Johnson Cerda: Works at Conservation International as the Director, DGM Global Executing Agency. Johnson is an indigenous Kichwa of the Ecuadorian Amazon (Comuna Santa Elena – Limoncocha). Mr. Cerda has worked with indigenous organizations in Ecuador and also in the regional organization of the Amazon CONFENIAE. He has collaborated with government institutions in Ecuador such as the Development Council of Nationalities and Peoples of Ecuador (CODENPE) and the Institute for Eco development of the Amazon Region (ECORAE).
Module #1:
Module 1 of the seminar on » Indigenous People and Climate Change » had the participation of 20 indigenous representatives from Mexico, Peru and Ecuador. The seminar began with a detailed historical overview of the last 30 years of debate on the inclusion of indigenous knowledge in global conventions that seek to generate a positive impact on the control and mitigation of the effects of climate change. Some of the critical points in this process were the 1992 Earth Summit; The first International Forum of Indigenous Peoples on Climate Change of the year 2000; and the establishment of the Knowledge Exchange Platform within the framework of the Paris Agreement of 2016.
At the Earth Summit, a first declaration was made on the importance of specifically revaluing indigenous knowledge for the mitigation of climate change. In this sense, the creation of a deliberation space is required to be able to propose, not only the type of knowledge that Indigenous Peoples can contribute to, but also the resources and structures necessary to be able to implement this knowledge to benefit Indigenous Peoples and the conservation of the planet in general. However, this should be done under a mechanism that does not deliberately exploit indigenous knowledge – as these interactions have traditionally been carried out – but rather that the producers of that knowledge can also benefit economically from this exchange.
Likewise, in the First International Forum of Indigenous Peoples, and as a result of the Kyoto Protocol signed in 1997, the participation of Indigenous Peoples began to gain traction. During these meetings, the need to generate clean development mechanisms to achieve the reduction of greenhouse gases with quotas established for each State was brought up; paying particular attention to developing countries with an approach of “common but differentiated responsibility.” The result of this forum was the creation of a working group that will continue to lay the foundations for the indigenous position regarding Climate Change.This event brings us to today with the Knowledge Exchange Platform. During these discussions the need for direct negotiations with governments, new participation structures, a permanent section on Indigenous Peoples in the convention secretariat, among other demands was raised. This group has monitored compliance with the Nationally Determined Contributions of the Paris Agreement.
The participants mentioned that there is still a gap between what is discussed in the deliberating spaces of international cooperation and regional functionality. However, it is important to see that the «umbrella» that gives us a legal framework to act has been created; we are now in the deployment stage of this strategy. In this sense, Johnson Cerda advanced the interest and effort that is currently being made to form regional committees that can continuously provide feedback to the Platform.
Module#2:
The second module of the Seminar on Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples aimed to understand the financial mechanisms established by the UNFCCC, the Green Climate Fund, and how Indigenous Peoples can benefit from them to deploy adaptation and mitigation actions aimed at counteracting climate change in their territories. Twenty indigenous leaders participated during this second session. Furthermore, the seminar included a guest lecture by Sarah Wyatt, GEF technical secretary, who explained the operation of this financial mechanism.
The session began with a detailed history and operation of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). To begin, the GEF’s main objective is to finance development projects with environmental benefits. These funds are aimed at the protection of the environment and that promote sustainable development. To access these economic resources, it is essential to connect with one of the 18 institutions that operate as GEF agencies. These agencies create project proposals and are in charge of supporting eligible governments and non-governmental organizations to develop and implement them. On the other hand, the GEF Small Program Grants was also presented. This program seeks to open the doors to communities to the benefits of global financing for mitigating the effects of climate change. Although they are smaller funds than those administered by the GEF agencies, they are more accessible to indigenous communities in search of financing to carry out their projects.
Secondly, Johnson presented on The Green Climate Fund (GCF). This fund is aimed at supporting the efforts of developing countries to reduce emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change. Unlike the GEF, the Green Climate Fund is managed by government organizations. For this work, the Designated National Authorities (NDA) were created. They serve as an interface between each country and the Green Fund, communicating the country’s funding priorities for initiatives that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and have a climate-resilient approach. In addition, there was a presentation on the GCF Preparation Program. The objective of this program is to train and support NDAs and other stakeholders so that they can submit a detailed proposal that includes a budget, a procurement plan, and an implementation plan in order to access GCF funds.
The participants’ interventions revolved around the concern of the management of the resources of both sources of financing. This is because the disbursement of both sources of financing is not direct to indigenous communities. As they are funds from multilateral and supranational organizations, there are rigorous fiduciary requirements where a thorough evaluation of the fiscal responsibility of the executors of the funds is carried out.
However, as Johnson Cerda pointed out, this does not imply a deficiency but rather an opportunity to generate alliances with agencies that can support indigenous communities with the technical capacities to carry out their projects. In this sense, he urged the participants to get involved in the search for local agencies that can allow them to access these sources of financing and supervise that these resources are translated into projects with tangible results and that they are not used solely for the production of consultancies.
Module #3:
The last session of the Indigenpus Rights and Climate Change Seminar had the participation of 15 indigenous leaders from Mexico, Ecuador and Peru. The objective of the Module was to present the main operational guidelines of the Indigenous Peoples Policy, and the related environmental and social and gender safeguards, of the Green Climate Fund to avoid and / or counteract the negative effects of their activities and projects capable of affecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
These safeguards create a structure to ensure that the activities of the Green Climate Fund are developed and implemented respecting, promoting and protecting indigenous peoples, so that they benefit from the project activities and do not suffer damage or adverse effects from the beginning. design and implementation of activities financed by the Green Climate Fund.
To deepen the safeguards mechanism, the module included the participation of Aileen Mairena Cunningham, observer for civil society organizations for the Green Climate Fund. As part of the Indigenous Association Center for the Autonomy and Development of Indigenous Peoples (CADPI), she helped attendees resolve doubts related to the presentation of complaints about projects that receive resources from the Green Climate Fund and existing resources for monitoring these projects to ensure that they comply with all the regulations of the Fund.
Finally, the attendees showed great interest in having more information on how to be part of the organizations that carry out oversight work on the projects implemented as part of the Green Climate Fund. In addition, they were surprised and concerned by the lack of knowledge that there is regarding all of these mechanisms and organizations that ensure compliance with the principles of defense of indigenous rights. In this sense, they requested that a greater dissemination and socialization be carried out with the main beneficiaries of these projects in order to close this information gap. The course concluded with the students thanking Johnson and the guests for all the knowledge acquired during these three weeks.