Victoria Tauli-Corpuz
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz is the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a position she has held since 2014. An indigenous leader hailing from the Kankanaey Igorot community in the Philippines’ Cordillera region, she has been fighting for the rights of Indigenous Peoples and rural women since the 1970s, when she helped build an indigenous movement that successfully stopped major dam and logging projects in the Cordillera region.
Since then, Tauli-Corpuz has founded and managed several civil society organizations dedicated to the advancement of indigenous and women’s rights, including the Tebtebba Foundation, of which she serves as founder and executive director. In addition to her duties as UN Special Rapporteur, Tauli-Corpuz also serves as an expert for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, an adviser for the Third World Network, and a member of the United Nations Development Programme Civil Society Organizations Advisory Committee.
In March 2018, Tauli-Corpuz was placed on a list of “terrorists” by the Philippine government, alongside hundreds of other indigenous and human rights defenders, as retaliation for speaking up against the Duterte administration’s human rights violations. She remains in exile from her native Philippines, and continues to fight for Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and women around the world.
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz is the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a position she has held since 2014. An indigenous leader hailing from the Kankanaey Igorot community in the Philippines’ Cordillera region, she has been fighting for the rights of Indigenous Peoples and rural women since the 1970s, when she helped build an indigenous movement that successfully stopped major dam and logging projects in the Cordillera region.
Since then, Tauli-Corpuz has founded and managed several civil society organizations dedicated to the advancement of indigenous and women’s rights, including the Tebtebba Foundation, of which she serves as founder and executive director. In addition to her duties as UN Special Rapporteur, Tauli-Corpuz also serves as an expert for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, an adviser for the Third World Network, and a member of the United Nations Development Programme Civil Society Organizations Advisory Committee.
In March 2018, Tauli-Corpuz was placed on a list of “terrorists” by the Philippine government, alongside hundreds of other indigenous and human rights defenders, as retaliation for speaking up against the Duterte administration’s human rights violations. She remains in exile from her native Philippines, and continues to fight for Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and women around the world.
The Problem of Overlap: The Panamanian government stalls on indigenous land titling on protected areas
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by Christine Halvorson
Rainforest Foundation US
The Problem of Overlap: The Panamanian government stalls on indigenous land titling on protected areas
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by Christine Halvorson
Rainforest Foundation US
The Problem of Overlap: The Panamanian government stalls on indigenous land titling on protected areas
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by Christine Halvorson
Rainforest Foundation US
The Problem of Overlap: The Panamanian government stalls on indigenous land titling on protected areas
​
by Christine Halvorson
Rainforest Foundation US
The Problem of Overlap: The Panamanian government stalls on indigenous land titling on protected areas
​
by Christine Halvorson
Rainforest Foundation US
Cornered by Protected Areas
Indigenous Peoples and local communities have been conserving their lands and forests for centuries. But the rise of “fortress conservation” is forcing them from their homes, hurting people and forests alike.
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HERE'S WHY.
A Letter from the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Tropical forest loss is at an all-time high, fomenting the global climate crisis. The result is rising seas, threats to global food security, and conflict across the globe. Along with this violence against the earth, there is growing violence against the people who defend it. Last year, Global Witness tallied 197 murders of land rights and environmental defenders. Year after year, around 40 percent of these deaths are Indigenous Peoples.
Even initiatives put in place to protect forests can end up hurting forest guardians. This new research finds that Indigenous Peoples face significant human rights abuses in the world’s protected areas, part of the disturbing uptick of criminalization and even extrajudicial killings that I have observed in my role as Special Rapporteur.
When bulldozers or park rangers force Indigenous Peoples from their homes, it is not only a human rights crisis—it is also a detriment to all humanity. Indigenous Peoples have long stewarded and protected the world’s forests, a crucial bulwark against climate change.
The rate of tree cover loss is less than half in community and indigenous lands compared to elsewhere. Where community rights to own their lands are legally recognized, the difference is even greater. Worldwide, community lands hold at least a quarter of aboveground tropical forest carbon—equal to four times global greenhouse gas emissions for 2014—and likely much more.
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This research also shows that Indigenous Peoples and local communities are investing substantially in conserving their forests—up to $US1.71 billion in the developing world. They are achieving at least equal conservation results with a fraction of the budget of protected areas, making investment in Indigenous Peoples themselves the most efficient means of protecting forests.
Yet while Indigenous Peoples and local communities customarily own more than 50 percent of the world’s land, they only have secure legal rights to 10 percent.
World leaders have a powerful solution on the table to save forests and protect the planet: recognize and support the world’s Indigenous Peoples. We have stood as a proven solution to climate change for generations. Recognize our rights, and we can continue to do so for generations to come.
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz
UN Special Rapporteur on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Key
Findings
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Commitments haven't added up to action.
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Fortress conservation is spread globally...
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... But it is a source of injustice for local communities and Indigenous Peoples.
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Indigenous Peoples and local communities are effective biodiversity and conservation managers.
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They are also substantial investors in conservation.
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A new approach is needed for effective and equitable conservation.
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Want to learn more?
"
World leaders have a powerful solution on the table to save forests and protect the planet: recognize and support the world’s Indigenous Peoples. We have stood as a proven solution to climate change for generations. Recognize our rights, and we can continue to do so for generations to come.
"
Victoria Tauli-Corpuz
UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Interested in learning more?
Explore the latest research on how Indigenous Peoples and local communities contribute to the global fight against climate change by sustainably managing and conserving the world's remaining natural resources.
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Visit the press room to read our press release and contact us to set up interviews with subject matter experts.
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