Nicaraguan Alliance of Indigenous and Afro-descendant Peoples statement of concern about World Bank REDD deal

In December 2019, the Nicaraguan Alliance of Indigenous and Afro-descendant Peoples (APIAN) released a statement expressing its concern about a REDD agreement between the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility and the government of Nicargua.

La Prensa quotes from a government statement about the REDD deal with the FCPF:

Nicaragua presented the good results of the country to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, which was approved by independent experts from the World Bank, confirming that Nicaragua will sign a program of up to US$55 million to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation of forests in the Caribbean Coast and in the Bosawás and Indio Maíz Biosphere reserves.

Part of APIAN’s concern is that the World Bank has negotiated the agreement with the government of Nicaragua without a genuine process of free, prior and informed consent with Nicaragua’s indigenous peoples.

Constantino Frechz, a member of APIAN, told La Prensa that,

“We consider that we are the representatives of the legitimate territorial governments, so that the communities with their consent choose their authorities to represent them. However, this representation is not recognised by the regime’s officials in the North Caribbean, and they created another structure with these people from their party line and are promoting and raising funds from the different international agents on behalf of indigenous peoples. We are conserving our natural resources every year. . . .

“If it is approved, that does not ensure that there will be an efficient result in favour of indigenous territories. We urge the World Bank to make consents, prior consultations to the real territories.”

Here is APIAN’s statement in full (Spanish below):

APIAN Cautions World Bank about REDD/FCPF in Nicaragua

Today, December 16, 2019, the Alliance of Indigenous and Afrodescendant Peoples of Nicaragua (APIAN) notes with deep concern that the State of Nicaragua has applied for a $51 million (1,722.78 million córdobas) loan from the World Bank for the United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD+) and the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF). Our concerns relate to the following circumstances:

1.- For several decades, the State of Nicaragua has promoted the advance of the agricultural and cattle ranching frontier through the forests that form part of our traditional territories per the titles issued by the State. This is contrary to the REDD+ aim of preventing deforestation, which exacerbates the effects of climate change.

2.- The State has refused to implement Joint Management Agreements for protected areas with Indigenous and Afrodescendant communal and territorial governments in violation of Law 445 of 2003 and contradicting the principles promoted by REDD+.

3.- All indigenous an afrodescendant territories of Nicaragua are being colonized. At the Indio-Maíz Biological Reserve gold miners are being established and armed groups have on many occasions threatened families from the Indigenous Rama and Afrodescendant Kriol peoples. Meanwhile, in the Bosawas Biosphere Reserve, groups of men armed with weapons of war have caused the forced displacement of entire communities of the Miskitu and Mayangna Indigenous peoples, and the State has failed to protect these peoples despite multiple requests. The latter case is currently before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

4.- The State of Nicaragua has sought to obtain the financing of the World Bank for REDD+ without having conducted a consultation process and, therefore, without having obtained free, prior, and informed consent in compliance with international standards, including the very standards that the World Bank requires in this type of process.

5.- Currently, the majority of our Indigenous and Afrodescendant governments have been supplanted by parallel governments imposed on our communities and territories by the Regional Governments and political figures from the governing party. Parallel governments are constituted and certified by the Regional Councils, and members sign and carry out any requests from the state because they were created for that purpose. As the Regional Councils have refused to certify the traditional governments legitimately elected by their communities, the Nicaraguan judiciary has likewise ignored dozens of lawsuits filed by these peoples against these violations of constitutional and international law.

Under these circumstances, we know that the State is presenting to the World Bank the supposed ‘agreements’ between the regional governments and various Indigenous and Afrodescendant governments of the Caribbean Coast Autonomous Regions of Nicaragua. Such agreements have the effect of destroying the self-determination of these peoples and dispossessing them of their natural resources insofar as they “transfer the ownership of the reduction of carbon emissions” to the Regional Councils controlled by the Government of Nicaragua. This abolishes the rights to self-determination and governance of the collective property of these peoples and hands them over in their entirety to the Government of Nicaragua.

For these reasons, APIAN calls on the World Bank to conduct an exhaustive investigation into this case and calls on the Government of Nicaragua to respect the self-determination—including the observance of all economic, social, and cultural rights—of the Indigenous and Afrodescendant peoples of Nicaragua.

APIAN advierte al Banco Mundial sobre el REDD/FCPF en Nicaragua

La Alianza de Pueblos Indígenas y Afro descendientes de Nicaragua (APIAN), hoy 16 de diciembre de 2019, ve con profunda preocupación que el Estado de Nicaragua esté solicitando un préstamo de 51 millones de Dólares (equivalente a 1,722.78 millones de Córdobas) al Banco Mundial para el Programa de Colaboración de las Naciones Unidas para Reducir las Emisiones debidas a la Deforestación y la Degradación Forestal en los Países en Desarrollo (REDD) del Fondo Cooperativo para el Carbono de los Bosques (FCPF). Nuestra preocupación radica en las circunstancias siguientes:

1.- El Estado de Nicaragua desde hace varias décadas promueve el avance de la frontera agrícola y ganadera sobre los bosques de nuestros territorios tradicionales, y titulados por el mismos Estado, lo cual es contrario a la prevención de la deforestación que agudiza los efectos del cambio climático que REED/FCPF pretende palear.

2.- El Estado se ha negado a implementar el Manejo Conjunto de las áreas protegidas con los gobiernos comunales y territoriales indígenas y afro descendientes, en violación a lo establecido por la Ley 445 desde el año 2003, y contradiciendo los principios impulsados por REED/FCPF.

3.- Los territorios indígenas y afro descendientes de Nicaragua están siendo colonizados; a la Reserva Biológica Indio-Maíz han entrado de güiriseros y grupos armados en muchas ocasiones han amenazado a familias de los pueblos indígenas Rama y afro descendientes Kriol; igualmente en la Reserva de la Biósfera de BOSAWAS grupos de hombres armados con armas de guerra han causado el desplazamiento forzado de comunidades enteras, comunidades de los pueblos originarios Mískitu y Mayangna, sin que el Estado los proteja a  pesar de múltiples solicitudes, estos casos se encuentran actualmente ante la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos.

4.- El  Estado de Nicaragua pretende obtener el financiamiento del Banco Mundial  para el REED/FCPF sin haber realizado procesos de consulta y por ende sin haber obtenido el Consentimiento Libre, Previo e Informado (CLPI) de conformidad con  los estándares internacionales y los que el mismo Banco Mundial requiere en este tipo de procesos.

5.- Actualmente, la mayoría de nuestros gobiernos indígenas y afro descendientes han sido suplantados por gobiernos paralelos impuestos en nuestras comunidades y territorios por los Gobiernos Regionales y operadores políticos del partido actualmente en el gobierno. Los gobiernos paralelos son conformados y certificados por los Consejos Regionales por lo que sus miembros firman y facilitan cualquier solicitud estatal, porque para eso han sido creados. Mientras los Consejos Regionales niegan la certificación de los gobiernos tradicionales legítimamente elegidos por sus comunidades, así mismo, el sistema judicial nicaragüense ha ignorado las decenas de recursos de amparo presentados por estos pueblos denunciando tales violaciones constitucionales e internacionales.

En estas circunstancias, sabemos que el Estado está presentando al Banco Mundial los supuestos “convenios” entre los gobiernos regionales y diferentes gobiernos indígenas y afro descendientes de las Regiones Autónomas de la  Costa Caribe de Nicaragua. Tales convenios tienen el efecto de anular la autodeterminación de estos pueblos y realizar el despojo de sus recursos naturales, ya que con estos “transfieren la titularidad de las reducciones emisiones de carbono”, a los Consejos Regionales dominados por el Gobierno de Nicaragua. Vaciando así los derechos a la autodeterminación y a la administración de la propiedad colectiva de estos pueblos, entregándola enteramente al Gobierno de Nicaragua.

Por lo que APIAN insta al Banco Mundial a realizar una investigación exhaustiva en este caso y al Gobierno de Nicaragua a respetar la autodeterminación, que engloba la observancia de los derechos económicos sociales y culturales, de los pueblos indígenas y afro descendientesde Nicaragua.

---