Daniel ole Sapit Executive Director IP Hub Africa

1. Indigenous peoples and Conservation; A Rights Based Approach, challenges and opportunities. A look at the Sengwer issue KFWG Monthly Meeting 26th January 2018 Daniel ole Sapit Executive Director IP Hub Africa

2. The Nexus-IP livelihoods and Conservation -Indigenous communities depend directly on natural ecosystems for their livelihoods. -The economy, identity, cultural and spiritual values, social organization of indigenous peoples, are closely linked to biological diversity and natural ecosystems. -Many of the Indigenous landscapes are of extraordinary value for ecosystem services they sustain, but also for their biodiversity. -Indigenous peoples land holdings are a vital strategic component in regional and national conservation strategies.

3. The Rights Based Approach and Conservation -Indigenous landscapes experience rapid social and economic change resulting from many factors such as the immigration, logging and mining and conservation. -Deforestation and forest fragmentation increasingly affect Indigenous lands as well as climate change. -Indigenous communities have responded to these threats to demand traditional rights and greater protection for the renewable resources. -The advocacy has resulted in international recognition of these rights by the adoption of a rights based approach in international instruments-UNDRIP, UNFCCC and CBD among other mechanisms.

4. A look at the Sengwer Indigenous peoples of Kenya -The Sengwer are an Indigenous community closely related to the Ogiek peoples and live in Embobut area in Western Kenya -The communities has made claims for the land around Embobut forest as their ancestral land despite GoK/KFS gazetting it as a forest reserve. -Several evictions have been done in the past with the community members going back to the land repeatedly. -Sengwer claim that they are better managers with livelihood activities supportive of conserving the forest -International players have roped into the issue-advocacy done at EU, UK and lately in Finland

5. What are the available options and possible way forward? -Existing Community Land Act provisions could be used to recognize the Sengwer through customary land tenure as the custodians of the land and forest? -Respect of rights enshrined in international treaties and Kenya’s own constitution should be a starting point. -National, Regional and Global redress mechanisms are available for use by the Sengwer to enforce their rights. -A more strategic engagement with the government agencies and institutions for solution-oriented talks-allies -International partners to play a less escalating role but provide support within available options in Kenya’s laws and international instruments.

6. Resource Managers and Indigenous peoples-Natural Allies? “For resource managers, the benefits of working with native peoples include gaining an additional constituency, recruiting personnel with profound knowledge of local areas and learning about long-term resource strategies which have proven their adaptability for thousands of years. For native peoples, the benefits include legal recognition of ecologically-sound traditional land-use practices, appropriate employment of their traditional lands and new advocates at the national level” Dr. Leslie Brownrigg

7. Thanks/Ashe/Ahsante