INDIGENOUS PEOPLES PATHWAYS TO THE AFRICAN PROTECTED AREAS CONGRESS (APAC)

APAC Nairobi Preparatory

The indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ experiences with conservation are of mixed responses with a considerable number indicating that conservation is a means of losing customary tenure rights and natural resources rights, displacement and disconnecting from ancestral territories and a trail of human rights abuses among other concerns. Indigenous Peoples’ organizations founded and led by well-known leaders are joining efforts to ensure that indigenous peoples concern, voices and issues are at the APAC.

The organizations include the Indigenous Movement for Peace Advancement and Conflict Transformation (IMPACT- Kenya), Pastoralists Alliance for Resilience and Adaptation in North Rangelands (PARAN- Kenya), Pastoralists Indigenous Non-Government Organizations’ Forum (PINGOs Forum -Tanzania), Ujamaa Community Resource Team (UCRT -Tanzania), Pastoralists Women’s Council, Indigenous Information Network, Pastoralists Forum of Ethiopia (PTE), Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC), OPDP (Ogiek Peoples Development Program), Association of Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT), Friends of Lake Turkana(Fault), the Network of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities for the Sustainable Management of Forest Ecosystems (REPALEF – DRC), Strong Roots – Congo, the African Indigenous women Organization (AIWO) and others.

IMPACT-Kenya is coordinating organizations from East Africa under a platform for common interest called ARISE-C (Alliance for Rights, Inclusivity and Social Equity in Conservation) which is at a formative stage initiated by IMPACT under its Inclusive and Just conservation initiative conceptualized in 2021 to attend the APAC.

A consultative workshop with like-minded organizations (APAC preparatory meeting) is planned on 15th and 16th June 2022 in Nairobi, it will define its approach, principles, and mode of work including governance structures that seeks to ensure the indigenous peoples’ livelihoods and territories are recognized and respected, as well as their cultural, knowledge and heritage contribution in solving climate change risks, conservation and biodiversity restoration.

The Nairobi IPLCs pre-paratory meeting was a success with the participants coming up with a declaration to be presented at the pre-congress in Kigali,Rwanda ahead of the APAC. (see attached below)

IPLCs Nairobi Declaration (English)

IPLCs Nairobi Declaration (French)

Another IPLCs workshop was organized by IMPACT together with the ICCA Consortium (Kigali pre-congress) on the16th and17th of July in Kigali, ahead of the IUCN Africa Protected Areas Congress in Kigali,Rwanda;

to shine a spotlight on how Indigenous Peoples and local communities are conserving a significant proportion of the world’s biodiversity and nature through their self-determined cultures, ways of life and governance systems; to discuss experiences, challenges, opportunities, and recommendations for appropriate recognition and support for the communities’ self-determined priorities for their collective lands, waters, and territories; to discuss strategies for advancing the movements for conservation justice and collective land, territorial, and tenure and resource rights in the context of nature conservation including the proposed 30×30 target; and to support Indigenous and community representatives to prepare for participation in the main IUCN Congress.

The larger group of IPLCs came up with one declaration (see attached below) to be presented at the main African Protected Areas Congress.