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May 2017: Amazon indigenous leaders discuss culture & the environment (Stanford)

Join us on May 24 from 6-8:30 pm for a Bay Area Tropical Forest Network (BATFN) event held at the Carnegie Institution at Stanford University.

    Six indigenous leaders from the Tiriyo, Xavante, Makushi, Shuar and Kaxinawa Peoples of the Amazon region of Brazil, Guyana and Ecuador will discuss how environmental concerns, biodiversity conservation, climate change concerns and natural resource use intersect with indigenous culture, spirituality, development, politics and land rights. Also participating in the discussion will be Dr. Robert Miller, a Brazilian representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP-GEF) and a consultant and the technical Coordinator of the GATI (Indigenous Environmental and Territorial Management) Project in Brazil. This presentation for BATFN forms part of a larger Amazonian Indigenous People and Native American Summit being held at Stanford University from April 24-26. Presentations at the summit are open to all. Meetings are fostered between Native Americans and the Amazonian indigenous leaders as a means of seeking solutions to common issues. Locations and schedule for the summit will soon be posted.

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Admission is free and open to all, with refreshments (including wine and beer) courtesy of the Bay Area Tropical Forest Network.

WHEN:
May 24 from 6-8:30 pm

WHERE:
Department of Global Ecology Conference Room
Carnegie Institution
Stanford University
260 Panama St
Stanford, CA 94305

Please RSVP so we know how much food and drink to buy

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Oct 2016 BATFN – The struggle for indigenous rights within Brazil’s political turmoil (Stanford)

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Join us on Thursday, October 6 from 6-9 pm for a Bay Area Tropical Forest Network (BATFN) event held at the Carnegie Department of Global Ecology at Stanford University.

As Brazil weathers severe political and economic unrest in the wake of President Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment, the country’s indigenous peoples are at the forefront of social movements demanding social and environmental justice.

Citing today’s alarming assault on native rights enshrined in Brazil’s 1988 Constitution by a powerful political bloc known as the ruralistas, national indigenous leader Sônia Guajarara will discuss the struggle to defend these rights and the country’s rich ecological heritage through the lens of Brazil’s indigenous mobilization.

    Sônia hails from the Amazonian forests of the Araribóia indigenous territory in Brazil’s Maranhão State. Her life reflects the struggle of Brazil’s native peoples for recognition of their rights and ancestral lands. Prior to becoming the national coordinator of Brazil’s Association of Indigenous Peoples (APIB), Sônia served as vice-coordinator of the Brazilian Amazon’s indigenous network COIAB for four years, gleaning a broad understanding of movement building as well as the diverse threats confronting the country’s native population. She is today one the most expressive leaders of Brazil’s indigenous movement, transmitting the cry of recognition of Brazil’s first nations everywhere she goes

Exploring the ramifications of Dilma’s removal and the installation of President Michel Temer, Maria Luiza Mendonça of Brazil’s Network for Social Justice and Human Rights will contextualize this polemic rightward shift in socio-environmental terms.

    Maria Luisa Mendonça is a professor at the International Relations Department of University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ) and director of Rede Social de Justiça e Direitos Humanos (Network for Social Justice and Human Rights – www.social.org.br) in Brazil. She has a PhD in Philosophy and Social Sciences with a focus on Human Geography from the University of Sao Paulo (USP). In 2013 she was a visiting scholar in the Development Sociology Department at Cornell University. Her work focuses on agricultural systems, political economy, international studies, and geopolitical land and natural resource conflicts. She is the editor of the book “Human Rights in Brazil,” which has been published annually by Rede Social since 2000, and she was one of the founders of the World Social Forum.

Admission is free and open to all, with refreshments (including wine and beer) courtesy of Mongabay / the Bay Area Tropical Forest Network.

    Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology conference room
    Stanford University
    260 Panama St,
    Stanford, CA 94305

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Sep 2016 event – Development Without Destruction: Community-Managed Conservation in Malaysian Borneo (Berkeley)

Google Earth image showing deforestation, dams, and logging on lands traditionally managed by indigenous peoples in Sarawak.
Google Earth image showing deforestation, dams, and logging on lands traditionally managed by indigenous peoples in Sarawak.

Join BATFN and The Borneo Project for a panel discussion with indigenous activists from Borneo and the academics from UC Berkeley who support their efforts.

Peter Kallang and Komeok Joe are on the front lines of human rights and environmental justice campaigns in the Malaysian state of Sarawak on the island of Borneo. Komeok, founder of the Penan organization Keruan, has been actively fighting logging since the mid 90s. He has been involved in dozens of blockades and non-violent direct actions against logging companies.

As Chairman of the grassroots network SAVE Rivers, Peter Kallang is a leader in the campaign against a series of mega-dams planned for Sarawak. In March 2016 the campaign had a major success when the state government cancelled the Baram Dam, the next dam in line to be built.

Dr. Rebekah Shirley from the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory (RAEL) at UC Berkeley produced three studies on the proposed Sarawak dams that have discredited the initiative, proposing instead a energy development plan based on decentralized renewable systems.

Save Rivers and Keruan are now teaming up to ensure long-term indigenous and environmental rights in Sarawak by creating a community-managed protected area in the Baram River Basin.

Join us to learn how a coalition of NGOs, community organizations, and academics are resisting destructive development practices in Borneo, and how a multi-ethnic coalition envisions their sustainable future.

WHEN: Wednesday, September 7, 2016 from 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM (PDT)

WHERE: Goldman School of Public Policy – Living Room – 2607 Hearst Ave, Berkeley, CA 94720

RSVP here