Pitfalls and Pipelines - Philippine Indigenous Peoples Links

114 Pitfalls and Pipelines: Indigenous Peoples and Extractive Industries
from outside of the area, they should be considered possible
allies of the community, and efforts made to understand their
concerns and arrive at shared demands. 20
If it is a possibility, given the country conditions, making
links with the local government is also important (assuming
they are not the same as the legitimate tribal authority). It
is important to educate them about the possible risks of an
extractive project, especially in the long-term. It is important
to work with government officials as much as possible, keeping
them informed about new developments and community
meetings. In some countries, local governments have enough
power to stop major projects, or at least declare a moratorium,
which may be legally contested. While the support of local
political leaders is very important, it is possible that politicians
will want to manipulate a struggle for their own political
ends. Also politicians will tend to be seeking election, so make
sure they understand the strength of community feeling, and
if they do not listen for any reason, then try to get people
elected who are more supportive.
Alliance should be broadened as much as possible, scaling
up to the regional, national, and the international. Where
possible it is good to work with concerned environmental and
human rights groups. Universities can also be fruitful ground
to recruit supporters, both from among the students and
academics. They can also supply specialists advice or expert
testimony. It is also useful to seek out well-respected and/or
famous patrons, who can generate positive publicity.
At the 2009 Manila Conference, Punit Minj of the
Jharkhand Mines Area Coordination Committee (JMACC)
gave a good example of scaling-up resistance through networking
by the Adivasi (indigenous/tribal) peoples of Jharkhand,
India. He explained that the Adivasi account for some eight
percent of India’s population, and although they were once
self-sufficient in Jharkhand, they have become the victims of
mass evictions from their lands to make way for mining. The
people believed only a well-organized, mass-resistance could
achieve the objective of stopping exploitation and the plunder
of their lands and resources. As a result, 42 organizations
formed an alliance in 2001 called the Jharkhand Mines Area