BIPNet’s Shylet regional meeting held at Shreemangal, Shylet, Bangladesh

Shreemangal, Shylet 24 November, 2015: A regional meeting was held in Magurchara Punji, Shreemangal, Shylet region on 24 November, 2015. Participants came from different part of shylet region in the meeting. During the meeting they had organized a full day mela and different type of traditional competition. The meeting participants in general have expressed their concern over the increasing numbers of incidents of alienation, discrimination in access to resources and negligence, disrespect and non-recognition of the customary practices of the indigenous peoples in all over the country. These are causing more of poverty and vulnerability within the communities. Participants also expressed deep concern over the initiatives of tourism by the various government and private agencies in Shylet, Rangamati and Bandarban hill district, which may lead to lose of the community’s customary land ownership, traditional livelihood and dilute their culture and practices. Many of them raise questions about the tourism initiatives for whom? 

BIPNet’s CHT and Cox’s Bazar regional meeting held at Rangamati, Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh

Alienation, imposing restriction and discrimination in access to resources and negligence, disrespect and non-recognition of the customary practices of the indigenous peoples are major causes for increasing the poverty and vulnerability among the indigenous peoples of Bangladesh

Rangamati, 12 October 2015: The meeting participants in general have expressed their concern over the increasing numbers of incidents of alienation, imposing restriction and discrimination in access to resources and negligence, disrespect and non-recognition of the customary practices of the indigenous peoples in all over the country. These are causing more of poverty and vulnerability within the communities. The participants of the CHT said that the land grabbing in CHT is still continuing alarmingly. The expansion of Reserve Forest (RF), establishment of new Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) camps, tourist resorts, leasing out their Jum (shifting cultivation) land areas among the other issues are much highlighted in the meeting. Participants also expressed deep concern over the initiatives of tourism by the various government and private agencies in Rangamati and Bandarban hill district, which may lead to lose of the community’s customary land ownership, traditional livelihood and dilute their culture and practices. The communities, who are small in numbers (i.e. Mro people), will be effected most due to these initiatives. Many of them raise questions about the tourism initiatives for whom? and in what cost?

BIPNetCCBD Regional Committee Meeting at Datonkhali, Shyamnagar, Shatkhira District.

BIPNET-CCBD’s AGM held in the capital recently

[The participants with the newly formed central executive committee members;]

[Photo: Maleya Foundation]

Recently, on 25 April, the BIPNET-CCBD [The Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples’ Network on Climate Change and Biodiversity] held its AGM [Annual General Meeting] in the capital’s Shyamoli area. The day-long event was organized by Maleya Foundation, which is playing the network’s secretariat role at present, with financial assistance from the CIPD [Centre for Integrated Program and Development].

With over two dozens of member organizations, BIPNET-CCBD is the only national level network of indigenous peoples in Bangladesh working on climate change and biodiversity. On the occasion of the AGM, a good number of participants from across the country gathered in the capital.

[Raja Devasish Roy, in the middle, seen preside over the meeting;]

[Photo: Maleya Foundation]

A central executive committee was formed during the meeting for the tenure of 1 year: 2014-2015, with Barrister Raja Devasish Roy as the chairperson and Sudatta Bikash Tanchangya as the member secretary. Selected on the basis of regions, the committee members are as follows:

1. Central [Dhaka and Gazipur]: Mr. Prohollad Barmon;
2. North [Greater Mymensingh]: Mr. Ajay A Mree, & Mr. Eugene Nokrek;
3. North-West [Rajshahi & Dinajpur]: Prof. Gones Soren, Ms. Shlipi Soren & Mr. Gones Maji.
4. North-East [Greater Sylhet, Comilla & Chandpur]: Mr. Gidison Pradhan Suchiang, Mr. Andrew Sholomar, Mr. Gouranga Patra, & Mr. Parimol Singh Baraik;
5. South [Barguna & Patuakhali]: Mr. Mong Ching Than;
6. South-West [Satkhira & Khulna]: Mr. Krishna Pada Munda;
7. South-East [CHT, Ctg & Cox’s Bazar]: Mr. Gautam Dewan, Ms. Shefalika Tripura and Ms. Lalosa Chakma;

[The photo shows a section of the audience at the program;] [Photo: Maleya Foundation]

BIPNetCCBD 1st Meeting of the Sub-Committee (Constitution/By-Laws) Kamalganj Khasia Punji, Moulbazar, Sylhet held on February 07, 2014, Friday

A BIPNET Sub Committee Meeting was held on 07 february 2014 at Magurchara, Shreemangal.

Meeting agenda Was:

1. Constitution/By-laws of BIPNetCCBD;

2. Next course of activities in the field of REDD+ in Bangladesh---to arrange two meetings by June 2014;

3. Lobby & advocacy on the proposed Forest Amendment Act 2012;

1. Preparation of constitution/by-laws of BIPNetCCBD: The following points came up in the discussion:

• Constitution of BIPNetCCBD would have three tiers, namely a) General Assembly; b) Central Committee; and c) Steering Committee;
• General Assembly would be the highest policy making body, consisting of all BIPNetCCBD member organizations, and would be held once in a year;
• Decisions taken up at the meetings of Central Committee and Steering Committee would have to be approved at the General Assembly;
• Central Committee would be consisted of around 15-21 members;
• Steering Committee would be of around 5/6 members;
• Official designations of the members of the Central Committee would be like:  Chairperson (1 post), and the rest as ‘Member Executive (Forest)’ ‘Member Executive (Land)’ etc.
• Each of the Member Executives can keep one advisor who can be either an IP/non-IP;
• Central Committee to be held twice in a year;
• The tenure of every Central Committee would last for 3 years, and with the end of the Central Committee, all other committees like Steering Committees, would also expire;
• BIPNetCCBD would have its own bank account;
• Internal audit system should be in practice and for that, BIPNet’s own finance rules/policies should be formulated;
• An individual or an organization can be a member of BIPNet;
• To be a member of BIPNetCCBD, an organization has to be run and governed by IPs, has to have aims and objectives related to climate change and environment, and has to have staff who have expertise in climate change;
• For an individual (like His Majesty Raja Devasish Roy) to be a member of BIPNet, he/she has to be an indigenous person and should have enough knowledge about climate change and environment. The person can be an academician, journalist, writer, poet etc.
• The contact/focal persons of BIPNet would not be allowed to represent more than one member organization;
• Registered or non-registered organizations can be a member of BIPNet-----registration is not mandatory;
• In the meeting one Munipuri person was present who was representing an NGO run and governed by the indigenous Munipuri people in Sylhet; this NGO can be a member organization of BIPNet;
• Organizations run and governed by the non-IPs cannot be a member of BIPNet but can be a friend of BIPNet;
• BARCIK (focal person is Mr. Sukanta Sen, who is a non-IP;) and Adivasi Sangskritik Unnyan Songstha, Rajshahi (focal person is Mr. Raj Kumar Shaw who is a non-IP) should be dropped from the existing list of the member organizations of BIPNet;
• BIPNet’s present address should be the same as the Maleya Foundation’s one;
• Prof. Gones Soren requested to consider granting membership for one Rajshahi based NGO called ‘Ashroi’ which has staff from both IPs and non-IPs but not fully run and governed by the IPs; he is one of the advisors of the NGO;
• Registration fees for the BIPNet members: Tk 1,000/ (one thousand taka) for a member organization; and Tk 5,00/ for an individual;
• Monthly fees: Tk 100/ (for a member organization) and Tk 50/ (for an individual member);
• For better coordination of BIPNet activities, there can be formed ‘regional coordination committees’ for the areas of Rajshahi, Sylhet, Barishal and the CHT;
• BIPNet’s main aim and objective would be to make BIPNet more involved in the processes of climate change related campaigns taking place at national and international levels;
• Campaign for raising awareness of climate change issues among the IPs of BD can be an objective of BIPNet;
• Dipujjal Khisa carried to the program a copy of the constitution of the now defunct Hill Tracts NGO Forum (CHTNF), and everyone verbally agreed to borrow some ideas and designs from the constitution of the CHTNF while formulating by-laws of the BIPNet;