For many years, prior even to the 2000 Declaration of the First International Forum of Indigenous Peoples on Climate Change in Lyon, France, Indigenous peoples around the world have been campaigning for a greater voice in local, national, regional and international approaches to addressing climate change. Indigenous peoples have been among the first groups to acknowledge that the planet is in a state of intense change as a result of human intervention in the form of industries such as mining, forestry, transport and large scale fisheries as well as the general conduct of activities which result in the creation of greenhouse gases. Indigenous peoples have recognised the unique threat that significant environmental change will have on communities; their culture, traditions and ways of life.

The global campaign by indigenous peoples has consistently and persistently called for inclusion of an indigenous voice in the conferences of the parties to the United Nations Framework for the Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. In pursuing this campaign, indigenous peoples have argued that the direct impact of climate change on indigenous communities; the unique and specific traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples; and the moral obligation on indigenous peoples to protect and treasure the earth provide a unique set of circumstances which should ensure the participation of indigenous peoples in decision making processes.

In Australia, the voice and knowledge of Indigenous peoples has been sadly lacking in decision making in regard to climate change. On a micro level, Indigenous knowledge is at times given recognition for its application to sustainable development however on a national scale, this specific knowledge of the environment and ways to protect it for future generations is often ignored.

This project of the Indigenous Law Centre will examine the human rights implications of climate change for Australian Indigenous peoples through an analysis of international mechanisms and bodies and the way in which they may be used to garner a ‘seat at the table’. Issues relevant to indigenous peoples on a global scale (eg loss of traditional life and land; ‘environmental refugees’) will be analysed for their social and cultural implications and subsequently for the way in which other indigenous nations have looked to address them. On the local level, this project will look at current legislation which impacts on Indigenous Australians and the way in which climate change will affect or even alter this impact.

Action to date by environmental non-government organisations has operated from a principal concern for conservation and not from any form of mandate to protect Indigenous peoples’ rights, interests or knowledge. Indigenous Australians need to see comprehensive engagement by states, territories and the federal government for sufficient recognition to be given to the role that they can play in addressing such pressing issues of environmental and cultural concern.

Indigenous

• "Climate Change: An Overview" - A Paper prepared by the Secretariat of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (November 2007)
• The Albuquerque Declaration of 1 November 1998 from the ‘Circles of Wisdom’ Native Peoples/Native Homelands Climate Change Workshop-Summit held in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
• The Quito Declaration on Climate Change, 4-6 May 2000.
• The Declaration of the First International Forum of Indigenous Peoples on Climate Change from 4-6 September 2000 held in Lyon, France
• Second International Indigenous Forum on Climate Change Declaration of Indigenous Peoples on Climate Change held in The Hague on 11-12 November 2000.
• The Bonn Declaration of the Third International Forum of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities on Climate Change held 14-15 July 2001 in Bonn, Germany.
• The Marrakech Statement on Climate Change from the Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Caucus of the Seventh Session of the Conference of the Parties, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held 29 October to 9 November 2001 in Marrakech, Morocco.
• Indigenous Peoples Political Declaration from PrepCom IV in Bali, Indonesia, 6 June 2002.
• Bali Principles of Climate Justice.
• The Kimberley Declaration from the International Indigenous Peoples Summit on Sustainable Development in Kimberley, South Africa 20-23 August 2002.
• Indigenous Peoples Statement from the Indigenous Peoples Caucus of the Eighth Session of the Conference of the Parties, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held 23 October to 1 November 2002 in New Delhi, India.
• Milan Declaration 6th International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change, Milan 29-30 November 2003.
• Declaration of Indigenous Peoples attending the COP 10, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Buenos Aires, 6-17 December 2006.

Non-Indigenous

• Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
• Convention on Biological Diversity.
• Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. This is the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This very lengthy report examines, among other things, implications for development and sustainability; adaptive capacities and vulnerabilities; and the detection of impacts.
  
  

• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (‘UNFCCC’).
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (‘IPCC’).
• United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (‘UNPFII’).
  
  

• National Biodiversity and Climate Change Action Plan 2004-2007 for the Federal Department of Environment and Heritage (Natural Resource and Management Ministerial Council) from 2004.
• Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations (‘MILDRN’). See their 2003 paper in response to the Living Murray Initiative – a report of the Murray Darling Basin Commission on preserving the Murray River.
• CSIRO work with Indigenous communities including work on sharing knowledge in relation to climate change impact and action.
• Climate Action Network Australia looks at the social impacts of climate change with pages on Indigenous Communities, Impacts on Sovereignty and Development Rights and Farming and Rural Communities.
• University of New South Wales will soon open a new research centre – the UNSW Centre for Climate Change Research – which will conduct an integrated research program addressing myriad aspects of climate change.
  
  

• Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) – the Act’s current restrictive interpretation of the adaptation and evolution capacity of customs and traditions (without causing a ‘disconnection’ to past customary practices and beliefs) could have ramifications where peoples are prevented from continuing these activities due to loss of land, etc.
• Cultural heritage laws re the above including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth), Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) and the Environment and Heritage Legislation Amendment Act (No 1) 2003 (Cth).
• Pressure to move away from activities recognised as unsustainable (including use of land for pastoral activities – currently often linked to the pathway to economic independence for traditional owners of rural lands) and toward signing ILUAs for carbon trading schemes (see international condemnation by indigenous groups of carbon trading schemes and that aspect of the Kyoto Protocol).
• Any future signing to the Kyoto Protocol by the Australian Government – the Kyoto Protocol gives no acknowledgment to or recognition of indigenous peoples or traditional knowledge.
  
  

• The Stern Review Report on the Economics of Climate Change (this is a pre-publication edition) was completed in 2006 and assesses the economics of various approaches to addressing climate change; evaluates the possibilities and factors in adapting to various climate change impacts; and looks at current goals set by the UK Government for addressing human-induced climate change.
• The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has brought together current local information on climate change and the way it has manifest so far and is believed to continue to do so.
• The CSIRO has a similar site.
• Climate Change: An Australian Guide to the Science and Potential Impacts is published by the Australian Greenhouse Office which is part of the Federal Department of the Environment and Water Resources.