[risingtide] AMAN-DTE press release: Forests for the Future

Carolyn Marr dte at gn.apc.org
Wed Apr 22 10:47:24 CEST 2009




Press release by AMAN and DTE

Forests for the Future: Climate change lessons from Indonesia


April 22nd - Earth Day -  2009 – The forest 
management practices of indigenous peoples in 
Indonesia provides important lessons for world 
governments about to make crucial decisions on how to deal with climate change.

A new book launched today - Forests for the 
Future - is written by indigenous communities 
across Indonesia and describes the skills and 
knowledge used for generations to manage forest 
ecosystems without destroying them.

CO2 emissions from runaway deforestation and 
peatland destruction in Indonesia are making a 
substantial contribution to climate change worldwide.

Forests for the Future avoids romanticising the 
indigenous way of life.  Instead it presents 
lessons learned from communities striving to meet 
today's economic and political challenges. It is 
a testament to the willingness of indigenous 
peoples to engage with an international audience 
so that their ways of forest management may be 
better known and get the recognition and respect they deserve.

Traditional knowledge has enabled indigenous 
communities to benefit from the wealth of forest 
resources such as food crops, rubber, medicines, 
materials for building and household goods.

Many governments are keen to include forests in 
mechanisms that permit industrial polluters to 
buy carbon credits from forest schemes in 
countries like Indonesia.  But there are huge 
risks involved. For indigenous communities, these 
risks include the loss of livelihoods and the 
violation of their right to manage their forests. 
Powerful business and political elites in 
Indonesia have pushed indigenous communities 
aside for decades in Indonesia: now they may rush 
to grab more forests so they can profit from the carbon trade.

Forests for the Future is published by 
Indonesia’s Indigenous Peoples’ Alliance, AMAN, 
and Down to Earth.  It marks AMAN’s tenth 
anniversary and aims to assist efforts to develop 
community-based models which present a more 
achievable, viable and just way of addressing the 
challenges of sustainability, poverty reduction 
and upholding the rights of indigenous peoples.

The book can be downloaded from DTE's website at 
http://dte.gn.apc.org/GNSCON.htm


For further information and/or interviews please contact:

Abdon Nababan, AMAN
+62 811 111 365
<mailto:abdon.nababan at aman.or.id>abdon.nababan at aman.or.id

Yuyun Indradi, DTE
+6281 31066 3859
y.indradi at gmail.com

Emil Kleden, Pusaka
+ 628131168311
emil.kleden at cbn.net.id

Chip Fay, Samdhana Institute
+63 917 718 3780
chip at samdhana.org


For more information about AMAN visit http://www.aman.or.id
For more information about DTE visit http://dte.gn.apc.org

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