From Rats to Hurricanes: The Effects of Climate Change on Indigenous Populations

Indigenous populations in Nicaragua bear the brunt of the effects of global climate change, despite comprising the least-polluting and least carbon-emitting segment of the population. Stronger storms, desertification, plagues of rodents and disease, livelihood disruption, and decreased access to clean water and traditional medicines are just a few of the devastating effects of climate change - and poorly-concieved environmental policy - on indigenous populations. The Center for Indigenous Peoples' Autonomy and Development (CADPI) recommends a few measures that may help mitigate this situation:

Taking into account the situation Indigenous Peoples face in terms of the imminent impact and affects of climate change on our traditional systems of life, as well as the measures of mitigation adopted by States, we consider the following recommendations to be necessary:

• States, in cooperation with development organizations, should provide resources to strengthen the ability of Indigenous Peoples' institutions to participate in sustainable environmental management and in the definition and application of proposals for mitigation, and to respond to the impact of natural disasters.
  
• States should adopt measures that ensure that the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is the framework for discussing, agreeing to and implementing management processes for protected areas and concessions of resource extraction (this includes forest resources, hydrocarbons, mining, carbon trading, mitigation measures, etc.).
  
• We must ensure the direct participation of Indigenous Peoples and our institutions in carbon trading markets through sustainable management of the forest resources of our territories and our right to autonomy and Free, Prior and Informed Consent.