Creating Fair Market Spaces for Indigenous Communities' Products

Many indigenous communities all over the world inhabit and care for the last areas of high biodiversity forests and coastal areas. In these communities, the link between culture and ecology is so binding that community... [ view full abstract ]

Many indigenous communities all over the world inhabit and care for the last areas of high biodiversity forests and coastal areas. In these communities, the link between culture and ecology is so binding that community identities and livelihoods will be lost without access to and use of healthy natural resources. We collectively and globally refer to these as indigenous community conserved areas and territories (ICCAs), though they go by different names in their context. These “customary territories and areas of life”, whether recognized or not by national governments, are managed sustainably by communities to preserve the basis of their livelihoods for present and future generations, as they learned from their ancestors.

Today, as indigenous populations are increasing and their forest territories are shrinking due to land grabbing and sustainable development, it is becoming increasingly important for communities to go beyond subsistence. Securing new streams of cash income by developing community-based enterprises can increase economic benefits while ensuring sustainable resource management and preserving traditional knowledge and values. Sale of non-timber forest products with market potential can protect significant biodiversity and fulfill economic needs of forest-dependent communities.

Often, however, indigenous populations are in isolated areas with limited access and interaction with consumers and markets. Understanding what consumers need is an important precondition to the saleability of local products and the sustainability of community enterprises. Market rules are also not always fair and biased towards only profit, which has high social and ecological costs. The stories of the products need to be told to reassure consumers about the green and fair values of the products, and particularly to educate consumers of the difference they can make in rural livelihoods and conservation by their purchase. In Indonesia and in the Philippines, much can be learned from various marketing platform models which brings local, fair and sustainable community products to towns and urban centers. These initiatives emphasizes sustainability and the three “E’s” of environment, economy, and equity.

This session will be a mix of presentations, videos and discussions with community representatives, who will speak about their journey into breaking free of the long and restrictive value chains that hinder them from getting their fair share in the trade of their forest resources. Stories will be shared from ICCA communities in the Philippines and Indonesia which have NTFP enterprises such as resin, essential oils, and food.