Unmaking the Nature/Culture Divide 119
of indigenous peoples and local communities in the achievement of the
objectives of the Convention.
13
Article 8 pertains to in situ conservation of biological diversity and paragraph ( j)
specifically recognizes the importance of the “knowledge, innovation and practices of indigenous and local communities” in such conservation.
The WG8j has a strengthened participation mechanism for IPLCs that makes
the CBD a particularly important instrument for these actors. Unlike in the
SBSTTA, here they have a status equivalent to that of the State Parties; in other
words, they can take part in plenary debates and give opinions outside of the
two-minute format reserved for observers at the end of debates. During these
meetings, the IPLCs are organized into a caucus by the IIFB. Moreover, certain
members of IPLCs act as “Friends of the Secretariat”, which means that they
participate in Secretariat meetings and act as co-chairs of these meetings, thus
contributing to the organization of the event, over which they also co-preside.
14
These mechanisms allow IPLCs to express themselves in a freer and less constricted way – especially during plenary sessions – as well as during negotiations.
This working group meets every two years, just before the SBSTTA, pushing
IPLC demands into the last debates. This organization also allows certain representatives of the IPLCs to attend the two meetings.
To give a rough idea of numbers, in 2019, around 600 people attended the
meeting, most of whom were the representatives of the various State Parties, but
NGOs, the private sector, academics, youth representatives, women representatives, and of course IPLCs were also present.
At these meetings, there are various spaces and moments, each of which offers
different constraints and opportunities. The kind of discourse produced by IPLCs,
as we shall see, depends on the context. First of all, there are the plenary sessions,
which take place in the large auditorium where all participants can be accommodated. Thus, one can distinguish between speeches on the margins of negotiations
(ceremonies and presentations) and interventions made in the context of negotiation (either written or oral, given that IPLCs are considered to be a State Party). In
the first case, a diversity of viewpoints may be presented, but during negotiations
it is important to come to an agreement. The caucus allows for the formulation of
a shared position. Smaller discussion groups, formed at a regional scale or together
with the State Parties, also exist in a more or less formal manner. At the WG8j, the
IPLCs take great advantage of side events, either directly or in partnership with
other institutions such as the Secretariat of the CBD, the International Union for
the Conservation of Nature, or the Global Environment Facility (GEF). All actors
can propose side events and the Secretariat determines the timetable and allocates
rooms on the basis of requests. IPLCs use these spaces in particular to show off
successful initiatives. As we will see, these different spaces for expression offered
during the WG8j are not all taken up in the same way by IPLCs.
Since the creation of the WG8j, some extremely important texts have been
adopted, which aim for the culture of IPLCs to be taken account of: some are
of indigenous peoples and local communities in the achievement of the
objectives of the Convention.
13
Article 8 pertains to in situ conservation of biological diversity and paragraph ( j)
specifically recognizes the importance of the “knowledge, innovation and practices of indigenous and local communities” in such conservation.
The WG8j has a strengthened participation mechanism for IPLCs that makes
the CBD a particularly important instrument for these actors. Unlike in the
SBSTTA, here they have a status equivalent to that of the State Parties; in other
words, they can take part in plenary debates and give opinions outside of the
two-minute format reserved for observers at the end of debates. During these
meetings, the IPLCs are organized into a caucus by the IIFB. Moreover, certain
members of IPLCs act as “Friends of the Secretariat”, which means that they
participate in Secretariat meetings and act as co-chairs of these meetings, thus
contributing to the organization of the event, over which they also co-preside.
14
These mechanisms allow IPLCs to express themselves in a freer and less constricted way – especially during plenary sessions – as well as during negotiations.
This working group meets every two years, just before the SBSTTA, pushing
IPLC demands into the last debates. This organization also allows certain representatives of the IPLCs to attend the two meetings.
To give a rough idea of numbers, in 2019, around 600 people attended the
meeting, most of whom were the representatives of the various State Parties, but
NGOs, the private sector, academics, youth representatives, women representatives, and of course IPLCs were also present.
At these meetings, there are various spaces and moments, each of which offers
different constraints and opportunities. The kind of discourse produced by IPLCs,
as we shall see, depends on the context. First of all, there are the plenary sessions,
which take place in the large auditorium where all participants can be accommodated. Thus, one can distinguish between speeches on the margins of negotiations
(ceremonies and presentations) and interventions made in the context of negotiation (either written or oral, given that IPLCs are considered to be a State Party). In
the first case, a diversity of viewpoints may be presented, but during negotiations
it is important to come to an agreement. The caucus allows for the formulation of
a shared position. Smaller discussion groups, formed at a regional scale or together
with the State Parties, also exist in a more or less formal manner. At the WG8j, the
IPLCs take great advantage of side events, either directly or in partnership with
other institutions such as the Secretariat of the CBD, the International Union for
the Conservation of Nature, or the Global Environment Facility (GEF). All actors
can propose side events and the Secretariat determines the timetable and allocates
rooms on the basis of requests. IPLCs use these spaces in particular to show off
successful initiatives. As we will see, these different spaces for expression offered
during the WG8j are not all taken up in the same way by IPLCs.
Since the creation of the WG8j, some extremely important texts have been
adopted, which aim for the culture of IPLCs to be taken account of: some are