-The United Nations   Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged the world to recognize the right of indigenous peoples to control their intellectual property, saying they needed help to protect, develop and receive fair compensation for their cultural heritage and traditional knowledge. “Indigenous peoples face many challenges in maintaining their identity, traditions and customs, and their cultural contributions are at times exploited and commercialized, with little or no recognition,” Mr. Ban said in a...

The $12 billion Posco investment in India was supposed to be the biggest FDI project in the country. After six years that still remains on paper Horangineun jugeumyeon gajugeul namgigo, Sarameun jugeumyun ireumeul namginda (When tigers die, they leave behind leather. When people die, they leave their names behind) —Old Korean Proverb The news flash from Press Trust of India came on July 10, 2011. Posco, the $32 billion South Korean steel giant had decided to...

City-based NGO Kalpavriksh Environmental Action Group, in association with other forums and NGOs have helped the tribal populations in the Biligiri Rangaswamy temple sanctuary, also a tiger reserve, in Karnataka, to come up with an alternative community-based plan for conservation, livelihood and management of forest. So far, out of around 62 settlements, 25 in this protected area have got the community forest rights. According to experts, similar processes should also be...

-Express News Service   As the Parliamentary Standing Committee starts its meetings to debate the Lokpal Bill and Anna Hazare’s team meets MPs, the National Campaign for Peoples’ Rights for Information (NCPRI) has launched its strongest broadside ever against the government as well as the non-governmental members of the drafting committee on the Bill for their inability to stick to their promise of ‘pre-legislative consultation’. Aruna Roy, a prominent member of the Sonia...

-FnBnews.com   The Working Group for Children Under Six (Jan Swasthya Abhiyan - Right to Food Campaign) is appalled by the scant regard for children in the draft National Food Security Bill of the Government of India that has been approved by the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM), according to a press note issued by the Right to Food Campaign on Monday. The note further states, "Not only does this draft do grave...