Can 'protected areas' offer a safe haven for indigenous peoples?

By Megan Rowling BARCELONA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - From the Congo Basin to Kenya, India and Paraguay, the designation of forest land as "protected areas" has brought homelessness, hunger and persecution to indigenous peoples who have lived there for centuries, rights experts say, pointing the finger at governments and the conservation groups they work with. In many cases, international conventions and national laws oblige states to respect legal and customary ownership of land by indigeno