Guaraní People vs. Repsol: The Importance of Indigenous Self-Determination
by Mark Betancourt In an open letter sent from a pan-Amazon meeting on climate change and Indigenous Peoples, Brazilian Indigenous leader declared, “we are tired of anthropologists, environmentalists,...
View ArticleMining Council’s “New” Commitment to FPIC Falls Short
The International Council on Mining and Metallurgy (ICMM) recently released a new position paper detailing council guidelines for dealing with Indigenous Peoples that would be affected by new mining...
View ArticleFirst Nations Challenge Canada-China FIPA
In June 2013, a federal court heard arguments for the Hupacasath First Nation’s (HFN) constitutional challenge to the Canada-China Foreign Investor Protection Agreement (CCFIPA). In September 2012,...
View ArticleLand Grabs Persist in Africa
In February 2013, Cameroon issued a decree returning a portion of illegally-seized forest to 18 Indigenous communities. The land was leased by the government to United Forestry Cameroon (Private:...
View ArticleCompensation To Indigenous Peoples In Uganda Hurts As Much As It Helps
Compensation given to individuals affected by the oil activities of Tullow (LSE:TLW) is causing issues in rural communities of western Uganda. Recipients admit that the compensation, intended to...
View ArticleICMM Updates Indigenous Peoples Position Statement For Mining Industry
In June 2013, the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) released its updated position statement on Indigenous Peoples and mining, intended to replace an earlier position statement from...
View ArticleAboriginals Have Much to Gain From Australia’s Mining Boom, But Will They...
A report on the impacts of Australia’s mining boom on Indigenous Peoples was presented to the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in May 2013. The report asserts that Indigenous Peoples in...
View Article170 Legal Victories Empower First Nations
In his new book Resource Rulers: Fortune and Folly on Canada’s Road to Reserves, Bill Gallagher, a former oil and gas lawyer and federal regulator, describes how 170 court rulings upholding First...
View ArticleBrazilian Policies Instigate Conflicts
Conflicts between Indigenous Peoples and the industrial agriculture industry in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul escalated last month, and federal security forces were deployed to defuse the...
View ArticleIndonesia Strengthens Indigenous Land Rights
In May 2013, an Indonesian court ruled that a 1999 law designating forests inhabited by Indigenous Peoples as “State Forest Areas” was unconstitutional, and that these forests should be owned and...
View ArticleThe Importance of Culture
In May 2013, a US court ruled that federal permits issued to Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA) for oil and gas exploration in Alaska’s Cook Inlet violated three federal statutes protecting endangered...
View ArticleFPIC for Renewable Energy
A Zapotec community in southern Mexico is protesting the construction of a 300-hectare wind farm on their lands. To obtain “consent” for the wind farm, Desarrollos Eolicos Mexicanos approached...
View ArticleThe Cost of Ignoring Cleanup
Indigenous communities inhabiting Lot 192 (formerly Lot 1-AB) of the Peruvian Amazon are refusing to participate in the government’s first official consultations regarding oil activities on their...
View ArticleHeeding Risk in the Supply Chain
Equitable Cambodia requested Bonsucro, an industry association dedicated to improving the social and environmental standards for sugarcane production, to suspend Tate & Lyle (LSE:TATE) from its...
View ArticleFPIC Must Start Early
In the Philippines, Mankayan community members are refusing to participate in FPIC dialogues initiated by Far Southeast Gold Resources (FSGR), a subsidiary of Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company....
View ArticleEquitable Origin Promotes Best Practices for Oil and Gas
Equitable Origin (EO), a for-profit social enterprise with the objective of promoting and financially incentivizing best practices in the oil and gas industry, is developing a rigorous and...
View ArticlePrioritizing People in the Arctic
In August 2013, the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) convened to discuss the many issues pertaining to the Inuit and other Arctic Indigenous Peoples. Among the topics of discussion was ICC’s...
View ArticleThe Cost of Ignoring FPIC in India
In August 2013, Kutia and Dongria Kongh communities overwhelmingly rejected Vedanta Resource’s (LSE:VED) proposed bauxite mine in the Niyamgiri Hills of Orissa, India. It is highly possible that this...
View ArticleHeeding Risk in the Supply Chain
In July 2013, a Canadian court ruled that Hudbay Minerals (TSE:HBM) can be tried for overseas human rights violations in Canada. Security personnel working for the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary in...
View ArticleTraditional Knowledge in the Beaufort Sea
Traditional knowledge could be the solution to challenges faced by Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) in Canada’s Beaufort Sea. The company’s oil exploration activities in the remote northern region are...
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