indigenous peoples
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Turning the Tables: Transforming conflicts related to resource extraction

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In this dialogue, participants discussed the ways in which communities dealing with resource extraction can anticipate and prevent conflicts with commercial and governmental actors while empowering themselves in an increasingly globalized environment.  The goals of the dialogue were to evaluate tactics with which we turn the tables and shift the power back to the communities, and ensure that resource extraction benefits the community.

New Tactics hosted this dialogue with the help and engagement of students from the University of St. Thomas Conflict Resolution course.

Recording traditional ecological knowledge to protect indigenous rights

The Science and Human Rights Program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) created an online searchable database of traditional ecological knowledge to prevent private companies from patenting that knowledge. The Traditional Ecological Knowledge Prior Art Database (T.E.K.*P.A.D.) is located at http://ip.aaas.org/tekpad. 

Building corporate capacity to create constructive relationships based on a respect for indigenous people’s rights

First People’s Worldwide (FPW) focuses on building and supporting positive, human rights-focused relationships between indigenous interests and the business sector. Through an alliance with Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), FPW provides business partners with capacity-building training in this area, thus increasing corporate capacity to recognize and address human rights issues arising from their business practices. FWP’s corporate capacity-building training encourages businesses to take an alternative approach and initiate dialogue where both communities and companies work together to more accurately assess the cost-benefits, explore ways to mitigate the costs and maximize the benefits, and find out together what this would look like for the community and the extractive industry.