“Change the system, not the climate” has become a familiar slogan. But what kind of system should replace the current one? What new alternatives are being built at local, national, regional and international levels to challenge the current system based on consumption, waste and the marketing of all aspects of life and nature? What should be the fundamental principles of “another world is possible and necessary”?
How can we build a world in which harmony is reestablished between humans and nature for the well-being of all humanity and our Mother Earth?
The objective of this working group is to rethink, recover, analyze, and develop structural alternatives to the capitalist system and to promote solutions that strike at the root of the climate change problem.
World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth 
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March 2, 2010 at 4:36 pm
Ralph Nelson
Florence Nightingale wrote, “In watching diseases, both in private homes and in public hospitals, the thing which strikes the experienced observer most forcibly is this, that the symptoms of sufferings generally considered to be inevitable and incident to the disease are very often not symptoms of the disease at all, but of something quite different – of want of fresh air, or of light, or of warmth, or of quite, or of cleanliness, or of punctuality and care in the administration of diet, of each or of all of these. . . ” (Nightingale. 1859. p.8)
Climate changes affect the health and well-being of individuals, families and communities. This makes climate change a nursing issue. The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science recommends that all nurses have a basic understanding of environmental health principles and that these principles are integrated into all aspects of our practice, education, advocacy, policies and research.
This is where I am focusing my research. By addressing climate change through nursing models homeostasis begins.
Policy development in the public arena seeks to build constituencies that can help bring about change. Policy development is both a core function of public health and a core intervention strategy used by public health nursing specialists.
Mary O’Brien, in her book: Making Better Environmental Decisions: An Alternative to Risk Assessments, notes that we are repeatedly given a very short list of risk reduction choices, and that the public is not effectively engaged in the decision-making process. She suggests that a broader range of options would allow us to see the possibilities for further reducing (or even eliminating) risks and that the process should be much more democratic in nature. O’Brien recommends that we “simultaneously employ information and emotion and a sense of relationship to others – other species, other cultures, and other generations.” (O’Brien,2000)
Her method rings true for a nursing based approach.
Thank you and I hope I have the blessing of sharing my thoughts with you all.
Ralph Nelson, RN
Nightingale F: Notes on nursing: what it is and what it is not. London. 1859.
Harrison
O’Brien M: Making better environmental decisions: an alternative to risk
assessment, Cambridge, Mass, 2000, MIT Press
March 3, 2010 at 12:38 am
Tupac Enrique Acosta
United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Eighth Session May 20, 2009 UN Headquarters New York, NY
Agenda Item: 4 (a) Human Rights
Implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Statement by Tupac Enrique Acosta, Yaotachcauh
Tlahtokan Nahuacalli, Izkalotlan Aztlan
O’Otham Nations Territories, Abya Yala North
Good greeting to all my relatives, relations of Indigenous Peoples from around the world and distinguished members of the Permanent Forum:
Madam Chair,
Ayo. Today we are called to address collectively a review and follow-up on recommendations made to the Permanent Forum regarding implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In the moment of reflection, and at a time of convergence that realizes the crises of climate change and global economic recession as reflections of the collapse of the dominant planetary paradigms of human economic and social development, the work of the Permanent Forum and the self determination of the Nican Tlacah Cemanahuac – Indigenous Peoples of the World – also faces the challenge of redefinition and clarification.
At the initiation of this Eighth Session of the Permanent Forum, the Indigenous Peoples Global Caucus in our opening statement, referred to this challenge as a foretelling of the call to all members of human society to recognize the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a necessary instrument to address comprehensively and simultaneously the global climate crisis and economic recession as a mechanism of world peace.
As process and product of standard setting at global scale, the UNDRIP integrates the principle of self-determination of Indigenous Peoples with the principle of peaceful coexistence among all peoples as a Human Right. The realization of the UNDRIP expresses the universal and fundamental reality of all systems of international jurisprudence, emerging from the evolving inter-relations of customs and usages of distinct peoples, and finally codification in the statutes and mandates of the government states, individually and collectively.
The UN Charter itself proposes to defend this process as an instrument of world peace, by implementing mechanisms of combined effort among the Peoples of the United Nations through international cooperation.
In review and follow-up to the recommendations made to the UNPFII over the past eight sessions, it is evident that taken as a whole, the implementation of the UNDRIP institutes a new systemic standard that calls for complementary readjustment among entities of the government states and the Nations of the Indigenous Peoples, normalizing peaceful relations based on mutual respect and cooperation.
The potential that this systemic standard may serve to assist in addressing the global climate crisis is only just beginning to emerge. By linking and codifying the principle of respect for cultural diversity with respect for collective ecological responsibilities, the UNDRIP establishes a new framework for the ancient principle of respect for Human Rights of the Future Generations of all peoples. The immediate challenge is to bring to scale the necessary economic policies of accountability to the processes driving the global economy, in accord with the parallel principle of global ecological responsibility.
That President Evo Morales of Bolivia has been successful in having the UN adopt the international day of Mother Earth, allows the glimmer of hope to reignite among the Indigenous Peoples of the world. We arrive at the Permanent Forum today in expectation of the foretold redefinition and clarification of the relationship of our human societies in relationship to the material world as one of a sacred and complementary nature and not the predatory patriarchal practices controlled by extractive industries whose corporations are driven only by profit and greed.
As so as we, the Nican Tlacah Cemanahuac – Indigenous Peoples of the World move towards realization of our self determination in conjunction with the work of the Permanent Forum, it is essential that we engage in a review as well of the guiding conceptual frameworks that have driven the processes of not only implementation strategies regarding the UNDRIP but the underlying paradigms of social cognition and policies of global governance related to the mandates of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples.
Clarification:
The Indigenous Peoples Global Caucus has submitted at this session the recommendation that the appropriate and special measures be undertaken, in view and review of the adoption of the UNDRIP, to redefine and clarify to the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues that future sessions of the Permanent Forum be implemented as convenings of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples.
In concurrence with this recommendation and in the spirit of self determination, as stated by the distinguished Chairperson in her opening remarks, “It is imperative that effective and meaningful participation in decision making bodies at all levels is insured,” we now submit that the shift in the framework of evaluation for mandates of the Permanent Forum called for by the UNDRIP is the necessary pivotal act in order to realize “effective and meaningful” implementation strategies related to the UNDRIP and the ongoing efforts of this Permanent Forum.
In this regard, the Indigenous Peoples Global Caucus has stated in our recommendation delivered in our opening remarks at this session of the Forum that:
“We affirm that the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples establishes a new framework of evaluation for the work of the Permanent Forum and all initiatives of the United Nations system.”
Taking this point of departure to elaborate on the implications for the dual mandates of the Permanent Forum, let us state an initial point of clarification:
The redefinition of the Permanent Forum as an institution of the UN on Indigenous Peoples, insists that there be acknowledgement, affirmation in policy and protocols of procedure in realization of the fact that we, the Indigenous Peoples of the world in partnership with member states of the UN system, have agreed to collaborate in the agenda of the Permanent Forum in accord with a mutual understanding that we shall complement our efforts under a Dual Mandate.
This principle and clarification is necessary and called for by the new paradigm in international relations mandated by the UNDRIP, and the redefinition for standards of international diplomacy in relation to Indigenous Peoples that the Permanent Forum must exemplify and implement as lead programme for the UN system.
In fact this clarification is nothing new, but in fact reflects the ancient protocols of Indigenous International Law, the jurisprudence of reality that commands all human societies to live in equilibrium with the natural world and each other. We speak now of the laws of relationship among all the nations of life, whose constitution and charters are drawn by the intricate and powerful interdependence of ecosystems of the land, the waters, the winds, and the sacred fire.
In this context, and in complement to the principles referenced in the principles of the UNDRIP, the essential question is framed: Is the institution of the United Nations system an instrument of Human Society, a mechanism to promote sustainable social and economic development, or has the UN degraded itself into a tool of special interests and fractured allegiances driven by extractive economic processes that threaten to devour our very Mother Earth?
In response, the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples is uniquely positioned at the threshold of potential to conceptualize, act, evaluate and follow-up on the challenges of addressing the issues of our collective agenda. In consequence, we submit the following affirmations and proposals for action:
• That the UNPFII take the necessary special measures to acknowledge and implement the UNDRIP as an instrument of world peace for all peoples.
• That implementation strategies of the UNDRIP across the UN system be complementary and systemic initiatives that link a Human Rights approach with the local, regional and international strategies addressing the climate change crisis.
• That the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent be respected and applied to the development and implementation of global economic infrastructures and recovery systems that operate as drivers of the global economy, as these may relate to the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in terms of self determination and development. In the context of the UNDRIP, and within the horizon of the real threats of the climate change crisis, the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent cannot be applied on a merely project by project or region by region basis, but must be a systemic standard and instrument to address the need for cosmetric cultural transformation of our human society as a whole.
• That economic indicators of the Indigenous Peoples globally that supercede the monetary “market based” systems of the government states be brought forward in order to assess and evaluate priorities and effective strategies of economic and social development within a framework that links a Human Rights approach with collective ecological responsibilities. (Such as: Seven Global Currencies of the Indigenous Peoples – Life Sustaining Systems of Exchange and Complementarity).
• We again reaffirm the call by the Indigenous Peoples Global Caucus for the Permanent Forum carry out a study assessing the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, contextualized by the new systemic standard of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, such study to be presented at its 9th session in 2010.
• That as essential element in this process, the representation of regional organizations of the UN (such as the Organization of American States) respect the principles of self determination and Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples now codified in the UNDRIP, and mandated by UNGA 1514 and 1541. Specifically, we call upon the member states of the OAS to comply in respect of Universal Human Rights and in particular our Rights as Indigenous Peoples in relation to international borders of the states and national immigration enforcement policies across our continent of Abya Yala [the Americas].
• That the UNPFII, as act of implementation and systemic standard setting, prepare for the arrival and official archiving of the body of Treaties, Constructive Arrangements and Accords between the Nations and Pueblos of Indigenous Peoples and the government states of the UN system, to be implemented during the 9th Session of the Permanent Forum in 2010, and that the Martinez Treaty Study be integrated and updated accordingly.
• That the Secretariat of the UNPFII facilitate the officialization of interventions, oral and written, by the Indigenous Peoples Global and regional caucuses, delivered for submission to the UNPFII and in exchange among each other.
• That in follow-up to the above and in anticipation of emerging themes for future work, the UNPFII establish partnership with the diverse initiatives of the Indigenous Peoples across the planet in terms of Education and Human Rights of the Indigenous Peoples, in accord with the principles of the UNDRIP, and in particular as related to the development of complementary systems and services of social cognition, the compilation and dissemination of bioregional planning instruments, such as the Indigenous Peoples Geography Project.
Ayo.
Tupac Enrique Acosta, Yaotachcauh
Tlahtokan Nahaucalli
TONATIERRA
NAHUACALLI
Embassy of the Indigenous Peoples
PO Box 24009 Phoenix, AZ 85074
Email: chantlaca@tonatierra.org
http://www.tonatierra.org
The Wars of Petropolis
The Battle for Middle Earth: Carbon Trading and the Commodification of the Sky
“In this sense, I think that the issue of carbon is an external concept. For us, all natural things contribute to life. The air supports us, the birds take care of us as well, as do the fishes, the trees, the mammals, and all the things that are alive. If we consider all natural things as a web of life, we can not separate one from another. When the policies of the big institutions such as the World Bank and others make plans with our resources, but only taking them into account as carbon sequestration, an external concept to indigenous languages, the indigenous communities are forced to change their own vision of their resources. I think that for a better understanding between financial organisations and indigenous communities we should create a communication mechanism based on our traditional models. By this I mean that we should look for a dialogue mechanism such as those used by the indigenous peoples to take decisions without discrimination, and to reinforce the continuity of natural resources.”
http://www.climatefrontlines.org/en-GB/node/197
Alí García Segura, an indigenous Bribri from Abya Yala, [Costa Rica -Central America]
*************
Seven Global Currencies
Of the
Indigenous Peoples
Life Sustaining Systems of Exchange and Reciprocity
An Evaluation Matrix for the Global Economy and Millennium Development Goals
The Breath of Life
The Water of Life
The Givers of Life
The Sustainers of Life
The Foundation of Life
The Sharers of Life
The Seed of Life
*************************************
The Breath of Life: The Air, Winds and Atmosphere
The Water of Life: The Waters, the Clouds, Waterways, Rivers and Streams, and Oceans
The Givers of Life: The Sacred Species: Buffalo, Deer, Salmon, and Eagle
The Sustainers of Life: Corn, Beans. Squash (agriculture)
The Foundation of Life: The Land and Territory, Mother Earth
The Sharers of Life: Community and Nations
The Seed of Life: Spirit – Light
http://www.tonatierra.org
March 16, 2010 at 2:06 am
Peter Carter
What new alternatives are being built at local, national, regional and international levels to challenge the current system based on consumption, waste and the marketing of all aspects of life and nature? What should be the fundamental principles –?
The choice has been between UN sustainable development and the corporate rule under anti democratic illegitimate free trade regulation that gives money and corporations power over all.
The best chance (with no time left) is to build on the 1992 UN Rio Earth Summit that addressed all the above. It is comprised of 5 documents agreed to by the nations.
Agenda 21 (comprehensive and specific) was the UN ‘action plan’ for developing sustainably.
The past 20 years prove that the Earth summit approach was and still is badly needed -for our survival.
By very simple revisions of strengthening language and removing/ the sections on free market intellectual property and trade liberalization rules makes it is possible to rapidly produce a new world plan and order.
This would be valuable looking towards the 20102 Earth summit.
March 23, 2010 at 5:03 pm
Stuart Barlow
President Evo Morales was correct when he told the Copenhagen conference that the real cause of climate change was the capitalist system. Capitalism has usurped our relationship with nature and is driven by creating excessive consumption of short-lived commodities, while for large sections of humanity mere survival and subsistence are the order of the day.
So a central part of creating a healthy and sustainable eco-system which will allow the harmony between humans and nature to be re-established, for the well-being of all humanity, we need to break the tyranny of profit-driven production relationships. This will need the creation of new democratic, not-for-profit forms of ownership and management between associated producers providing the goods and services people need. Production would switch to developing better quality goods which last for as long as possible. The overall amount of resources used would be minimised while maximising the use of recycled materials. Total energy use would be reduced through on-site efficiencies and the remainder switched to renewable energy sources.
We will have to restructure the undemocratic top-down pyramid of organisations shaped by capitalism’s needs for profit. All productive resources should be owned in common, including the stewardship of the land, sea and air and all natural resources. We will need to develop models of production based on need, not profit, establishing pricing structures that truly reflect environmental impacts and requirements, while providing a social surplus for vital public services for the community. Decisions on production will need to be taken collectively by these communities of producers and consumers identifying and meeting peoples’ needs. This will require a new system of government based on a network of local, regional and global Assemblies with the power to implement an urgent programme of solutions.
April 5, 2010 at 11:14 pm
Sheryl Oteyza
In a speaking tour (October 2009) to address the nation about the continual desecration of Indigenous Australians, Harry Nelson, a Walpiri elder said “social movements are born and bred through strong culture”. That culture is strongly driven by land and the people’s spiritual, economical and physical connection to it.
In 2007, the Australian government (Prime Minister John Howard and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Mal Brough) suspended the 1975 Racial Discrimination Act and put in place the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) legislation (also known as the Northern Territory Intervention). The legislation was put in place on the grounds that there were too many alcohol related violence and rampant pedophilia in indigenous communities. However, months after the NTER, there have been no pedophilia rings uncovered nor prosecutions over child sexual abuse. Instead, the NTER brought the army to patrol indigenous communities, closed down community owned stores, quarantined welfare and replaced it with ‘ration cards’ where community members could only use it at certain stores and buy certain products. Indigenous children were taken for random checks to see if they have been sexually abused. Indigenous elders felt degraded.
The communities in the Northern Territory affected by the Intervention namely Nancy Town, Ampilatwatja and Yuendumu are standing up and saying ‘enough is enough’. In July 2009, The elders from the Ampilatwatja community walked off the government reserve and went back to their traditional land, Honeymoon Bore. There they set up a permanent protest camp; a strong statement to say that they are there to stay on their traditional land, re-build their community, unite their people, maintain their cultural practices and retain their native language. The walk-off has attracted a large amount of interest in Australia nationally. Union groups, lobby groups and solidarity groups have assisted financially in order to build the permanent protest camp, set it up with solar panels, bore water and sustainable permaculture gardens.
This walk-off is just one of the many social movements that indigenous Australians have done. In the 70’s, the outstation movement was followed by many indigenous Australians. In the Northern and Central Australia, elders started to move back to their traditional lands and younger people followed. In Pilbara, Western Australia, Strelley station set up a bi-cultural and bi-lingual schools. White teachers consulted and listened to community elders what to teach the youth. The entire community functioned around the training and education of its young people. The Noonkahbah station (also in Western Australia) greatly emphasized the strengthening of their culture by making it an essential part of their kids education.
And so in the words of Walpiri elder, Harry Nelson “social movements are born and bred through strong culture”, we need to re-educate ourselves with that culture; the culture of respect to the land and the indigenous people who live by it, the culture of not over-consuming our finite natural resources; the culture of prioritizing the ‘needs’ instead of the ‘wants’.
As Australian activist for Aboriginal rights, Kaye Bellear said “the whole education of people and I don’t just mean the formal education, the whole living structure of the people has to change”. With this in mind and conscience, we could perhaps live more sustain ably and leave future generations with a planet.