Indigenous Communities deserve Climate Finance | Shylina Lingaard, VIDS | Access Granted Campaign

Meet Shailina Lingaard, a member of the Lokono tribe, also known as the Arawak tribe in Suriname. She represents the Bureau Vereniging van Inheemse Dorpshoofden in Suriname (Bureau Association of Indigenous Village Leaders in Suriname) as known as VIDS. VIDS advocates for the legal recognition of Indigenous collective rights. 

Climate change poses significant threats to Indigenous ways of life, including extreme weather events such as heavy rainfall and prolonged droughts. These impacts affect health, food security, ecosystems, biodiversity, and even force community relocation, leading to the loss of traditional cultural practices and Indigenous knowledge.

Indigenous communities in Suriname have not yet accessed climate finance. However, VIDS, with donor support, has implemented projects focused on climate change awareness and research. 

Shailina believes that access to climate finance could have positive impacts on Indigenous communities. Such funding would empower Indigenous people to advocate for land rights and participate in decision-making processes at national and international levels. 

Although Indigenous peoples constitute less than 5% of the global population, they play a crucial role in preserving 80% of the world’s biodiversity, acting as protectors of forests, water, and wildlife. 

Indigenous livelihoods contribute zero carbon emissions, making it imperative to support Indigenous rights and initiatives. She calls for the inclusion of Indigenous People in policymaking and for opportunities to share their experiences and knowledge. 

Shylina endorses the Access Granted campaign. 

To support the Campaign visit: https://shorturl.at/UjIjg

To learn more about VIDS visit: http://www.vids.sr/

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Transcript

Hi, my name is Shailina Lingaard. I am part of the Lokono tribe, also known as the Arawak tribe in Suriname. I represent the Association of Indigenous Village Leaders in Suriname, formerly known in Dutch as VIDS, who is the institute of all 52 Indigenous traditional authorities in Suriname, and our main goal is to gain legal recognition of our collective rights, because as Indigenous peoples, we are the first people of Suriname, who is the only country in South America that has not enacted legislation to recognizing our collective rights, in particular our land rights.

We do not receive climate finance yet, but the VIDS, with support from donors, has carried out projects on climate awareness and research in Indigenous communities, as well as partaking in international processes like the Climate COP. One of the many challenges that Indigenous communities face with the effects of climate change is that it endangers our Indigenous livelihood due to extreme weather, heavy rainfall causing floods, but also extreme and prolonged drought. It has an effect on our health, on our food systems, our food security, our ecosystems, the loss of biodiversity, relocation to other areas, but also loss of cultural traditional practices as well as Indigenous knowledge.

A positive impact that the climate funding for Indigenous communities can bring is improving climate adaptation by creating awareness programs, training programs, as well as providing tools for, for example, water resource management, preserving food security, as well as capacity building for Indigenous leaders so they can advocate for their land rights, but also to partake and engage in decision-making and planning processes on a national as well as an international level. Continued support for Indigenous communities is important because Indigenous people, we are not only vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and even though we make up less than 5% of the world population, we fulfill an important role when it comes to protecting and guiding OF 80% of our world's biodiversity, our nature. We are protectors of our forests, our water, our animals.

Indigenous livelihood also causes zero carbon emission. So why would you not want to support us? One of the ways Indigenous peoples can continue our livelihood is to be a part of policymaking processes or let our voices be heard, create opportunities where we can tell our stories and share our experiences and our knowledge. That's why I support the Access Granted campaign.

Minkako boboratinde da. Thank you.