Global Indigenous Greens Network

Resolution

That the Global Greens support cooperation with the Indigenous Community and the creation of a committee of three to five representatives coming from Asia, Europe, America and Africa, in order to establish a Global Indigenous Greens Network.

Background

The purposes of the proposed Global Indigenous Greens Network are to:

1. Create a relationship between the Global Greens and the Global Indigenous Community in order to strengthen the core values of the Global Greens Charter.

1.1. The systems of ecological knowledge and practices created by the Global Indigenous Community are key to preserving peaceful coexistence between humans and Mother Nature. Global Greens surely appreciate and cherish this cultural and intellectual strength which includes core values such as ecological wisdom, respect for biodiversity, and other sustainable ways of living. These systems also correspond to the Global Greens Charter and tend to achieve an “eco-friendly development” that would keep the balance between the limited stock of natural resources and human needs.

2. Give a voice to the Global Indigenous Community, support the settlement of an international organization to deal with global indigenous affairs, urge countries to sign the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and apply it to their national law.

2.1. For decades, urgent issues such as global warming, water shortages and biodiversity decline, caused by activities such as mining, deforestation, dam construction and radioactive waste storage, have very often gone hand in hand with negative impacts on indigenous peoples’ survival and cultures around the world. For example, the Tao people of Pongso no TAO (Lanyu, Taiwan), Tibetans, and several aboriginal tribes in the US and Australia all suffer from the disposal of radioactive wastes on their lands.

2.2. The ‘United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples’ recognizes that indigenous peoples have the right to own, use, develop and control their traditional lands, territories, natural resources and cultural heritage, and most importantly, the right to self-determination. With their rights being respected and implemented, indigenous peoples thus have the power to reject development activities that destroy the ecosystems of their homelands.

3. Global Greens should combine the power and knowledge of the Global Indigenous Community, and provide them with national and international assistance, such as developing an adaptive strategy to face global climate change.