Taiwan Declaration seeks protection of Aborigines’ culture

Staff writer, with CNA

Academics, experts, Aborigines and farmers from Taiwan and eight other nations yesterday signed the Taiwan Declaration in Taipei, which seeks to protect Aboriginal cultures and rejects genetically modified (GM) crops.

Climate change has had an adverse effect on Aborigines’ culture and livelihood around the world, because they can no longer grow their traditional crops, said Lin Yih-ren (林益仁), chair of the Graduate Institute of Humanities in Medicine at Taipei Medical University.

The declaration, signed on the first day of a two-day inaugural meeting of the International Network of Indigenous Ecological Farmers (INIEF) at the university, said that to prevent possible environmental harm that could be caused by GM crops, Aborigines will not plant such crops, but seek the help of farmers and international seed banks to find suitable replacements to be grown on their land.

It also calls for support from governments and international organizations for the INIEF’s efforts to tackle challenges facing Aborigines, and welcomes Aborigines, farmers’ groups and other organizations to join the network.

The participants urged government leaders, including president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who is to take office on May 20, to introduce progressive policies for Aborigines and protect their ecosystem.

Several participants of yesterday’s meeting have taken part in a series of workshops held in four Aboriginal communities around Taiwan since March 11 and exchanged their experiences with farming and environmental protection issues.