. We can bring to this table our indigenous knowledge, not just in the area of prevention, but also on new technology.”
Sulyandziga, who represents Indigenous Udege Peoples of Russia, stated that leveraging traditional knowledge to adapt to climate change is crucial. Udege refers to “forest people”.
He stated, “Without land, we cannot adapt.”
IPCC scientists stress the importance “self-determination” as well as recognising indigenous right.
The report’s thousands of pages, each chapter and region by chapter, provide numerous examples of adaptation strategies that could inspire scientists to tackle the climate threats that are already having a devastating impact around the globe.
Wildfires are a good example. Firefighting is a skill that indigenous communities have mastered. They know how to burn certain areas at specific times throughout the year to keep blazes under control.
IPCC experts also note the importance of diversification in crops, such as the Kichwas of Ecuador’s agroforestry system that grows food crops and medicinal plants beneath the canopy of Amazon Rainforest.
Or, you can use traditional knowledge from Fiji to identify endemic species of plants that can help reduce coastal erosion.
Harper stated that anyone can benefit from this wisdom, provided they are not arrogant, especially in the West.
Mirabal, COICA’s director of communications, said that balance and imbalance have been something we have understood for thousands.
“Our connection with mother nature allows for us to take care what really matters, water, earth, and life.”
However, the IPCC warned that adaptation is difficult given the magnitude of climate change impacts.
While some communities may need to leave their homes, others have witnessed climate change transform the land around and make familiar things seem new.
Like the Inuit communities around the Arctic, where the warming is faster than anywhere else on Earth, and the once-dependable sea ice and snow are now fragile and fleeting.
Ashlee Cunsolo is another author of the IPCC Report. She stated that colonialist regimes caused terrible injuries over the generations, from the erosion and destruction of language and culture to forced relocation.
Cunsolo said that people claimed they had “finally entered this period of indigenous self determination.” They were “reclaiming culture, lands.”
“And then comes climate change.”
© 2022 AFP
