UN Admits Its Climate Change Program Threatens Indigenous Peoples

The United Nations General Assembly has launched the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) program, a collaboration of FAO, UNDP, UNEP and the World Bank. An estimated 60 million indigenous peoples, completely dependent on forests, are considered the most threatened by REDD. The UN-REDD Framework Document itself warns that that it may "deprive communities of their legitimate land-development aspirations" and "erode culturally rooted not-for-profit conservation values."

Source: huntingtonnews.net, 29 September 2008

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Australian Aboriginal Child Removals Close To Stolen Generation Levels

The number of Aboriginal children being taken from their extended families is now so high it's close to exceeding the Stolen Generation estimates. New figures show 669 indigenous children were in state care in 2006-07, compared with about 700 children forcibly removed each year during the peak of the Stolen Generation: the 1920s and 1930s. These figures were included in reports supplied to the government by indigenous child protection agencies.

Source: Courier Mail, 29 September 2008

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Amazon Deforestation Rises Dramatically

Brazilian officials say that the Amazon is being deforested more than twice as fast as last year, acknowledging a sharp reversal after three years of declines in the deforestation rate. Brazil's Environment Minister said upcoming nationwide elections are partly to blame, with mayors in the Amazon region turning a blind eye to illegal logging in hopes of gaining votes locally. Non-governmental environmentalists blame the global spike in food prices for encouraging soy farmers and cattle ranchers to clear land for crops and grazing.

Source: The Associated Press, 29 September 2008

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