The 16th Conference of Parties (COP16) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) saw the recognition of the role of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities protecting biodiversity. A new Subsidiary Body was announced to implement Article 8(j) and enhance the engagement and participation of indigenous peoples and local communities in all convention processes. Parties also adopted a new Programme of Work on Article 8(j) and other provisions of the Convention related to indigenous peoples and local communities. Down To Earth spoke to Luis Guillermo Izquierdo Mora, a member of the Arhuaco People, one of the four Indigenous Peoples in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Mountain range about how this will help indigenous People and Local Communities. Mora is also the president of the ICCA Consortium in Colombia.
Q. Could you share some comments on the decision on Article 8(j) taken at COP16?
A. A correct decision has been made by the states, given that since the adoption of the biological diversity agreement there has been a void to speed up and fulfill the goals that have been set. Now, we have a permanent body that will help mobilise the necessary actions to fulfill the objectives of this agreement. This agreement is special for us, the indigenous peoples of the world, given that the objectives and goals are linked to our ancestral and traditional knowledge we possess about nature in its entirety. We believe that having a permanent space will help us trace paths and actions with greater coherence and sensitivity to our people.
Q. How will it help communities?
A. The simple creation of the subsidiary body is not going to solve the situation and the thousands of problems that we suffer in our territories. However, we see that this agreement allows us to strengthen our presence in major decisions and thus be able to propose actions more in line with our realities. This will help us safeguard and protect the ancestral land and traditional knowledge of our indigenous peoples and local communities.
Q. What are your next steps?
A. The indigenous peoples of Colombia and the world will now examine the scope of this body. In Colombia, based on the national consensus, we have requested the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity to assume the leadership or presidency of this new subsidiary body. It is important to remember that this agreement on Article 8(j) includes the Cartagena and Nagoya Protocols and work with other communities in Colombia and outside. It is important to highlight that one of the key steps is to inform people about these agreements within our territories and to our traditional authorities and spiritual authorities to analyse and then visualise actions.
Q. Can you tell us something about the connections that communities in Colombia have with their environment?
A. We depend on local biodiversity not only for food and medicine but also for spiritual fulfilment. The spiritual guides or mamos advise people about how to depend on biodiversity for the various rituals they perform. We have been living in this area for centuries and we have been using the plants in the territory in a reasonable way.
Nothing exemplifies the uniqueness of the biodiversity in the area more than frailejón (Espeletia sp.), an extremely slow growing shrub native to the country. We use it in rituals for opening and closing of natural cycles such as births, deaths, a girl’s first period and sickness. In local culture, the plant is considered equal to the father. Frailejón is well known for contributing to water availability — it captures water vapour from passing clouds in its spongy trunk and releasing it through the roots into the soil. This helps create water deposits and lakes that eventually form rivers that provide water to cities.
In recent years, due to forest fires in the Andean regions, these plants are at risk. The habitat is already under threat from intensive agriculture which uses pesticides and fertilisers and destroys the land. This happens even though it is illegal to practice agriculture in this alpine tundra ecosystem. The habitat also faces risks from extractive industries such as those that mine the rocks for construction purposes. We believe that rocks are the bones of earth and by mining, the industries are breaking these bones.