Report on CT REDD+ Dialogue

The outcomes of the Rights-based REDD+ dialogue held in Cape Town in November 2012 have been released in a new report. The dialogue was hosted by Natural Justice with the support of the Heinrich Boell Foundation for Southern Africa and the Open Society Iniative for Southern Africa. Issues of concern regarding Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) activities on the African continent included the limited participation of forest-dependent communities, lack of appropriate REDD+ information, the diversity and complexity of safeguard standards which could increase communities reliance upon outsiders and experts, insufficient or lacking grievance and compliance mechanisms, limited gender awareness, that communities may not be aware of their rights, and that existing rights may not be enforced. 

Participants felt that REDD+ could offer opportunities to Indigenous peoples and local communities including enhanced participation and representation, the chance to call for greater rights especially regarding land tenure, and to seek independent monitoring of REDD+. A post-dialogue analysis of the potential of biocultural community protocols (BCPs) to address rights-based concerns within REDD+ raised during the dialogue suggests that BCPs may have the potential to address some of the key REDD+ challenges faced by forest-dependent communities. While BCPs are no panacea, they could enhance the capacity of communities to articulate their values, customs, and rights if they decide to engage with the REDD+ mechanism. 

The report can be downloaded here.

Water grabbing occurring at 'alarming rates'

Cecilia Rosen in SciDev.net: Deals in which rich foreign corporations and countries buy or lease agricultural land abroad result in nearly half a trillion cubic metres of fresh water also being grabbed each year — often enough to grow sufficient food to abate undernourishment in the 'grabbed countries', a paper reveals.

The majority of land grabbing takes place in Africa and Asia, and the amount of grabbed water per capita often exceeds the water requirements needed to provide a balanced diet to residents in the grabbed nations, says the paper, published last week (2 January) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States.

It describes land grabbing as a "new form of colonialism that has intensified in the last four years, initially in response to the 2007 to 2008 increase in food prices". But it adds that "the interests of foreign land purchasers can be reconciled with those of developing countries if land grabbing can be used as a means to create new jobs and bring in investment and technological advances from which the local economy could benefit".

The amount of grabbed land is often a significant portion of a country's total area, for example nearly 20 per cent in Uruguay, around 17 per cent in the Philippines and almost seven per cent in Sierra Leone, the paper says....

USAID photo taken in Africa

PULP Book on Balancing Economic and Environmental Interests in Africa

As economic growth rates are increasing across Africa, questions and challenges around balancing ‘development’ with environmental protection are gaining significance. To consider how different nations across Africa are addressing these challenges, the Pretoria University Law Press has released a book through the World Bank-funded Rule of Law in Africa Project entitled "The Balancing of Interests in Environmental Law in Africa" edited by Michael Faure and Willemien du Plessis. The book  combines the contributions of academics from 17 African nations on the way in which environmental and economic interests are balanced in their respective nations. Each country analysis in the book is presented according to a common framework to improve the comparability of the various nations’ approaches. The book also contains a critical comparative analysis by the editors. 

Find the abstract and information on ordering a hard copy of the book here. Download the book directly here.

Maliasili Publication on Community Land Rights in Tanzania

Maliasili Initiatives has released a new publication entitled “Securing Community Land Rights: Experiences and insights from working to secure hunter gatherer and pastoralist land rights in northern Tanzania.” The report, published in partnership with two Maliasili partners in Tanzania, the Pastoral Women’s Council and Ujamaa Community Resource Team, seeks to answer vital questions around how marginalised communities can secure rights over land, resolve land conflicts fairly, and transform natural resource management.  

From the release, "the publication, which looks at local examples of these global challenges, combines a synopsis of the political economy of land rights in Tanzania, on-the-ground case studies by two of Maliasili Initiatives’ partners in Tanzania – the Pastoral Women’s Council (PWC) and Ujamaa Community Resource Team (UCRT) – and insights from a one-day learning workshop. As part of its work to strengthen its partners’ capacity and to advance innovative and effective approaches to sustainable development in Africa, Maliasili Initiatives facilitated the learning event with PWC and UCRT to share and reflect upon their respective efforts to secure land rights, learn from each other in Tanzania and build on their achievements moving forward." 

Maliasili’s summary of the publication can be accessed here. The report can be downloaded directly here.

African scientists call for climate change evidence

Emeka Johnkingsley in SciDev.net: African scientists urgently need to build more evidence on the impact of climate change on the continent, a conference has heard. A joint statement issued at the eighth Annual Meeting of African Science Academies last month (12–14November) in Nigeria, notes that Africa lacks much home-grown data about the impacts of extreme weather events and sea level rise.

It says: "Actions required of science include contributions to the development of risk assessments and mapping for various anticipated climate-related extreme events. The refinement of modelling techniques, taking account also of natural systems and traditional knowledge, in developing early warning systems contributes to strengthen risk reduction.”

Nigeria's president, Goodluck Jonathan, launched the statement, entitled 'Climate change in Africa: using science to reduce climate risks', and stressed that climate change information is needed for planning. "We believe that strong evidence-based knowledge on climate change will help policymakers take decisions and actions required to reduce climate risks in Africa," he said.

Roseanne Diab, executive officer of the Academy of Science of South Africa, toldSciDev.Net that a study on the impact of climate change on Africa would take at least two years and should be coordinated by the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC)….

Touaregs in Mali, shot by Alfred Weidinger, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

Drought in the Horn of Africa delays migrating birds

University of Copenhagen News: The catastrophic drought last year in the Horn of Africa affected millions of people but also caused the extremely late arrival into northern Europe of several migratory songbird species, a study published today in Science shows. Details of the migration route was revealed by data collected from small backpacks fitted on birds showing that the delay resulted from an extended stay in the Horn of Africa.

The extensive 2011 drought in the Horn of Africa had significant consequences for European songbirds such as thrush nightingale and red-backed shrike. These birds visit northern Europe every spring to mate and take advantage of ample summer food resources.

However, their spring migrating route from southern Africa to northern latitudes passes directly through the Horn of Africa, where the birds stop to feed and refuel for the next stage of their migration.

"Our research was able to couple the birds’ delayed arrival in Europe with that stopover in the Horn of Africa. Here they stayed about a week longer in 2011 than in the years before and after 2011. Because of the drought, the birds would have needed longer to feed and gain energy for their onward travel, causing delayed arrival and breeding in Europe. This supports our theory that migrating animals in general are dependent on a series of areas to reach their destination," says Associate Professor Anders Tøttrup from the Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate at the University of Copenhagen....

Nestlings of red-backed shrike, an 1887 painting by Bruno Liljefors

Kukula Healers Review 2012 & Plan for 2013

On 6-7 December 2012, Gino Cocchiaro (Natural Justice) attended a meeting of the Kukula Traditional Health Practitioners Association in Thulamahashe, South Africa. The Kukula Traditional Health Practitioners, a group of over 300 traditional health practitioners who developed a biocultural community protocol (BCP) in 2009, were meeting to discuss and evaluate their activities completed in 2012 as well as highlighting their aims for 2013. 

Accomplishments from 2012 included: registering as a NPO in South Africa; drafting a code of ethics for all members of the Kukula Association; creating a traditional knowledge common pool where individual knowledge is shared amongst members and with a local cosmetics company interested in the research and development of the knowledge; and collaborating with  Kruger National Park in its anti-rhino poaching efforts. In 2013, Kukula members plan to update their BCP to reflect legal developments and new priorities, to continue to develop their relationship with the cosmetics company towards and access and benefit sharing agreement, to continue to work for formal recognition as traditional health practitioners, to distribute copies of the code of ethics to all members, and to continue to support anti-poaching efforts.  The Kukula Association are also members of the African BCP Initiative and will continue to to seek the protection and growth of their knowledge, culture and the conservation of biodiversity in their area. 

Download the Kukula BCP here. 

BIOPAMA Regional Workshop - Eastern & Southern Africa

Via www.iucn.org

From 4-6 December, 2012, Gino Cocchiaro of Natural Justice attended the regional workshop for southern and eastern Africa on the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management (BIOPAMA) programme in Johannesburg, South Africa. The workshop provided a forum for participants and stakeholders from protected areas, governments and civil society to support the planning of BIOPAMA, which is funded by the European Union and implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the European Commission Joint Research Centre, and the Access and Benefit Sharing Capacity Development Initiative (ABS Initiative). 

Gino and Suhel al-Janabi (ABS Initiative) presented on ABS case studies, including a discussion on how the Traditional Health Practitioners of Bushbuckridge are using their biocultural community protocol to work towards a potential ABS agreement with a cosmetics company. Other sessions included presentations and discussion on regional reference information systems, refining and addressing capacity development needs, and the drafting of an action plan for the regional implementation of BIOPAMA including the identification of priority activities, identification of key national and regional stakeholders, and agreed processes for collecting data and information. 

Learn more about BIOPAMA at its website here and through its introductory brochure in English, Spanish and French.

Multilateral development banks join forces to track climate financing

AllAfrica.com via the African Development Bank: The African Development Bank led a team of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) to develop a new joint approach to track climate financing including Adaptation and Mitigation Financing. The reports were launched during a side event panel at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP18) in Doha on December 5.

The new common methodology to track climate financing and value its impact was launched during a panel discussion on the topic, featuring representatives from each of the MDBs involved - the AfDB, Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Investment Bank (EIB), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank.

Simon Mizrahi, Director of the AfDB's Quality Assurance and Results Department (ORQR), expressed the urgent need to take on climate financing and its tracking and make it a moral obligation. "Climate change is already taxing the lives and future of millions of people in Africa specifically, as they will be the hardest hit. Drought, storms, floods are destroying the livelihood of millions in the most vulnerable countries on earth," Mizrahi continued. "Addressing climate change needs a worldwide team effort as the numbers are staggering and a collective partnership is the only way forward."

AfDB Chief Climate Change Specialist Mafalda Duarte introduced the joint MDB reports on Adaptation and Mitigation Finance and how these will support better project design and allow better accountability to stakeholders, whether they be member countries, institutions or private donors. "Commitments have been made in terms of climate finance because of the recognition that climate finance is needed to address the climate change impacts we are facing and we will face," Duarte said. "These joint reports provide a system to monitor these commitment trends and progresses, in climate-related investments. -We believe also that this tracking and monitoring will mobilize resources from capital markets into green investments and will also define what these investments are going to be."…

UNEP launches new initiative to support climate change adaptation in Africa

UNEP News Centre: From managing coastal erosion, to tackling pressures on food supply, a new initiative launched today by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will aim to support communities across Africa in adapting to the impacts of climate change.

The Africa Adaptation Knowledge Network will serve as a hub for knowledge, research, successful initiatives, and collaborative partnerships on climate change adaptation.

It builds on ongoing efforts around the continent to mobilize existing knowledge and provide robust solutions to the major impact of climate change on lives and livelihoods in Africa.

Disasters such as severe droughts in the Sahel in 2012 and the Horn of Africa in 2011 have brought into sharp focus the serious impacts on water, land, soil, and other resources linked to climate change on the continent, and the need to build resilience to such pressures.

Warming in Africa is projected to continue to increase by 3-4oC over the next century. This poses a serious challenge to sustainable development, particularly as the economies of most African countries depend on climate-sensitive sectors such as water, agriculture, fisheries, energy and tourism.

Yet the region lacks the capacity and resources needed to face the challenges of climate change - a problem that could have major economic consequences...

Goats in the beach in Banjul, Gambia, shot by Niels Elgaard Larsen, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

Climate change hits Africa

Sarah Bomkapre Kamara in Deutsche Welle: Africa is reeling from climate change. Floods, drought, famine, food shortages are buffeting the vulnerable continent, which lacks the resources to protect itself. A UN climate conference has just opened in Qatar.

Climate change is already hitting the continent hard. Floods in Nigeria, famine and drought in the Sahel, the shrinking of Lake Turkana are all just a preamble of what is to come if the continent does not act fast. As the two week UN climate conference gets underway in Doha, Qatar, the African UN regional group at these talks is hoping for a "second commitment" and funds that will help their countries adapt to climate change and its effects.

"African countries are looking forward to a commitment period that doesn't carry over excessive emission rise or hot air," Ruth Mhlanga, youth and solutions coordinator, Greenpeace Africa told DW's Africalink show.

This commitment is an extention of the Kyoto protocol of 1997 which binds developed nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions by an average 5.2 percent below 1990 levels between the years 2008 and 2012. The African UN regional group at the conference says failure to extend Kyoto would leave only national actions, with no legally binding U.N. framework.

A UN survey warns the world is on target for a rise in temperatures that will cause more floods, drought, heat waves and rising sea levels. Africa should prepare for the worst. "The average increase in temperature in Africa is likely to be higher than the average increase globally," Micheal Kliene, deputy executive director of IUFRO - The World's Network of Forest Science told DW....

On the road to Timbuktu in Mali, shot by Annabel Symington, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

Article on Unique Rights of Indigenous Peoples - Think Africa Press

Via thinkafricapress.com

The body of law and policy around the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities is changing and expanding rapidly. To offer a brief overview of notable international instruments and cases relevant to the African context, Dinah Shelton of the Inter-American Human Rights Commission has prepared an article on relevant law entitled "The Unique Rights of Indigenous Peoples" for a Think Africa Press online course on ‘International Law and Africa.’ 

The article briefly explains and considers the implications of developments in three areas: the international sphere; African cases; and Inter-American cases. At the international level, ILO Convention No. 107, ILO Convention No. 169, and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples are considered. For African cases, the Endorois case at the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights is covered. On Inter-American cases, the growing jurisprudence around land rights and the right to property, as well as the Awas Tingni judgment of the Inter-American Court, are detailed. 

The article can be accessed here. More information on the Think Africa Press course, which is offered free of charge, can be found here.

New Report on Sacred Natural Site Protection in Kenya

As Sacred Natural Sites in Kenya and around the world are increasingly threatened, the African Biodiversity Network, the Institute of Culture and Ecology and The Gaia Foundation have released a new report on the protection of Sacred Natural Sites entitled “Recognising Sacred Natural Sites and Territories in Kenya.” The report was commissioned after the enactment of Kenya’s new Constitution in 2010 and authored by Adam Hussein Adam. 

The report is targeted at communities, civil society, lawyers and policy makers. It examines how the Constitution, national and international laws can support the recognition of Sacred Natural Sites and their community governance systems. It makes recommendations for securing greater recognition of Sacred Natural Sites and Territories, and the rights and responsibilities of the communities who protect these sites. It also explores some of the issues which need to be addressed in the pending Community Land Act in Kenya.  

The executive summary can be downloaded here. The full report can be downloaded here.

1st Africa Land Forum - Yaoundé Declaration

In recent years, the demand for productive land has surged as a result of global food and financial crises, as well as increasing concerns about energy security. In many countries, carbon sequestration as a response to climate change has also contributed to land pressure. This has rendered land an increasingly disputed and commoditised resource, compromising rural people’s access to, and control over, land. Indigenous communities have been particularly vulnerable to these pressures as many in Africa are pastoralists and hunter-gatherers and the land they occupy and depend on for their livelihoods is often perceived as empty. 

In this context, the First Africa Land Forum, themed “Securing the land rights of indigenous people and rural communities,” was held in Yaoundé, Cameroon from 7-8 November, 2012. The forum was organised by the Africa Platform of the International Land Coalition (ILC) and hosted by the Mbororo Social and Cultural Development Association (MBOSCUDA). Over 95 participants from 22 countries, representing indigenous and non-indigenous organisations, attended. The forum culminated in the drafting and signing of the Yaoundé Declaration. 

The declaration identifies many challenges and issues emerging in the African context. The land rights of women are still limited by existing African patriarchal systems. Laws and policies often fail to recognise and protect the land rights of indigenous and minority populations. Land tenure is under pressure as a result of population growth and climate change. Low literacy on land laws by citizens, a lack of land laws published in local languages, and complex land administration systems make it difficult for many to secure their land rights. The commodification and privatisation of land has led to conflict and has undermined customary land tenure systems. In addition, the creation of national parks and protected areas continues to displace marginalised populations. 

The declaration seeks to address these challenges by encouraging sustainable and equitable land governance systems; the registration of collective rights over the commons, including grazing lands; wider participation in decision-making over land; the harmonisation of customary law and legislation so that women and men have equal rights to control and own land and natural resources; recognition for small-scale producers in the development of national strategies for food security and rural development; and fair and accessible land conflict resolution mechanisms, particularly where land and natural resources are shared by indigenous peoples and others. 

Read more about the forum here. The Yaoundé Declaration can be downloaded in French here and in English here.

Presentation to GEF SGP - Kenya

Natural Justice was invited to present at a meeting of the GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP) Kenyan National Steering Committee on 9 November, 2012. The National Steering Committee includes representatives from  governmental, intergovernmental and civil society bodies such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Kenyan Ministry of Environment, Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Forest Service, WWF and Oxfam. It provides support to community based environment projects in the country with the aim of environmental conservation and sustainable livelihood development. Gino Cocchiaro presented on the work of Natural Justice, focusing on biocultural rights and biocultural community protocols as mechanisms to support the wellbeing of communities, conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

Kenyan Civil Society Meeting on ICCAs

Natural Justice's Gino Cocchiaro attended a meeting of Kenyan civil society representatives investigating the promotion of Indigenous peoples' and community conserved territories and  areas (ICCAs)  on 7 November, 2012, in Nairobi, Kenya. During the meeting, which was facilitated by the GEF Small Grants Programme and UNDP, Natural Justice presented on the recently completed Kenyan ICCA legal review, developed by Natural Justice and its partners, and on biocultural community protocols, a legal tool being used by communities in Kenya to secure their ICCAs. Through its BCP Initiative, Natural Justice continues to work closely with Kenyan partners and lawyers to assist communities in the development and use of their BCPs and as they attempt to shape and leverage national law and policy that respect their territories and waters.

Palm Oil Producer Violations Exposed

A series of major Asian palm oil companies that are members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) have been exposed for violations of RSPO guidelines. As a recent press release from the Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) demonstrates in documenting several of these cases, these violations raise the question of whether the RSPO is actually able to enforce its own standards. 

It was recently established by Green Advocates, representing the Kru tribes in Liberia, that a subsidiary of Indonesia’s largest palm oil producer, Sina Mas, had clearly violated the RSPO’s New Planting Procedure by not advertising plans to clear and plant oil palms and not publicising a High Conservation Value Assessment. According to RSPO standards, the company should cease clearance until due process is followed, especially as community members have expressed concern that their land is being taken without their free, prior and informed consent. 

The FPP press release documents further violations of RSPO guidelines in Liberia, Cameroon, Malaysia, and Indonesia, many uncovered through a partnership between FPP, Sawit Watch and other partners to review the practices of 15 major palm oil companies in West Africa and Southeast Asia. It concludes by noting Sawit Watch’s concern that the RSPO must significantly improve its system as its credibility is clearly at stake. 

Find the full press release here. Download FPP and Sawit Watch’s review of 15 RSPO members practices here.

Major Conference on Land Grabbing

Via www.cornell-landproject.org/

As international investors continue to buy large swathes of land in 'developing' nations, the Cornell University Department of Sociology and the Land Deal Politics Initiative hosted "Global Land Grabbing II: An International Conference on Large-Scale Land Deals" from 17-19 October, 2012. The conference built on the Global Land Grabbing conference held at the University of Sussex in 2011 and included papers and presentations on land grabbing from across the 'developing world.'

One paper considered land tenure security amongst the Boni community of Lamu County, Kenya, a community participating the Lamu biocultural community protocol process that Natural Justice is supporting. The paper was presented by Abdirizak Arale Nunow and is entitled "The Displacement and Dispossession of the Aweer (Boni) Community: The Kenya Government dilemma on the new Port of Lamu." The paper is based on "on-going research that is aimed at establishing and documenting the extent of displacement of Lamu communities, particularly the minority Boni, by the development of the new Port of Lamu with a view to recommending policy measures that may contribute towards the amelioration of the problem."

Download the paper on the displacement of the Boni here. Find all of the papers from the Global Land Grabbing conference here. Learn more about the conference here. 

Tana River Delta a Wetland of International Importance - Kenya

Tana River Delta via www.ramsar.org

The Tana River Delta in Kenya, which includes part of Lamu County, has been officially designated as a Wetland of International Importance by the Kenyan government. According to the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on wetlands, the Delta covers 163,600 hectares, is an Important Bird Area in Coast Province, and is the “second most important estuarine and deltaic ecosystem in Eastern Africa.” The delta comprises a variety of freshwater, floodplain, estuarine and coastal habitats with extensive and diverse mangrove systems, marine brackish and freshwater intertidal areas, pristine beaches and shallow marine areas, forming productive and functionally interconnected ecosystems. Kenya presently has six Ramsar Sites, covering an area of 265,449 hectares.

Read more about the Tana River Delta's new designation here. Learn more about the Ramsar Convention here. 

Namibian Press Conference at COP-11

On 16 October, 2012, Natural Justice’s Laureen Manuel attended a press conference held by the Namibian Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism at the 11th Conference of the Parties (COP-11) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Hyderabad, India. In addressing international media and other COP-11 delegates, the Honourable Minister of Environment and Tourism, Ms Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, shared the country’s experiences, challenges and successes in establishing and implementing its Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) Programme. 

She said that the CBNRM programme is a powerful symbol of the potential for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity to alleviate poverty. Through the devolution of rights over wildlife and forest resources, indigenous peoples and local communities are now driving the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity through communal conservancies and community forests. During COP-11, Namibia will be receiving an award for this community-based approach to conservation. 

The Minister also said that in the absence of Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) legislation, Namibia was unable to ratify the Nagoya Protocol. However, Namibia's ABS Bill, which Natural Justice helped to draft, has recently been approved by Cabinet and is ready to be tabled before Parliament for enactment. She assured the gathering that Namibia will ratify the Nagoya Protocol once the ABS Bill becomes an Act of Parliament.

She concluded the press conference stating that biodiversity belongs to all and that all nations should work towards developing similar strategies to conserve the environment. After all, she said, we need the environment more than the environment needs us.