About IPCCA

Objectives.

Broad Objective
To empower indigenous peoples to asses the impact of climate change on their communities and ecosystems and to develop and implement strategies and proposals at local, national and international levels for building indigenous resilience and adaptive strategies to mitigate impacts while enhancing biocultural diversity for food sovereignty and self-determined development or “Buen Vivir.”

Specific Objectives

  1. Provide a clear picture of the current impacts of climate change on indigenous peoples and their ecosystems at the local scale by deepening the understanding of the relationship and linkages between climate change, indigenous resilience, buen vivir and including women’s and human rights for cultural survival.
  2. Develop appropriate tools and methodologies to support indigenous community assessments and participation in national and international policy processes on climate change adaptation.
  3. Build epistemological bridges between indigenous knowledge and conventional science that acknowledge intercultural exchanges across time and space.
  4. Seek a full participatory process, from the development of the conceptual framework to policy recommendations that asserts perspectives of marginalized sectors of society, such as women.
  5. Develop indigenous strategies and proposals for future adaptation to climate change to influence national and international policy making forums on climate change and strengthen the representation of indigenous peoples and women in said forums.

History

Indigenous peoples living in the most biodiverse and fragile ecosystems of the planet are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to both their direct reliance on local, natural systems for their well-being and their disadvantaged socioeconomic standing caused by historical, and often ongoing, political and social processes of discrimination. Although it is recognized that indigenous peoples are vulnerable to climate change, and are currently facing the most severe impacts, including relocation of entire communities, current mitigation and adaptation measures do not address the local realities of their biocultural systems. Likewise, indigenous knowledge and cultural practice is recognized as important for the conservation of biodiversity (Article 8j of the Convention on Biological Diversity) and more specifically as valuable in contributing to the understanding and evaluation of impacts and adaptation options of climate change (COP 9 Decision IX/13). Yet, frameworks for assessing the impact of climate change on communities and building adaptation strategies do not recognize indigenous worldviews and practice. The IPCCA has emerged out of the participation of indigenous organisations and leaders in key international processes related to climate change and indigenous peoples such as the UNFCCC and the CBD. Their response to the need to develop alternative, indigenous approaches that consider local perspectives and biocultural realities has led to the IPCCA.

Steering Committee and Governance

In order to ensure that all activities under the IPCCA initiative lead to the empowerment of indigenous communities and the recognition of the pivotal role that traditional knowledge can play in combating climate change and developing adaptation strategies the initiative is managed through a Steering Committee of indigenous leaders. The Steering Committee guides all IPCCA processes and ensures an indigenous vision.

The following are members of the IPCCA Steering Committee:

  • Aroha Te Pareake Mead, Maori, NZ
  • Victoria Tauli-Corpus, Ifugao, Philippines
  • Denis Martinez, Tohono-Oodham, USA
  • Onel Masardule, Kuna, Panama
  • Tero Mustomen, Finland
  • Joshep Ole Simel, Masaai, Kenya
  • Stephanie Meaking, Alaska, USA
  • Joe Morrison, Dagoman-Torres Strait Islander, Australia

Scientific Technical Advisory Board

A core institutional body of the IPCCA initiative is the Scientific and Technical Advisory Board (STAB), which is in the process of consolidation. The STAB has the following three objectives:

  1. To provide technical and expert advice and guidance to IPCCA processes (local and global assessments) as required.
  2. To facilitate the IPCCA Global Assessment through organizing Thematic Working Groups and Study Groups, designing appropriate methodologies and conducting assessment tasks.
  3. To contribute to knowledge on indigenous peoples and climate change through the IPCCA Indigenous Knowledge Base Portal.

The IPCCA STAB is currently in formation. Potential members have been proposed by the Sterig Committee and include indigenous and non-indigenous scientific, technical and policy experts from academic institutions and policy think tanks.

Donors and Partners

The IPCCA is a collective indigenous process, bringing together indigenous communities and organisations and supporting institutions to facilitate processes across scales.

The following institutions provide financial, technical and other support.

IPCCA Secretariat.

The international Secretariat of the IPCCA is housed in Asociacion ANDES, Cusco, Peru, chosen by partner organisations based on their experience with indigenous assessments, such as the Vilcanota sub-global assessment of the MEA. As the anchor institution for the IPCCA Secretariat, ANDES is responsible for project implementation by facilitating cooperation and communication, promoting coherence, and encouraging joint programming between the indigenous communities and partners to ensure that the indigenous assessments are carried out using appropriate methods and tools, and that linkages to policy and decision-makers are made at all necessary levels.

Internships.

To be developed – get in touch if you are interested.

Contact us.

For all inquiries please contact the IPCCA Secretariat
Email: ipcca-secretariat@andes.org.pe
Postal Address:
Associacion ANDES
Calle Ruinas, 451, Cusco, Peru
Tel: 51-84-245021
Fax: 51-84-232603

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