CIEL Side Events at the World Summit on Suustainable Development

26 August to 4 September 2002

Monday, 26 August 2002: 15:00 - 17:00 (1)
DISCUSSION PANEL: Community-Based Property Rights and Environmental Justice

CIEL is organizing a dialogue on community-based property rights (CBPRs), a critical issue, which is still under-represented in the discourse on environmental justice and sustainable development. Nearly half of humanity consists of rural people in the Global South who directly depend on natural resources for their lives and livelihoods. Most members of this still unrecognized global constituency are largely ignored and are often abused and denied their basic rights to natural resources. International law indicates little, if any, awareness of the prevailing situation.

CIEL plans to highlight, with partners from around the world, the challenges posed by national and international laws with regard to gaining legal recognition of the community-based property rights of natural resource dependent constituencies, especially in the majority (developing) world.

Speakers:

George Gapu, Zimbabwean Environmental Law Association, Zimbabwe
Hillary Chima Obgona, Environmental Law Foundation of Nigeria, Nigeria
Ritwick Dutta, Environmental Justice Initiative, India

Moderator: Shivani Chaudhry, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)

Venue: Civil Society Forum, Johannesburg Expo Centre

(1) Time could be subject to change. Please check time and room on updated Civil Society Global Forum Schedule to be released shortly.

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Monday, 26 August 2002, 15:30-17:00
WORKSHOP: Places and Spaces for Indigenous Peoples in Sustainable Development

Organized in cooperation with the World Conservation Union (IUCN), Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental (SPDA), the International Centre on Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) and the IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP).

Sustainable development and wise environmental policy and practice are inextricably related to full involvement of all cultures, citizens, organizations and institutions. The development of special policy and action has been one the major tasks of the international environmental community and constitute one of the cornerstones in the implementation of the Rio Conventions. The relevance of traditional knowledge and the protection and revitalization of indigenous cultures have been recognized as one of the challenges of the sustainable development agenda since it encompasses the recognition of the rights of indigenous and local communities to be granted equitable benefit sharing and protection over their knowledge, innovations and practices, as well as to establish participation and co-management alternatives for natural resources This Workshop aims at promoting a constructive dialogue between indigenous peoples, conservation organizations, governments, and other key actors to address the role of indigenous peoples and local communities in the building of sustainable societies and fair trade practices.

Speakers:

Debra Harry, Indigenous Peoples Coalition Against Biopiracy
Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Nobel Prize Laureat, Guatemala
Max Oft, Coordinadora de las Organizaciones Indígenas de la Cuenca Amazónica (COICA)
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Tebtebba Foundation, Philippines
David Vivas, Venezuela, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)

Chair: Yolanda Kakabadse (Ecuador), President, IUCN

Venue: IUCN Environment Centre, which is located in the vicinity of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) conference site.

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Monday, 26 August 2002, 17.30-19.30
WORKSHOP: Building Synergies - How to Make Intellectual Property Rules Supportive of Biodiversity Conservation and Use

Organized in cooperation with the World Conservation Union (IUCN), Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental (SPDA), the International Centre on Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) and the IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP).

One of the more contentious issues during the negotiations on biodiversity in the WSSD preparatory process was that of synergies and mutual supportiveness between the obligations of the CBD and of agreements related to international trade and intellectual property rights. This reflects the difficulties encountered in the trade discussion at the Doha Ministerial, including on the implementation and review of provisions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Property Rights (TRIPS) continue to be among the most controversial and complex issues in negotiations within the WTO. This Workshop is expected to attract a wide range of participants from diverse fields including WSSD delegates, NGOs, IGOs, academia and business.

Speakers:

A. O. Adede, Kenya, L'etwal International
Joji Cariño, Philippines, Tebtebba Foundation
Fernando Casas, Colombia, Humboldt Institute
Olivier Jalbert, Canada, CBD Secretariat
Peter Schei, Norway, Directorate for Nature Management

Chair: Maria Fernanda Espinosa, IUCN-PBIA

Venue: IUCN Environment Centre, which is located in the vicinity of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) conference site.

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Sunday, 1 September 2002, 10 AM to 4 PM
WORKSHOP: Human Rights, Sustainable Development and Environmental Protection

Organized in cooperation with a host of other organizations.(2) The civil and political rights of those working to protect the environment as well as those who are working to protect their communities, livelihoods and environment as they strive to fully participate in sustainable development processes will be a common theme throughout the workshop. CIEL is organizing one of ten break-out session which will focus on community-based property rights.

Break-Out Session on Community Based Property Rights

An important strategy for using law and policy to promote better and more just environmental governance involves rethinking prevailing theories of property rights. In an ongoing effort to develop property rights theories that can be constructively applied to improve human well-being and environmental management, the Law and Communities Program of the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) developed the concept of community-based property rights (CBPRs). Among other things, the concept reflects efforts to develop more anthropological lawyering. The concept is purposefully designed to be an effective advocacy tool on behalf of local communities and their culturally unique rights and customs to manage and control natural resources.

The break-out session will present a conceptual overview of CBPRs and discuss practical and strategic reasons for invoking the concept. It will also examine an overview of various local, national and international efforts and obstacles for gaining legal recognition of CBPRs, especially those of original, long-term (i.e. indigenous) occupants.

Speakers:

Owen J. Lynch, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)
Shivani Chaudhry, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)
George Gapu, Zimbabwean Environmental Law Association (ZELA), Zimbabwe
Hillary Chima Obgona, Environmental Law Foundation of Nigeria, Nigeria
Ritwick Dutta, Environmental Justice Initiative, India

Moderator: Shivani Chaudhry, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)

Venue: Civil Society Forum, Johannesburg Expo Centre

Time of Break-Out session: 15:00 - 17:00

(2) These include the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Science and Human Rights Program, Washington, DC; Amnesty International USA, Washington, DC; Center for Economic and Social Rights, New York; Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), Washington, DC; Centro de Derechos Humanos y Medio Ambiente (CEDHA), Argentina; EarthJustice, California and Switzerland; Environmental Law Institute, Washington, DC; FIAN (FoodFirst Information and Action Network), Germany; Francois Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Indigenous Information Network, Kenya; International Campaign for Tibet, Washington, DC and Amsterdam; International Federation of University Women; Mazingira Institute, Nairobi, Kenya; Minority Rights Group International, London; Natural Heritage Institute, Berkeley, California; NGO Committee on the Status of Women, Geneva; Northern Alliance for Sustainability (ANPED), Amsterdam; People's Movement for Human Rights Education (PDHRE), New York; Rights and Democracy, Quebec, Canada; Sierra Club, San Francisco, California; World Resources Institute, Washington, DC.

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Sunday, 1 September 2002, 2 PM to 4 PM
The Role of Export Credit Agencies in Sustainable Development

The Center for International Environmental Law in collaboration with Urgewald, Germany and Friends of the Earth, Japan, are convening a panel to discuss Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) and the need to reform their operations, with a particular focus on improving transparency.

ECAs are primarily public or publicly-mandated institutions that provide financial support for a country's exports and foreign investments. Annually, ECAs finance or underwrite about US$491 billion of business activity abroad - about US$55 billion of which goes towards project finance in developing countries - and provide US$13 billion of insurance for new foreign direct investment, dwarfing all other official sources combined (such as the World Bank and Regional Development Banks, bilateral and multilateral aid, etc.). ECAs hold over 25 % of developing countries' US$2.2 trillion debt.

While safeguard policies and standards are in the process of being developed by various national governments and at the OECD, a host of issues, including transparency and accountability, require further discussion. The WSSD represents an excellent opportunity for governments to share their experience and discuss ways to reform ECAs in a manner that takes into account social, environmental and economic aspects.

Speakers:

Narita Yasuro, Director, Development Issues, International Bureau, Ministry of Finance, Japan (invited)
James Mahoney, Vice President for Engineering and Environment, US Export Import Bank
Uschi Eid, Deputy Development Minister, Germany (invited)
Motseoa Senyane-Makatjane, Transformation Resource Centre, Lesotho

Chair: Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)

Venue: Civil Society Global Forum, Heinrich Boell Forum.

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Tuesday, 3 September 2002, 3 PM - 6 PM:
Water and Sustainable Development: A Legal Perspective

CIEL is organizing a Roundtable which will discuss a series of legal questions relating to freshwater. The discussion will focus on human rights, liberalization of trade in basic services, privatization and investment. The panel and following discussion aim at providing a platform for individuals with different backgrounds (policy makers, researchers and activists) to engage with each other and to identify ways of integrating different policy areas in a sustainable manner. Increased understanding of the challenges and benefits of relevant international legal obligations will improve and promote coherence and consistency in policy-making on water related issues. Informed policy making is crucial to ensure that the discussion of water will truly promote sustainable development.

Speakers:

Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)
David Getches, University of Colorado, Colorado
Miloon Kothari, Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Miguel Solanes, United Nations Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
Vicente Paolo B Yu III, Friends of the Earth International (FoEI)

Venue: WaterDome.

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