Copenhagen, Denmark,


Indigenous delegates from across Africa have arrived in Copenhagen for the 15th Conference of Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. IPACC has an 11 member delegation from across Africa, as well as delegates from East Africa funded by IWGIA and IIN.

Over the weekend, during preparatory meetings, the indigenous peoples caucus agreed to create to working groups, one on shared vision, and one on the specific issues of REDD and carbon credit trading in relation to tropical forest areas.

Mr Joseph Ole Simel of Kenya is chairing the REDD working group. Ms Victoria Haraseb of Namibia is heading up the indigenous working group on Adaptation. Ms Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim of Chad is working on the shared vision working group. Mr Kanyinke Sena of Kenya represented IPACC at the Climate Carbon Biodiversity Alliance preparatory meeting. Sena is IPACC respresentative to the Forest Carbon Partnership and the global civil society representative to UNREDD.

Monday morning, the opening of the COP, brought news from Pretoria that South Africa has announced important cuts in Green House Gas emissions. South Africa has been part of a group of wealthy countries in the South which have been trying to avoid any emissions cap, arguing that the cuts must first come from Annex 1 (Western industrialised) countries, before emerging economies should take responsibility. During 2009, the Africa Group of states has become more assertive in the UNFCCC process, notably at the Barcelona meeting, putting pressure on global super powers, but also their own members, to have a clear position on emission cuts.

Africa has been badly hit in 2008-2009 with heavy flooding in West Africa and the worst droughts in history in East Africa. Africa has been a junior partner at the UNFCCC in the past, which concentrated on the energy issues of industrialised countries. As climate change gets worse and Africa is more heavily affected, the countries of the South are taking a more firm role at the negotiations.

President Zuma of South Africa, who a few months ago indicated no interest in Copenhagen, has now now announced that he is likely to attend. This follows announcements by President Obama of the United States and the Presidents of China and India who are both due to attend.

IPACC's Burundi delegates are still in Nairobi struggling to get a visa from the Danish Embassy. As with COP14, Burundi citizens have to fly to Nairobi, Kenya before they are allowed visa to come to Europe. IPACC has expressed its dissatisfaction with this form of discrimination which blocks full participation in United Nations activities.

IPACC will be launching a series of films on traditional knowledge, climate change, droughts and flooding during the COP15 event. IPACC's priorities, laid out in the Bujumbura statement from October 2009, highlight the need for indigenous peoples to be involved in climate resilience planning, focussing on both Community based Adaptation and Community based Mitigation.

IPACC has been deeply engaged with REDD national readiness planning and negotiations between indigenous peoples and certain East and Central African states. However, IPACC's members have stated that mitigation is a priority of the West and should not detract from the urgent business of ecosystem resilience and community based adaptation in the face of global warming and weather instability.