International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) have launched a new Good Practice Guide on Sustainable Forest Management: Biodiversity and Livelihoods. This booklet is part of a series of Good Practice Guides produced by the CBD. It provides a range of case studies and other materials to make the forest sector more biodiversity-friendly, and socially beneficial. It addresses the linkages between forestry, biodiversity, and development / poverty reduction. The summaries and examples included in this booklet show how biodiversity and sustainable economic development can go hand in hand. The primary target audiences for the guide are government officers and decision-makers in the various government agencies related to forestry (at global, regional, national and local levels), as well as development practitioners. A CD-ROM is also available.

Chapter II.c of the guide focuses specifically on the role of indigenous and local communities. Indigenous case studies include one from the Congo (on the use of GPS and community radio by Pygmy communities to protect cultural sites) and Malaysia (on biodiversity in production forests).

“Recent developments for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) have the potential to provide benefits to local and indigenous communities. However, a number of conditions would need to be met for these co-benefits to be achieved. Indigenous peoples are unlikely to benefit from REDD where they have no secure land tenure; if there is no principle of free, prior and informed consent concerning the use of their lands and resources; and if their identities are not recognized or they have no space to participate in policy-making processes and/or lack the capacity to engage on an equal footing.” - Extract from Sustainable Forest Management: Biodiversity and Livelihoods

Download the Good Practice Guide on Sustainable Forest Management: Biodiversity and Livelihoods [pdf]…

HonestReporting Media BackSpin, 29. November 2009

Israel is Europe’s Blind Spot

Ehud Olmert Still Dreams of Peace

America vs. The Narrative

‘Dispatches’ and Anglo-Jewish Self-Confidence

The UN Report: A Substantive Critique

Mumbai Terror: The Phone Transcripts

Muslim Birthrate On the Decline in Israel

Hezbollah’s Global Fundraising Reach

Will the still small group of dedicated members of the NGO “Reconciliation for a Common Future in Liberia” (RCFL) finally come to the point and find any partner-NGO?

RCFL promised to supply meeting places for traumatized people still suffering from the outcome of the cruel civil war. “It is ok that now, in the beginning, we are a smaller group. It is our aim to enlarge and to spread out through the whole country”, says Jane Connor, member of RCFL. She also stresses that the NGO needs the help from the African people. First one is the patient and later on one gets job training and can become part of the organisation, for example as a social worker.

But it is still unclear how fast the organisation can boost and if there are any Africans wanting to take their help or even to join them later on. RCFL doesn’t count on any marketing as advertisement but on word-of-mouth. Jane Connor believes in their project and doesn’t doubt that for example the conservative women dare to come. “We offer individual therapies for shy women but there is also the chance to visit group therapies, where women can bring a friend or maybe feel more secure because of the feeling of community.”

At the moment there are dealings with several other NGOs such as FREE, SAFE and CEF. The latter offers to build a school for former child soldiers with additional rooms for therapies, whereas RCFL offers workers in return. Another NGO, UFE, brings the needed teachers to the school. “But it is not only about teaching. We think also courses like painting for example are very important. That is why we need plenty of social workers which will hopefully be Africans later on.”

And aren’t you afraid of the brutal attitude of these former child soldiers, we wanted to know. “Of course first of all they have to hand their weapons over to us. All these are risks we have to put up with. Maybe we also have to face armed resistance or old animosities coming up again… Nobody said it’s going to be easy.”

kn

Carbon Trading – How it Works and Why It Fails, Tamra Gilbertson and Oscar Reyes, Critical Currents no. 7, November 2009

Carbon Trade Watch has released a new publication by Tamra Gilbertson and Oscar Reyes that outlines the limitations of an approach to tackling climate change which redefines the problem to fit the assumptions of neoliberal economics. It demonstrates that the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, the world’s largest carbon market, has consistently failed to ‘cap’ emissions, while the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) routinely favours environmentally ineffective and socially unjust projects. This is illustrated with case studies of CDM projects in Brazil, Indonesia, India and Thailand where the publication argues that off-sets projects, even those that promote renewable energy, will not be a solution to climate change.

Chapter 4 examines REDD and Indigenous Peoples. Solutions proposed in Chapter 5 include measures to secure land tenure for Indigenous Peoples’ and forest-dependent communities.

“…Simplistic schemes to grow money on trees represent a significant setback for the complex work of protecting forests through defending the territorial and other rights of Indigenous Peoples and forest communities – who have currently and historically done the most to protect forest ecosystems.” - Extract from Carbon Trading – How it Works and Why it Fails

Download Carbon Trading – How it Works and Why It Fails[pdf]…

WaterAid is offering a free  iPhone application “ToiletFinder UK“, which it hopes will encourage users to make a small donation via their web site.

The application locates the nearest public toilet(s) and displays them in map or list format.

It is also a User Generated Content (UGC) application, as the toilet database is created entirely by users, who can add new or flag missing toilets.

The application can be downloaded from the Apple Store using iTunes, or directly on your iPhone (search for “ToiletFinder”).

ToiletFinder UK was created for World Toilet Day by French agency BeTomorrow and is currently only available on the iPhone.

Earlier, the US NGO Africare, developed an iPhone application as part of its “Pass It On! fund raising campaign.

At the invitation of Conexion Colombia Caroline travelled to Bogota, Colombia from the 16-19 November 2009 to present the GuideStar model to a group of over 200 NGO representatives. The meeting, titled ‘Fundraising and Innovation for NGOs’ explored a range of initiatives that promote the work of NGOs and connect them to donors and other stakeholders at national and international levels. A summary can be read in Spanish and English.

During her visit, Caroline also met with several leading organisations supporting social development and Colombian civil society:

Conexion Colombia channels resources from all around the world to a portfolio of Colombian NGOs and foundations and links diaspora Colombians to their country through a range of information services.

Compartamos con Colombia, is an NGO that promotes the Colombian nonprofit sector through strategic support and capacity building, the promotion of philanthropy and social investment, and by raising awareness of the importance of social responsibility with young entrpreneurs.

The Presidential Agency for Social Action and International Cooperation, Accion Social, coordinates, promotes and carries out international cooperation policies, plans and projects which contribute to the social and economic development of Colombia, and to reducing the poverty of Colombians who have been affected by violence, illicit crops and who live in conditions of vulnerability.

And last but not least, ONG por la Transparencia (NGOs for Transparency) seeks to increase NGO visibility and make publicly available information that seeks to strengthen the credibility of the sector and increase public support for the work of these important organisations.

There was significant interest in how GuideStar might help illuminate the work of Colombian NGOs and promote a culture of transparency and information that will help connect Colombians both at home and abroad with national NGOs and the communities in which they work. We look forward to continuing these initial conversations.

Last wednesday wasn’t the best day for Jim Brown (OSA). “I have to ask my colleague…” and ” I have to look that up in our mission / vision statement…” were his most common answers. Isn’t he interested in his own business? Getting the trash out of the slums will not work, if you don’t even have a clue of your own mission, Mr Brown.

Or did  you just got up on the wrong side of the bed?

When push comes to shove you should never depend on a wimpy piece of paper.

And that is not only a hint for OSA…

ko & kn

Numerous NGO’s are currently bustling around in Africa, claiming to do everything they can to boost situations in Africa’s poor countries. But why haven’t we heard much of them so far? Most likely because these lazy fellers don’t care as much as they claim to do! If you are about to raise as much money as possible for an organisation you are truly commited to, what would you do? Just hang around waiting to be interviewed? Probably not! You would grab any possible chance to get publicity. So what does this tell us? Are  newspapers supposed to take them by the hand? Maybe the NGOs  should start being passionate about our continent and beg for attention since it is money and supporters they need to follow through with their aim.

fm & mk

The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 640

“Phnom Penh: Pointing to the importance to create a law about non-government organizations (NGOs) being drafted by the government, the Cambodian Prime Minister said on 24 November 2009 that previous problems caused by some NGOs encourage the government to create a law on organizations of different kinds, in order to ensure their proper operation, but this law will not affect the freedom of the NGOs.

“Examples raised by Samdech Akkak Moha Senapadei Dekchor Hun Sen during the 30th anniversary celebration of the partnership between NGOs and Cambodia, were of an organization which had been prosecuted in the United State regarding the adoption of children from Cambodia, which finally became human trafficking, and of another organization that sheltered under an NGO some years ago and had taken the British Embassy as its target for a terrorist attack, but this plan was suppressed in time by the government. [The terrorist] Hambali left Cambodia and was later arrested in Thailand, after the attack on the island of Bali in Indonesia.

“Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen said, ‘These examples do not imply that the Royal Government is suspecting other organizations that are implementing good activities of participating in terrorism, but please do not forget that some organizations are doing bad things.’ Therefore, we need a law to control NGOs. He stressed, ‘I guarantee that it is not an action to restrict the freedom of NGOs, please believe me.’

“During the 1980s there were just less than 30 NGOs in Cambodia. But by 2009, there are 3,207 NGOs and associations, where 1,933 are NGOs and 1,274 are associations, that is why Samdech Dekchor Hun Sen observed that Cambodia is a heaven for NGOs that carry out different activities.

“The claim about the practicality of an NGO law was made, while an NGO law is being drafted carefully by the Royal Government; some NGOs expressed the fear that the Royal Government will exercise prohibitive controls over NGOs through that law. Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen said, ‘I am aware that some NGOs that have acted correctly, and they do not care too much about this law, but some organizations protested loudly, and I wonder why they claim to promote the rule of law, but they want to act without a law.’

“Samdech Dekchor Hun Sen added, ‘Anyway, we will neither restrict the freedom to creat NGOs, nor take away the funding of NGOs.’ He added that some NGOs demand that the government has to be transparent, providing information, but they themselves do not have such transparency. The Royal Government wants to know where NGOs get the money from and how they use it for what. ‘Just this they do not want to tell, but they oppose the government. The Royal Government also wants to know how much capital is from government, from development partners, and from NGOs, so that we can know the total amount of capital to allocate each year in each sector, where at present, we do not control it and we are not aware of how many activities are contributed by NGOs. This point creates difficulties for macro management or other relevant tasks.’ Samdech went on to say that sometimes, there are some overlapping activities of NGOs, and what is more problematic is that some NGOs had expressed their voice absolutely in the same way as opposition parties. Such organizations protest more than others, because they feel afraid, just because the laws in Cambodia do not allow political parties to receive funds from foreign donors.

“Samdech continued to say that in the first stage of law enforcement on NGOs, there will be difficulties. Anyway, the Royal Government will make it function smoothly.” Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.8, #2107, 25.11.2009

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Wednesday, 25 November 2009

Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #3, 345.11.2009

• A Man Entered a House to Rape a 14-Year Old Girl when Her Parents Were Not at Home [the man was arrested - Battambang]
• The Laotian Prime Minister Will Arrive in Cambodia This Morning [to visit Cambodia officially on 25 and 26 November 2009]

Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.8, #2107, 25.11.2009

• Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen Claimed that the Non-Government Organizations Law Will Not Block the Freedom of Non-Government Organizations
• The Cambodian Prime Minister Did Not Take Office by Robbing Power from Others like it Happened in a Neighboring Country [claimed Prime Minister Hun Sen]
• Three Top Drug Smugglers Were Arrested by Military Police in Takhmao [Kandal]

Khmer Machas Srok, Vol.3, #538, 25.11.2009

• If [Thai Prime Minister] Abhisit Vijjajiva Closes the Border, It Does Not Cause Any Trouble for [Prime Minister] Hun Sen, but for Khmer Citizens [who earn their living at those border crossings; but Prime Minister Hun Sen still announced his firm opinion that Cambodia does not care about the warning from Thailand to maybe close the border]

Koh Santepheap, Vol.42, #6814, 25.11.2009

• Samdech Deckhor Hun Sen: Now It Should Be Time to Create a Law about Non-Government Organizations and Associations
• The Former Singaporean Prime Minister [Mr. Goh Chok Tong, now a senior minister] Visited Cambodia [to study the current situation, especially different measures that Cambodia has been taking to deal with the global financial crisis and other future problems]

Phnom Penh Post [Khmer Edition], Vol.1, #25, 53.11.2009

• Prosecutors [of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal] Asked to Jail [Tuol Sleng former prison chief] Duch for a Long Period [for the torture and murder of many people]
• Oddar Meanchey Villagers [of 36 families] Sleep on the Ground opposite the National Assembly [they escaped from arrest by the Oddar Meanchey authorities over land disputes with Oknha and senator Ly Yong Phat]
• Netherlands Wants to Invest in Solar Power [in Cambodia, worth US$300 million]

Rasmei Angkor, Vol.16, #1477, 25.11.2009

• Fire in Boeng Salang Commune Destroyed Two Houses and a Car, and Other Property Was Totally Burnt [the fire was caused by an electric fault - Phnom Penh]

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #5056, 25.11.2009

• Drug Smugglers Shot Police in Response, Killing One Policeman and Seriously Injuring Two Others [two suspects, husband and wife, were arrested - Phnom Prek, Battambang]
• Thai Former Prime Minister Mr. Samak Sundaravej Died of [liver] Cancer [both disputing countries, Cambodia and Thailand, expressed condolences over his death]

Sereypheap Thmey, Vol.17, #1819, 25.11.2009

• The Phnom Penh Municipal Court’s Position is Upheld [by the Appeals Court] over [the president of the Khmer Civilization Foundation] Mr. Moueng Son’s Case [the court sentenced him to jail for two years for disinformation, over his comment about fixing of lighting at the Angkor Wat Temple]

Have a look at the last editorial – you can access it directly from the main page of the Mirror.
And please recommend us also to your colleagues and friends.

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HonestReporting Media BackSpin, 25. November 2009

Lesen Sie bitte die beiden neuen medienkritischen Analysen von HonestReporting [In Englisch]:

Gilo In Perspective: Wie berichteten die Medien über Bauvorhaben in einem Jerusalemer Vorort?

Press TV Spreading Hate & Incitement: Iran lässt Hasskommentare auf seiner Propaganda-Webseite zu.