LAUNCHPAD: Data and digital resources for decision making on forests, trees and agroforestry
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Event Category: Main GLF Event
GLF New York 2019
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Setting a race to the top: Guiding Principles to Rights-Based Approaches
The rapid pace of global environmental change has sparked unprecedented interest and actions to restore and conserve the world’s lands, forests, freshwater systems, and to finding ways to promote their sustainable use and management. In parallel, there is growing recognition that most of the world’s remaining natural and mosaic landscapes are in fact owned or customarily managed by Indigenous Peoples and local communities, with women playing a critical role. Their persistent struggles and actions to protect and manage their land, territories and resources in sustainable and holistic ways have, in recent years, led to the development of a growing body of social and environmental safeguards and standards to protect their rights. While encouraging, the response to date has largely been uncoordinated. Absent from existing frameworks and certification schemes is a common set of globally recognized principles, defined and developed with Indigenous Peoples and local communities, including women, that upholds and protects their rights and contributions as stewards of the world’s natural and mosaic landscapes. Consistent with the key objectives of the 2019 GLF, the purpose of this Interaction Session is to launch a new global effort to develop best practice ‘Guiding Principles to Rights-Based Approaches to sustainable landscapes” to both inform national and international policies and landscape-level interventions, and clearly position Indigenous Peoples and local communities, including women, at the forefront of global conservation and climate action. Key to achieving such outcomes is the need for unifying principles that emphasise inclusive aspirational goals and targets, as opposed to minimum-based standards that do little more than mitigate short term risks. Drawing on lessons learned from some of the most advanced rights-based approaches to conservation and land/resource governance in the world today, the session will feature a high-level discussion between Indigenous leaders, rights-based organisations and key climate, conservation and development institutions on strategies and opportunities for rethinking rights-based standards and safeguards to:
- Strengthen respect, recognition and protection of the rights Indigenous Peoples and local com-munities, including women;
- Bring an end to the criminalization and persecution of land and environment defenders;
- Increase recognition of, and sustained support to, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, including women, as stewards and bearers of solutions to landscape restoration, conservation and sustainable use;
- Build partnership at different levels (local to global) to enhance engagement and support for rights-based approaches to sustainable landscapes across scales and sectors; and
- Dramatically scale-up efforts to legally recognize and secure collective land and resource rights across landscapes.
Led by the Global Landscape Forum (GLF), the Indigenous Peoples Major Group (IPMG) and the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI), the session will set the pace for the development of aspira-tional standards and principles that can pave the way for a more sustainable, equitable, and just future for all. The leaders of this initiative believe strongly that the eventual adoption of such “gold standards” by the GLF, its Charter Members, donors, and other international institutions and initia-tives—including private sector investors and companies—will create a positive wave, and encour-age others to improve their own standards, certification systems and commitments over time.
Array ( )Rights vs Rights: Who decides what is best for all?
Climate change is already threatening people’s guaranteed rights. It is affecting rights to life, health, to food, water and housing. In the case of small island states, it touches on the very right to exist. Almost 70 years after the signature of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, human rights were recognised for the first time in history in an international climate change treaty. The preamble to the Paris Agreement includes an acknowledgement “that climate change is a common concern of humankind” and that “Parties should, when taking action to address climate change, respect, promote and consider their respective obligations on human rights”. In consequence, for the 24th Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change, the independent experts of the UN Human Rights Council called upon the parties to take the necessary steps to operationalise their human rights obligations in the Paris Rulebook. But how accountable are states? How does climate change impact their security and the peacekeeping? And how are specifically youth and marginalised groups, such as indigenous people, affected?
The interactive session of Youth in Landscapes will discuss with experts these four critical issues in a small podium discussion. Later on, the experts will join the floor and will discuss in small expert groups the respective topics.
Array ( )Registration (pastries, morning coffee and tea will be provided)
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Closing Plenary
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Plenary: Decade on Ecosystem Restoration
Hear the back-story and vision behind the recently-passed “UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030” from its founding members.
The youth plenary speakers will announce the Landscape Heroes competition winner.
Array ( )Plenary: Right to a future
They are our future leaders, the ‘next generation,’ the optimistic visionaries disrupting systems to change things in their own way; they are the youth who will take the stage to share, provoke and inspire ways to change the world – and change it now. How can we move quicker, together, to secure the rights to a healthy life for present and future generations? Array ( )
Coffee break and structured networking
We offer speed networking as a facilitated process during the conference break times to provide a friendly space for participants to meet new people, make connections and share interests and ideas in a short space of time. These sessions will last 30 minutes and operate on a first-come, first-served basis. Ask our volunteer team for details on the location, and don’t miss this opportunity to network with like-minded, inspiring people.
Plenary: Whose Rights?
Gone are the days where communities were simply beneficiaries of development projects. Today, true inclusivity means recognizing the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, women, and youth – and establishing joint collaboration efforts. How can we center the knowledge and priorities of marginalized groups and help to put their chosen solutions into practice? Array ( )