CONFENIAE on REDD: Ecuadorian Indigenous Peoples’ Statement

This is an unofficial translation of a Ecuadorian indigenous peoples’ statement on REDD:

CONFEDERATION OF INDIGENOUS NATIONALITIES OF THE ECUADORIAN AMAZON (CONFENIAE)
(Logo and letterhead, list of members including organizations of the Shuar, Kichwa, Achuar, Waorani, Siona, Secoya, Cofan, Zapara, Shiwiar and Andoa Peoples)

STATEMENT
Unión Base, Puyo August 3rd, 2009

CONFENIAE REJECTS ALL KINDS OF ENVIRONMENTAL NEGOCIATIONS ON FORESTS AND EXTRACTIVE POLICIES THAT DAMAGE THE TERRITORIES OF THE AMAZONIAN INDIGENOUS NATIONALITIES AND PEOPLES OF ECUADOR.

CONSIDERING

That the Right to Plurinationality and Sumak Kawsay, enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic, and the Right to Self-Determination of the Ancestral Nationalities and Peoples, consecrated in international instruments like Convention 169 of the ILO [and] the universal United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, exist to guarantee that human beings and nature live together in a world in suitable conditions, and that they can develop based on the principles of solidarity, reciprocity [and] the conservation of the territorial space as a whole, for the security and survival of the present and future generations; and to guarantee a healthy environment, free of pollution, repression and the imposition of government policies on indigenous peoples;

That all these policies and extractive activities and negotiations on the forests and biodiversity in our Ancestral Territories will have unfathomable consequences, including the extinction of our identity as Ancestral Nations, [our] loss of the control and management of our territories, which would subsequently be managed by the State, foreign countries, multinationals, REDD negotiators or Carbon Traders; which would result in unprecedented misery, hunger and extreme poverty, just like what is happening right now to our indigenous brothers and sisters in the Northern Amazon of Ecuador because of geopolitical, economic and commercial interests;

RESOLVES:

1. To warn and communicate to all the grassroots organizations of the structure of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon – CONFENIAE, which is comprised of centers, communities, associations, federations, organizations and nationalities, in the framework of the Resolution and Mandate of the Congress held on May 28-31, 2009, that the Regional Organization of the Ecuadorian Amazon, will not permit interference nor representation, nor allow spokespersons to discuss nor dialogue, let alone take steps to negotiate in national or international forums our Natural Resources that exist in our Territories.

2. The CONFENIAE will not negotiate nor dialogue without the consent of the grassroots on the issues of Oil Extraction Activities, Mining, Hydroelectric Dams, the SocioBosque Plan, REDD business, Environmental Services, etc., since certain entities, like the Energy, Environment and Population institution, the World Bank and Carbon Traders in alliance with Latin American governments are trying to negotiate the lives of the Indigenous Nationalities and Peoples [and] undermine our Rights to our Territories.

3. We recognize that climate change is a problem and we demand that Annex I countries acknowledge their responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions, [and,] therefore, diminish the burning of fossil fuels, whose extraction has caused deforestation in the Amazon and grave social and environmental problems in our territories.

4. We reject the negotiations on our forests, such as REDD projects, because they try to take away our freedom to manage our resources and also because they are not a real solution to the climate change problem, on the contrary, they only make it worse.

5. We inform COICA, of which we are a part, that, as Ecuadorian Amazonian representatives with the right to voice and vote, that no person, entity, NGO, etc., is authorized to speak on our behalf in favor or against any issue without our knowledge and participation.

Sincerely,

Tito Puanchir.
PRESIDENTE “CONFENIAE”

Address: Puyo – Unión Base CONFENIAE Headquarters, Vía Puyo – Macas Km 6 ½
Email: info.confeniae@gmail.com

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