Last month, Namibia’s government, in collaboration with Alliance for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities for Conservation in Africa (AICA) and Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI), successfully hosted Africa’s first-ever Community-led Conservation Congress in Windhoek, the nation’s capital.
The Congress was considered as a starting point for the continent to define its own conservation policy framework that is people-centered and promotes inclusive, equitable, rights-based governance and conservation in Africa.
Over 300 leaders of indigenous and local communities; government officials and policymakers; and representatives of national, regional, international conservation organisations, groups and networks attended the congress on the theme: “We are nature and nature is us.”
Following the three days of deliberations from Wednesday, October 25 to Friday, October 27, 2023, the consensus reached was for an AICA with a vision for a wider, stronger and united voice of Indigenous People and local communities to collaborate and address issues collectively, mobilize and raise funds for community conservation projects and provide space for women and youth involvement.
Deliberation on Africa’s cultural relationship with nature
The opening session was an occasion that showcased Africa’s intricate cultural relationship with nature and natural resources. It was a moment for Indigenous People and local communities to voice out their ongoing predicament arising from conservation approaches that was not indigenous people centered. An example is the case of the Ogiek community in Kenya, whose representative at the Congress, Martin Simotwo, queried existing conservation methods and the impact on their livelihood. “Our mode of production is primary, that is, we use what is available, so how can you sustain your life if you don’t have access to nature?”
Addressing the opening session, Namibia’s Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Heather Sibungo, hailed the Congress as happening at an opportune time to deliberate on Africa’s culture and rich natural resources amid the associated conservation challenges. She said these cannot be addressed by a single country and urged “all African nations to recognize the need to intensify our efforts to protect Africa’s priceless natural resources.”
Deputy Minister of Marginalised Communities of Namibia, Johan Kxao IUiloloo, emphasised that the “rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities must be protected, celebrated, and respected.”
AICA’s interim Chairperson, Malidadi Langa, was of the view that Indigenous Peoples and local communities, have every reason to celebrate community-based conservation, “because from time immemorial, we have effectively conserved forests, ecosystems, and biodiversity through collective ownership, traditional governance, and ecological knowledge systems which continue to this day.”
Director of Strategic Analysis and Global Engagement of RRI, Alain Frechette, touched on the effectiveness of community-led conservation in addressing climate change issues.
“Forestlands owned and managed by Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and Afro-descendant Peoples demonstrate far lower deforestation rates and higher rates of carbon storage than other protected and unprotected areas,” he stated.
Earlier, the traditional authority of the Kao/Aesi San people (initially referred to as “Bushmen”) of Namibia, Chief Frederick Langman, offered his blessings for the commencement of the congress. He used the occasion to talk about the difficulties his community was facing in accessing natural resources, which he said “are becoming increasingly scarce due to climate change and strict conservation measures”.
His concern was sketched by the Haillom Cultural Group in a traditional song “Ruacana,” which according to the group’s Coordinator, Gerson Nanseb, is sang and danced in communities, “… whenever the headman of a waterhole wants to send out the best hunters to go in search of water or go out on a hunting trip, so they can come with good news.”
The Context of the Congress
Many of Africa’s current and potential protected and conservation areas overlap with the territories of Indigenous Peoples and local communities who have historically protected these ecosystems through innovative governance strategies, collective ownership, and ancestral ecological knowledge since time immemorial. However, some of these communities have been criminalised and expelled from their territories, undermining their livelihoods and knowledge systems.
In response to those human rights violations, the Rwandan government, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), convened the inaugural Africa Protected and Conserved Areas Congress (APAC), from July 18 to 23, 2022, in Kigali. It was attended by over 2,400 participants from 53 African and 27 other countries.
The participants identified priority actions to strengthen Africa’s protected and conserved areas in a manner that is just, equitable and fair; that will deepen the involvement of Indigenous Peoples and local communities; and would achieve ambitious targets to conserve the continent’s lands and water resources in effective and connected systems.
They also issued a declaration creating the Alliance for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities for Conservation in Africa to serve as a platform to share concerns, actions, programmes, and cross-learning in the region, and to follow up on the commitments made in Kigali. So, AICA’s first task was to convene the first indigenous peoples and local communities-led conservation congress in Namibia.
Some highlights from the discussions
The sessions included panel discussions on topics such as human-wildlife conflict, ways to redress grievances and the improved participation of women and youth in conservation. Other topics were: recognizing customary land rights, challenging land appropriation rooted in colonial regimes and legal reforms to strengthen the rights of IPLCs in the creation of protected areas.
Participants also deliberated on how internal community structures, national legislations and current global conventions for conservation have integrated and recognised the role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, including women and youth.
The outcome was the submission of several recommendations including a call to implement nature-based markets governed and shaped by and for local communities; that land should be recognised as an important entry point for human rights and the environment; the collective development and implementation of legal frameworks that advance communities rights and access to land for conservation; and building the capacity of Indigenous People and local communities on land related matters.
Another recommendation was on the urgent need to break the monopoly by external powers that jeopardise national stability and sovereignty especially in the context of a country’s mineral resources. Participants further urged governments to listen to Indigenous and local communities and start a dialogue and continuous consultation about the management of their territories.
Conclusion
The congress was formally closed by Johan Kxao IUiloloo. He reminded African countries of the task ahead: “Indigenous Peoples and local communities close to conservation areas are among the poorest people. I say that it depends on our respective countries to change this reality,” and affirmed that: “We, as the government, are listening to you, and we need your support and expertise in this path.”
For the next steps, AICA’s Steering Committee will compile all the recommendations and visions of participants from each regional blocks: East, South, Central, West and North Africa, into an Alliance Roadmap to guide the next Congress, which the Ethiopian government representative promised to host.
Sources close to AICA suggest that Africa’s 2nd Community led Conservation Congress will take place in two years’ time.
By Ama Kudom-Agyemang
