The 19th Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development will be held at UN Headquarters from May 2-13 ,2011.
The thematic issues of focus will be transport, chemicals, hazardous/solid waste management, mining, and the 10 year framework of programs on sustainable consumption and production patterns.
To see all related information to the 19th session of the CSD, click here.
The 55th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women will take place at UN Headquarters from 22 Feb – 4 March, 2011.
The priority theme of the 55th session is Access and Participation of women and girls in education, training, science, and technology, including the promotion of women’s equal access to full employment and decent work.
For all information related to the 55th session, click here.
The 48th Session of the Commission on Social Development will be held at UN Headquarters from 9-18 February, 2011 with the special theme “Poverty Eradication”.
For the Program of Work for the Session, click here.
For the full list of side events, click here.
Report Released for Womens Entrepreneurship Workshop in KenyaIn December 2010, Tribal Link was given the opportunity to sponsor a workshop conducted for women entrepreneurs in Kenya. Please read the attached report for information about the Natodua Jua Kali Womens Association and the workshop. Natodua Jua Kali Women Association Report (159)
On the Ground: Farewell, TuvaluPost by Heather Korb & Kristiane Huber
Tofa Tuvalu! This morning we took our last walk around Funafuti. We checked in at the airport (which again took a fraction of the time it takes in any other airport we’ve ever been in), and checked our bags. We ran into Amelia on the street who pointed out Tuvalu’s Philatelic Bureau. We went in and looked at Tuvalu’s historic stamps and bought some souvenirs. We went back to the airport where Tafue, Maina and Melton met us to say good bye. Maina and Tafue gave us long necklaces made of seeds and shells which they explained was the traditional send off in Tuvalu. Community members come to the airport and wave from the meeting hall when the plane arrives and many stay until it departs. As the plane taxied on the runway and prepared to take off, more people came out into their yards to wave. These kind gifts and good byes from friends and strangers alike characterize the friendliness and thoughtfulness of Tuvaluans.
We really enjoyed our time in beautiful Funafuti, and will take many lessons and wonderful memories from our experience. Tuvalu can teach Americans a lot about relating to other people and to the land. We look forward to working more with TuCAN and seeing the project through.
Tribal Link in Tuvalu! 1/8-18, 2011
Tribal Link has been invited by our colleague, Rev. Tafue Lusama, a member of the Tuvalu Climate Action Network (TuCAN) to assist in designing and building a Center for Environmental Education and an Eco-House- a completely sustainable model home. To complement the nation’s master plan for sustainability, this project will tackle pertinent issues of access to fresh water, renewable energy, local food production and composting waste as well as increased awareness about climate change, and employment generation.
A team of experts in the fields of sustainable architecture and environmental justice have offered to volunteer their time and expertise in the initial phase to travel to Tuvalu from January 8-18, 2011 to visit the project site and meet our counterparts- TuCAN and the local community.
During the site visit, the team will collect critical information that cannot be done halfway around the world. For instance, TuCAN requests solutions to the massive amounts of non-biodegradable rubbish from imported food and water packaging, as there are no recycling facilities on the islands. We think this waste can be transformed into building materials, so it will be necessary to take inventory of its’ sizes, shapes and quantity. It will also be important to investigate the current typical, western-style, Tuvaluan house, compared with traditional Polynesian architecture, in order to design with sensitivity to local styles and customs.
Our team is composed of committed professionals and students who genuinely believe in the powerful message the Eco-House and Center will send to the world and Tuvaluan population. Respected Professor of Architecture at New York Institute of Technology, Thomas Rochon, AIA, has experience working with traditional cultures while he served as an architect in Tunisia. At NYIT, he was principle investigator and faculty advisor for Solar Decathlon 2005 and 2007 competitions in which students designed and built houses completely powered by the sun and were displayed on the National Mall in Washington DC. An Architecture alumnus of NYIT, and current graduate student of Urban Design at City College, Heather Korb was Architecture team leader for the 2005 Solar Decathlon. She has traveled on a fellowship to Bangladesh to witness the effects of climate change on livelihoods and the landscape, with a focus on water. Heather is a LEED certified professional. An Environmental Justice student-researcher of the University of Connecticut, Kristiane Huber, is currently studying resettlement and its affects on indigenous communities. Working on this project, she will have a significant opportunity to perform field work with a community that is under threat of resettlement and be part of crucial interactions with government officials and NGOs while in Tuvalu.
While they are in Tuvalu, Heather have posted updates to our website called ‘On the Ground’. Please read about their experiences and meetings with community members and government officials, learning what they island needs to make this project happen.
On the Ground: Day 7 in TuvaluPost by Heather Korb & Kristiane Huber
This morning all three of us went to the Department of Public Works to meet with Pisi and Ivy from the Integrated Water Resource Management Project to learn about compost toilets being installed around Funafuti. We met with them at the same time as two French students doing research on climate adaptation and discussed the ten pilot compost toilets installed between September and December. Their construction and operation has been successful and compost toilets, called “Falevatie”, are in demand around the island. Instead of using water (which is a limited resource in Tuvalu) to flush toilets, the compost toilets have chambers where human waste along with leaf matter composts to make safe, non-smelly, nutrient-rich compost which can then be used in personal gardens. We went to one of the households selected for the “Falevatie”, and admired the new, clean, building and toilet.
Later in the afternoon we met with the Director of the Department of Environment, Mataio T. Mataio. We discussed Tuvalu’s adaptation programs already in place and the government’s priorities for addressing climate change. Mataio explained that there is a very cooperate relationship between environmental non-governmental organizations, including TuCAN and the government in Tuvalu. It seems that Tuvalu has the plans in place, and has a fair amount of international funding and support, but needs even more to reach their adaptation and mitigation goals.
Today was a really great day for us- we were able to see the implementation of environmental programs and talk to the people who were organizing them. Tuvalu is endowed with many very knowledgeable and thoughtful individuals who are passionate about making Tuvalu more climate resilient, more environmental, and a better place for the people who live here. We are very lucky, and feel inspired, to have met with people who are addressing climate change on the ground. While we’re a little sad to be leaving Tuvalu, we are looking forward to bringing the lessons we’ve learned home and start designing the eco-center and house.
On the Ground: Days 5 + 6 in TuvaluPost by Heather Korb & Kristiane Huber
Yesterday morning, Maina pulled up to the dock next to the Vaiaku Hotel, and we boarded the boat to visit the outer islets. Our captain was Reverend Salanoa, who was both a trained sailor and of course a reverend. It took about an hour and a half to get out to Fualafeke, where we got out to explore. Maina showed us the distinct signs of climate change which were coastal erosion and dead coconut trees where the sand had become inundated with salt water. Fualafeke was an iconic tropical island with many bird species and a lush green forest. We had some brunch there, and sampled some coconut milk directly from coconut which Maina husked and cut open for us. Then we went to see Tepuka where we drove over areas of fallen palm trees with the boat because the ocean had risen to cover parts of the beach. The next northern islet, Tepuka Savililivili, had been reduced by rising sea levels from an island with coconut trees like Tepuka, to a small sand bar.
After dinner we went to a public space next to the airport where there was a community event and we were invited in to dance. We thought the event was really fun, and it was inspiring to see so many different people in the community celebrating together, we also met some great dancers.
This morning Maina picked us up and we all went to church. The church was overflowing with people and the choir sang beautifully. After church, Maina brought us to the northern end of the island to see the dumping grounds, the causeway that is completely covered during kind tides, and the buildings. Our activities over the past couple days have demonstrated that families and homes in Funafuti are vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Rising sea levels and flooding will threaten the quality of life and culture of the people living here.
On the Ground: Days 3 + 4 in TuvaluPost by Heather Korb & Kristiane Huber
Alofa from Tuvalu! Yesterday we went to the government office building at look at maps of Funafuti and ended up buying a couple prints. We rode to the south end of Fongafale which is very different from the part of island where we are staying. As the island gets narrower, you can see the ocean and lagoon on either side of the road and there are fewer and fewer homes. Finally the road ended and we walked out to the end of the island.
On a bike ride, Kristiane came across hundreds of people practicing rugby on the airstrip. While practice for each team (it looked to be two women’s teams and two men’s teams) was serious business, one of the women’s teams stopped their play to sing in the middle while the others continued. The road was lined with other people from the community watching the practice!
That night, we decided to sample an Indian food restaurant (owned by Fijians) down the road from our hotel. The restaurant had four tables, one waiter, and two items on the menu, but the papua mango curry was delicious.
Today all three of us met with one of Tuvalu’s architects, a friend of Melton, named Lomi. The meeting with Lomi gave Tom and Heather a lot of information and ideas about siting for the environmental center, typical building materials used in Tuvalu, how houses are laid out, costs for building homes, energy costs and waste removal. Near the end of the meeting Tom showed Lomi an article about Tuvalu from an encyclopedia of indigenous architecture. For a moment Lomi looked a little puzzled, and then laughed and explained that he had drawn the illustration of the traditional Tuvaluan house printed on the page while in university.
After our meeting with Lomi we went to the east part of the island, the other side of the air strip, and admired a large garden organized by the Taiwanese government and a white coral beach facing the open Pacific Ocean. After lunch we accidentally took a longer nap than planned, and went to the Public Works Department so Tom and Heather could review Tuvalu’s building code. One of the public works employees, Tia, knew Reverend Tafue and was glad to give us information about building in Tuvalu. He also told us about a pilot project to install compost toilets around the island, a promising alternative to septic tanks which do not work well in places with high water tables (which Tuvalu has).
We are all really looking forward to a boat trip we will take tomorrow morning with Tafue and Maina to the outer islets of Funafuti. Tafue wants to show us these other parts of the atoll where some of the adverse effects of climate change are apparent.
On the Ground: Day 2 in TuvaluPost by Heather Korb & Kristiane Huber
Today was an exciting day in Tuvalu! This morning after breakfast we saw the first political demonstration in Tuvalu’s history right outside the hotel. We were told that the demonstration called for the leader of one of the other islands to step down from his position.
Tafue’s friend and colleague, Melton came to the hotel to meet with us briefly. Melton is by profession, a geologist who has worked with TuCAN for three or four years. We discussed different alternative energy options for the island, current challenges Tuvaluans face and prospects for the environmental center.
After our meeting with Melton we went on a walk to the north of our hotel so Tom and Heather could observe more Tuvaluan homes and buildings.
During our walk, Tafue came upon us and pulled off the road in his motorbike and we had a spontaneous roadside chat. On our walk we discovered tennis courts, soccer fields, pig pens, Tuvalu’s hospital, Funafuti’s primary school, the Red Cross headquarters, the Tuvalu campus of the University of the South Pacific, and the Pacific Ocean.
This evening for dinner we joined almost all of the other foreigners staying on Funafuti for a special buffet at the hotel where we sampled cassava and taro for the first time along with a delicious fish soup, sashimi, fresh seasoned vegetables and rice dishes. After the buffet, we watched a traditional dance show performed by mostly people who worked at the Vaiaku Lagi Hotel. It was upbeat and thoroughly entertaining. Now that we’ve gotten our bearings we’re planning to go on some extended bike rides to see other parts of the island and meet with more stakeholders in the project.
On the Ground: Tuvalu Day 1Post by Heather Korb & Kristiane Huber
This was our first glimpse of Tuvalu from the airplane. Most of the islands we flew over on the trip to Funafuti resembled this low lying, narrow atoll. On the top right is the Pacific Ocean while the light blue to the lower left is a protected, shallow lagoon where we can see patches of coral reef. The vulnerability of Tuvaluan populations and ecosystems is clearly demonstrated by images like this one.
Taking a short walk around the island of Funafuti, we encountered a few well-tended vegetable gardens like this one that gave a sense of hope, reminding us that Tuvaluan culture is rooted in sustainability.
The Expert Group Meeting will begin on Wednesday 12 January at 10 AM in Conference Room 5 of the North Lawn Building at UN Headquarters in New York.
The meeting will be attended by international indigenous experts whose findings will be submitted to the tenth session of the Permanent Forum in May 2011. Representatives from member states, UN agencies, NGOs and indigenous peoples’ organizations are free to attend as observers.
Please visit the meeting page for all relevant documents, including papers submitted by some of the participating experts.
A Holiday Request from Tribal Link
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Dear Friends,
As I reflect on this past year, Tribal Link’s 17th in existence, what comes to mind are the many indigenous communities we’ve worked with, learned from, and will be able to continue to help thanks to your generous support. Without your contributions, Tribal Link would not have been able to accomplish all that it did in 2010. The following are some of the highlights from our work during the past 12 months. It is our hope that you find Tribal Link’s work as inspiring as we do.
Project Access, UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Project Access is a program Tribal Link began in 2004. It funds indigenous representatives to attend the annual UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (the most important meeting for indigenous peoples’ rights in the world) and provides them with essential training to prepare for the event. This year, along with funding 17 indigenous people from 15 countries to attend the Forum, and holding our annual three-day training program, we held an additional workshop for Project Access participants focusing on project development and fundraising. During the workshop, participants drafted proposals for a common project: a cultural center to be constructed in each participant’s home community. The intention is for these centers to document and teach indigenous history, culture, traditions, and identity, ensuring that important customs, beliefs, and traditions will be passed on to future generations. http://triballink.org/programs/project-access
“Avatar” Screening Attended by Director James Cameron
Indigenous peoples worldwide were extremely inspired by James Cameron’s “Avatar,” believing that the landmark film truly reflected their struggles, deep connection to nature, and reverence for ancient traditions and culture. Tribal Link and the Secretariat of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues co-produced a special screening of ”Avatar” for indigenous peoples attending the Forum. The film, which was introduced by director James Cameron, was screened at the Directors Guild Theater in Midtown Manhattan. After the screening, several indigenous peoples gave Mr. Cameron beautiful gifts from their communities, and Mr. Cameron held a discussion with prominent indigenous journalists. To see Tribal Link’s exclusive interview with Mr. Cameron, visit our web site at triballink.org, transcript attached.
Education, Leadership, and Rights Training for Indigenous Girls in East Africa
In 2009, Tribal Link launched an educational program for 10 Maasai girls. Along with our partnering organizations, we made an eight-year commitment to put the girls through high school and college. Today, we are pleased to report that at the end of 2010, all 10 girls will be completing their second year of high school! According to Sabina Tumeki Siankoi Accoesi, one of the future graduates, “My plans have tremendously changed since I completed grade eight. My parents had nothing, and although I passed my exams, I was hopeless until this program came along. Now I can achieve my dream of being a doctor and addressing the many health issues affecting my community.” http://triballink.org/programs/girls-education-program
Protecting Indigenous Children from Child Labor: The Power of Education
Indigenous children are among the most vulnerable population exploited by child labor. In many cases, they are forced to work alongside adults in dangerous environments. To shed light on this important issue, during the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Tribal Link coordinated a panel discussion called “Protecting Indigenous Children from Child Labor: The Power of Education.” Panelists focused on conditions in India, Bolivia, and Paraguay.
Indigenous Entrepreneurship Program
Tribal Link’s Indigenous Entrepreneurship Program offers capacity development, brokering, and networking services to support entrepreneurship owned or managed by indigenous peoples. By bringing access to funds, markets, and investors, this program aims to link indigenous peoples’ projects, proposals, and ideas to the appropriate private sector or institutional partners.
Natural Resources Stewardship Circle of the Perfume, Aromatic, and Cosmetic Industry (NRSC)
The NRSC is a group of companies that have agreed to abide by UN standards with respect to the way they do business with indigenous communities. In 2009, Tribal Link organized and co-sponsored a two-day event in which NRSC members of the cosmetic industry met with indigenous and local community representatives as well as with UN officials at UN headquarters in New York. As a result of the meeting, initial guidelines were drafted concerning the most mutually equitable and sustainable ways for NRSC members to work with indigenous and local communities (to read the final report from this meeting, please visit http://triballink.org/programs/indigenousentrepreneurship-program). In 2010, NRSC members worked tirelessly to perfect these guidelines, and member company CEOs formally agreed to abide by them, signing on to the guidelines in Paris, France. Prior to the guideline signing, Tribal Link facilitated a workshop for indigenous representatives from Brazil, Honduras, Nepal, and Australia who had traveled to Paris to give presentations about their cultures, needs, and ingredients they wish to bring to the international market.
Convention on Biological Diversity’s 10th Conference of the Parties
During the CBD COP10, held in Nagoya, Japan, Tribal Link co-sponsored a panel called “Indigenous and Local Communities and the Private Sector: Open for Business,” which focused on the launching of the NRSC’s guidelines. (The NRSC and CBD Secretariat also served as co-sponsors.) The CBD COP10 was especially significant since governments were negotiating a protocol for access and benefit sharing in relationship to genetic resources (which includes biological resources) which will be legally binding in 2012. (www.cbd.int)
Publication of Case Histories of Indigenous Entrepreneurial Projects
Tribal Link, in collaboration with the UNDP/Global Environment Facility’s Small Grants Programme, wrote eight case histories of indigenous communities that are cultivating natural ingredients for the cosmetic industry. The case histories will be published online and as a book early in 2011. The purpose of the publication is to increase awareness of indigenous communities’ ongoing efforts to develop sustainable livelihoods. (Of the 12,500 grants given by Small Grants Programme in the past 10 years, approximately 10 percent have gone to indigenous communities.)
Tuvalu Climate Action Network
Rising sea levels due to climate change are threatening the existence of the remote, island nation of Tuvalu. As a result, Tuvalu’s 10,000 inhabitants are seeking to educate themselves about erosion control, local food production, composting, rainwater harvesting, and renewable energy. To that end, in response to an invitation from Reverend Tafue Lusama, leader of the Tuvalu Climate Action Network, Tribal Link is helping the Tuvalu people design and build a center for environmental education, as well as a model of a completely sustainable home. In January 2011, a team of experts in sustainable architecture and environmental justice (enlisted by Tribal Link) will travel to Tuvalu to work alongside the Tuvalu people.
We would like to thank Sub Rosa for our wonderful new website.
Again, I would like to thank you for your continued support, which is essential in making these as well as other valuable projects a reality. With your help, indigenous cultures, lands, traditions, and knowledge will be preserved, and thousands of peoples’ lives will be enhanced. I cannot express my gratitude enough. Thank you. Tribal Link has been granted 501 (c)(3) status and contributions to Tribal Link are tax deductible. You can send your contribution by post or, if it is more convenient, you can also make a contribution online via Paypal at triballink.org/donate.
Happy holidays and my best wishes for the New Year,
Pamela Kraft
Executive Director
U.S. Officially Endorses UNDRIPThe United States government announced today that they will sign the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. After voting against the Declaration in 2007 (the General Assembly adopted the Declaration when 145 countries signed on) they are joining Canada, Australia, and New Zealand in reversing their decision since then.
“[A]s you know, in April, we announced that we were reviewing our position on the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” the president said in a speech before tribal leaders Dec. 16 at the Department of the Interior. “And today I can announce that the United States is lending its support to this declaration.
“The aspirations it affirms – including the respect for the institutions and rich cultures of Native peoples – are one we must always seek to fulfill.”
While not legally binding under international law, the U.N. describes the declaration as setting “an important standard for the treatment of indigenous peoples that will undoubtedly be a significant tool towards eliminating human rights violations against the planet’s 370 million indigenous people and assisting them in combating discrimination and marginalization.”
Click here to read President Obama’s full statement.
Childhood development educator, Teimana Avanitele stands for a portrait facing her flooded backyard and garden.King Tide is an especially high tide, a phenomenon that occurs under certain cosmic conditions: when the sun, moon and earth are aligned, reaching the closest point in our elliptical orbits, creating greater gravitational pull. This happens every year in February in Tuvalu, where the effects are not only visible, but happening right in one’s backyard.
In an interview today with Tribal Link colleague, Tafue Lusama, chair of Tuvalu’s Climate Action Network, he spoke about last week’s King Tide on the capital island of Funafuti. “In the past, we’ve had these extra high tides, but it was not destructive, not serious, whereas today, during King Tide, we’ve started to get floods all around the islands.” The sea water seeps up from the ground, a slow inundation, and within the last 15 years, has been notably damaging to the food supply, causing evacuations from homes, and motivating residents to build their houses at least one meter above ground. All over Tuvalu’s tiny islands, pulaka plants, the main crop which is grown in compost pits, have been flooded, and may not survive the saltwater intrusion. Tafue added that there has been an unusual drought over the last few months, and that the recent flooding is not due to any rainfall- only the extraordinarily high tide. “Our fear is that in Tuvalu’s history, King Tide has never been combined with any strong rain or storm. If that ever happens, well, the damage would be much worse.”
Post by Heather Korb; Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales Amelia Holowaty Krales is a Fulbright grantee, working on a photo documentary project in Tuvalu entitled “Living in the Shadow of Climate Change: Documenting Tuvalu’s Uncertain Future”.