14 land rights issues and making policy recommendations.57 That Commission held a meeting with the Association of Indigenous Village Leaders in Suriname, which is one of the petitioners, on April 12, 2006.58 At the meeting, the Lower Marowijne peoples were informed that the Commission on Land Rights had no mandate to address their specific situation; as of September 2006, that Commission still had no budget or operating funds.59 In this context, the State is undergoing a process of recognition in its domestic legislation of indigenous land rights, but that process has not been completed, as the State has acknowledged.60 49. D. Establishment of the Nature Reserves 50. Three Nature Reserves are at issue in this case: the Wia Wia, Galibi, and Wane Kreek Nature Reserves. Jointly, they cover approximately 85,000 hectares of territory in the northeast region of Suriname: the Wia Wia Reserve covers around 36,000 hectares, the Galibi Reserve around 4,000, and the Wane Kreek Reserve around 45,000 hectares.61 Together, the three Reserves appear to cover an important part of the lands claimed by the petitioners as their traditional territory.62 1. Wia Wia Nature Reserve On April 22, 1966, the government established the Wia Wia Nature Reserve, pursuant to the 1954 Nature Protection Act.63 The Nature Protection Act did not provide for the protection of indigenous peoples or their lands, territories or natural resources.64 The Wia Wia Reserve was established to protect sea turtle nesting beaches, and it also encompasses mudflats and mangrove forests for the feeding, nesting and roosting sites for many local and migratory birds.65 The Wia Wia Reserve was established by the colonial administration, as Suriname had not yet achieved independence from the Netherlands. This Reserve was established without any type of consultation with or consent from the Kaliña or Lokono villages inhabiting the area, primarily 51. 57 Annex 6. Petition, para. 66; see also Annex 16. Annex G to Petition, Presidential Order for the Establishment of the Lands Rights Commission, January 4, 2006. 58 Annex 6. Petition, para. 68. 59 Annex 6. Petition, paras. 67-68. 60 Submission of Suriname, September 12, 2008, pp. 4-5. 61 Petitioners’ submission of May 28, 2008, para. 32, See also Annex 17. Natural Heritage in Suriname, F. Baal, Head Nature Cosnervation Division of the Forest Service of Suriname, Paramaribo, February 19, 2000 (updated March 4, 2005), available at: www.unesco-suriname.org/natural/%20heritage%20in%20suriname.htm. 62 Annex 3. Petition, para. 86, Annex D-1, Map of the Lower Marowijne area presented to the Minister of Spatial Planning in 2002, indicating the location of the 8 Kaliña and Lokono villages, and places where they conduct traditional hunting and fishing activities. See also Annex 4. Map of Lower Marowijne area, indicating the Kaliña and Lokono traditional territory, presented during the Hearing on the Merits, March 27, 2012, IACHR 144 Period of Sessions, Case 12.639 – Kaliña and Lokono Peoples, Suriname. 63 Annex 6. Petition, para. 83. At this time, Suriname had still not achieved its independence, so the then-existing Dutch colonial administration established this Reserve. 64 Submission of Suriname, September 12, 2008, p. 16; Annex 18. Attachment I to Submission of Suriname, September 12, 2008, Affidavit of Ferdinand Baal and Bryan Drakenstein, p. 1. 65 Submission of Suriname, March 22, 2008, p. 5.