Catherine Murupaenga-Ikenn representing the Pacific

Congratulations to Catherine Murupaenga-Ikenn on her appointment as a representative for the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC). Catherine is a trustee of the Climate Change Tai Tokerau Northland Trust (CCTNT).

The IIPFCC was established in 2008, as a convening space for the Indigenous Peoples attending the sessions of the Conference of Parties and other United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) related meetings.

The IIPFCC comprises representatives of the 7 indigenous geopolitical regions, a coordinating Global Steering Committee (GSC) and a technical team. The IIPFCC’s kaupapa is to advocate indigenous perspectives and priorities within the UNFCCC.  Notification is expected soon regarding the next GSC meeting in preparation for the next FCCC Conference of Parties to be held in Poland in December.

Earlier this month, the Pacific began an appointment process for two representatives to the GSC. Catherine accepted an invitation to stand (the IIPFCC has a policy of gender balance, and also balancing representation of large/ small nations). Her nomination was successful. Although it’s only part-time, the new role will have some impact on her availability with the CCTNT work, but this will be more than compensated by having a trustee at the centre of global climate change policy initiatives.

Catherine presenting at the UN World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, in Norway 2013

Catherine has been active in global networks for some years now. In 2013 she was Pacific Co-Chair at the preparatory conference for the UN World Conference on Indigenous Peoples in Norway. She presented to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change NGO Conference at Taiwan in 2014. Catherine also participated in the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (PFII), at the UN Headquarters in New York in 2015. Most of this work is voluntary and often involves fund raising to ensure her attendance. Unfortunately, UN funding for indigenous peoples is not available this year.

Here is Catherine speaking as an indigenous person working in the conservation space. More videos of indigenous perspectives are here at the Nature Conservancy website.

And here is an article about Catherine’s advocacy work from the Cultural Survival website.