As biocultural community protocols continue to spread around the world as means of community self-articulation and legal protection, a new film entitled ‘Biocultural Community Protocols: Articulating and Asserting Stewardship’ has been released. The film was directed by Sanjay Barnela and produced by Natural Justice in collaboration with Moving Images, India. The film was funded by the Shuttleworth Foundation. 

The film follows the experiences of two communities, the traditional healers of Bushbuckridge, South Africa, and the Raika community of Rajasthan, India. The film can be accessed here. Read more about community protocols here. The Bushbuckridge BCP can be downloaded here and the Raika BCP can be downloaded here. 

Natural Justice has developed a number of draft e-learning modules to support communities developing biocultural community protocols (BCPs) to increase their understanding of key international legal frameworks, concepts and programmes. These modules supplement ‘BCPs: A Toolkit for Community Facilitators’. 

The second module in this series examines international law’s recognition of and protections for communities’ traditional knowledge and sustainable uses of biodiversity. Traditional knowledge, innovations, and practices (often referred together as ‘traditional knowledge’) are developed and nurtured over many generations. They are underpinned by spiritual beliefs and customary laws that reinforce communities’ identities, cultures, and ways of life. They enable communities to live within the natural limits of specific territories, areas, or resources upon which they depend for livelihoods and wellbeing. They are also integral to Indigenous languages, spiritual beliefs, and culturally appropriate education, health, and nutrition. 

There are several international agreements that address traditional knowledge and customary sustainable uses of biodiversity. The focus of this module is the most prominent agreement, the Convention on Biological Diversity. From the outset of the Convention, the Preamble recognizes “the close and traditional dependence” of many Indigenous peoples and local communities on biological resources. Thereafter, two Articles in particular grant important rights to Indigenous peoples and local communities: Article 8(j) on traditional knowledge, innovations and practices; and Article 10(c) on customary sustainable uses of biodiversity. 

The module can be downloaded here. The BCP Toolkit can be downloaded here. The documents are not final and any comments can be directed to Holly Shrumm (holly (at) naturaljustice.org) and Harry Jonas (harry (at) naturaljustice.org).

The module on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) seeks to provide insight into UNDRIP’s provisions and how they can be applied by communities worldwide It is targeted at communities who identify as Indigenous Peoples, who have a close relationship with a territory or resource, who have historically faced issues regarding that territory or resource, and/or have an interest in asserting any of the rights set out in UNDRIP. 

With approximately 370 million Indigenous Peoples spread across 70 countries worldwide who have historically been marginalised, the process of drafting UNDRIP began in 1985. It was adopted in 2007. While the Declaration elaborates a fairly comprehensive set of individual and community rights for Indigenous Peoples, its impact remains limited as it is not binding and has limited time to achieve changes. The module seeks to support communities to find relevant rights and to begin making these protections material. 

The module can be downloaded here. The BCP Toolkit can be downloaded here. The documents are not final and any comments can be directed to Holly Shrumm (holly (at) naturaljustice.org) and Harry Jonas (harry (at) naturaljustice.org).

The module on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) seeks to provide insight into UNDRIP’s provisions and how they can be applied by communities worldwide It is targeted at communities who identify as Indigenous Peoples, who have a close relationship with a territory or resource, who have historically faced issues regarding that territory or resource, and/or have an interest in asserting any of the rights set out in UNDRIP. 

With approximately 370 million Indigenous Peoples spread across 70 countries worldwide who have historically been marginalised, the process of drafting UNDRIP began in 1985. It was adopted in 2007. While the Declaration elaborates a fairly comprehensive set of individual and community rights for Indigenous Peoples, its impact remains limited as it is not binding and has limited time to achieve changes. The module seeks to support communities to find relevant rights and to begin making these protections material. 

The module can be downloaded here. The BCP Toolkit can be downloaded here. The documents are not final and any comments can be directed to Holly Shrumm (holly (at) naturaljustice.org) and Harry Jonas (harry (at) naturaljustice.org).

The Natural Justice team and a number of its partners from Kenya, South Africa and Namibia attended a one week Certificate Program in Local and Indigenous Knowledge for Community-Driven Development in Techiman, Ghana from 24-30 June, 2012. Coordinated by the Center for Indigenous Knowledge and Organisational Development (CIKOD) in collaboration with the University of Cape Coast and Water Aid in Ghana, the course introduced the concept of “endogenous development”, an approach to social and economic justice that involves strength-based development “from within” ensuring initiatives are community-driven and based on strengths that contribute to their own socio-cultural, economic and political development. 

The course began with an introduction to endogenous development, perspectives on indigenous sciences, the local knowledge of each participant and expectations of the course. Participants visited the nearby Forikrom community where they were introduced to the traditional chiefs and elders, traditional foods made by the community, the sacred sites and surrounding ancestral caves, and local eco-farming. Members of the community presented on successful endogenous development processes utilised by the community, including the work of Traditional Authorities and HIV/AIDS, interfaces between traditional and modern medicines, and the Forikrom Eco-cultural Tourism project. 

Throughout the week, endogenous development tools such as Community Institutional Resource Mapping (CIRM) and Community-Driven Health Impact Assessment Tool (CHIAT) were discussed. Participants were immersed in local examples of projects involving endogenous development processes and tools including the water, sanitation and hygiene project, the Traditional Authorities Transparency and Accountability Charter, and the Rural Women Farmers Association of Ghana. Representatives from Natural Justice, Save Lamu, Kivulini Trust, Karamacan and Kukula Traditional Healers also presented on biocultural community protocols as tools for the legal empowerment of communities. 

The one-week course was a rich and engaging opportunity to explore and deepen knowledge of endogenous development processes. Natural Justice looks forward to continuing the implementation of endogenous development processes in its work with communities. Natural Justice and other participants thank CIKOD, the University of Cape Coast and Water Aid for hosting the course, together with the ABS Capacity Development Initiative, the Open Society for Southern Africa, the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the Christensen Fund, and University of Cape Town’s Open AIR project, for their generous support.

The Natural Justice team was in Wa, Ghana for a review of the first phase of the Africa Biocultural Community Protocols Initiative (ABCPI) on 21-22 June. The meeting included a review of the lessons learned from the first year of the initiative. The review began with reflection by representatives from each of the communities who engaged in the Biocultural Community Protocol (BCP) process through the initiative. The representatives were also encouraged to reflect on the usefulness of ‘BCPs: A Toolkit for Community Facilitators’ and to propose amendments or additions. 

From Ghana, the community of Dafiama is preparing a BCP on Shea conservation and marketing and the community of Tanchara further developed and used for dialogue their BCP on local gold exploration and sacred sites. From Ethiopia, the community of Sheka Forest is developing a BCP asserting their right to steward the forest. In Kenya, the Maasai community of Ilkusemeti is preparing a BCP on land use, the Samburu community is extending their BCP on livestock keeping rights, and the communities of Lamu are demanding community inclusion in a major port development planning. In South Africa, the Kukula Traditional Health Practitioners of Bushbuckridge are using their BCP to consider an access and benefit sharing (ABS) agreement with a cosmetics company. In Namibia, the community residing in Bwabata National Park is contemplating using a BCP to establish their right to reside and conserve the park. 

From the review, the representatives identified key issues in BCP development. They included having clear objectives, effective and representative community governance structures, engaging facilitators with existing trust relationships with the community and the ability to translate community values and practices to external actors, the importance of proactively and productively engaging with governments, the importance of including documentation throughout the process, and the need for meaningful legal support. 

Moving forward, the ABS Capacity Development Initiative for Africa, a leading backer of the ABCPI, looked forward to supporting the communities represented and others in further developing and using BCPs. Natural Justice, and other participants, wish to thank the ABS Capacity Development Initative, the Open Society for Southern Africa, the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the Christensen Fund, and University of Cape Town’s Open AIR project, for their generous support of the Initiative and its participant communities. Natural Justice also thanks the Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organisational Development (CIKOD), ETC COMPAS, and all other ABPCI participants.

Read about the Africa BCP Initiative here. Read the report on the inception meeting of the Initiative here. 

The Natural Justice team was hosted by the Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organisational Development (CIKOD) for a gathering in Wa, Ghana from 18-20 June for a review of the multi-stakeholder processes (MSPs) and biocultural community protocols (BCPs) developed over the past year through the Africa BCP Initiative. The gathering began with a review of the BCPs in the process of being developed in the Africa BCP Initiative. These include BCPs in Ghana, South Africa, Namibia, Ethiopia and Kenya around gold mining, Shea nut conservation and production, pastoralism, land tenure, forest conservation, and traditional medicinal knowledge. Representatives from ETC Compas, GIZ and CIKOD, organisations which have supported the BCP Initiative, offered feedback on the BCP processes and results. 

The gathering then reviewed MSPs conducted in Tanchara, Ghana, around gold mining, and Lamu, Kenya, around major infrastructure developments. Participants in both MSPs presented the processes and results from their MSPs and received feedback from other members of the BCP Initiative. 

On the 20th, the group visited a traditional Shea nut producing community in Dafiama, Ghana which is in the process of developing a BCP. Shea pickers demonstrated the process by which Shea nuts are turned from nut to butter. The traditional leadership of the community shared their concern at the depletion of Shea trees and their enthusiasm for the BCP. It is hoped that the BCP will reduce the destruction of Shea trees from charcoal production and mining and increase the value that communities receive for the Shea that they have maintained and harvested.

Volume 65 of Participatory Learning and Action (PLA), published by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), has just been released. Entitled “Biodiversity and Culture: Exploring community protocols, rights and consent“, the special issue was guest edited by Krystyna Swiderska (IIED), Kanchi Kohli (Kalpavriksh), Harry Jonas and Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice), Wim Hiemstra, (COMPAS Network for Endogenous Development), and Maria Julia Oliva (Union for Ethical Biotrade).

This special issue of PLA explores two important participatory tools that indigenous peoples and local communities can use to help defend their customary rights to biocultural heritage, natural resources, and lands:  community protocols – or charters of rules and responsibilities – in which communities set out their customary rights to natural resources and land, as recognised in customary, national and international laws; and free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) processes, in which communities decide whether or not to allow projects affecting their land or resources to go ahead, and on what terms.

The issue reviews the experiences of communities in Asia, Latin America, and Africa in developing and using these tools in a range of contexts. It also looks at some government experiences of establishing institutional processes for FPIC and benefit-sharing. It identifies practical lessons and guidance based on these experiences and aims to strengthen the capacity of a range of actors to support these rights-based tools effectively in practice. It aims to provide guidance for those implementing the Nagoya Protocol (amongst other international instruments) and other natural resource and development practitioners, and to raise awareness of the importance of community-designed and -controlled participatory processes.

Natural Justice and their partners contributed to 8 of the 17 articles. Five focused on biocultural community protocol processes amongst traditional health practitioners in Bushbuckridge, South Africa; livestock keepers in South Asia; sacred grove custodians in Upper West Region, Ghana; artisanal miners in Alto San Juan, Colombia; and indigenous communities in Ulu Papar, Sabah (Malaysia). Three of the articles explored methodologies and participatory approaches for facilitating biocultural community protocol processes, including in the context of biotrade in Peru and in multi-stakeholder processes in Ghana and Kenya.

The full publication can be downloaded for free here or hard copies are available upon request.

From 5-7 July, Natural Justice and Kivulini Trust facilitated a biocultural community protocol (BCP) training workshop for the Borana pastoralist community of the Waso Rangelands, Kenya. The increase in development projects, wildlife conservation areas and influx of other groups in Waso has contributed to the loss of the Borana’s traditional lands and diminished grazing areas for their livestock. This continued loss has led to a slow decline in their traditional institutions, customs and norms as members of the community are forced to choose other livelihood options. This change has also negatively impacted the biodiversity in the area, which was conserved and sustainably used by the communities through their traditional pastoralist practices. 

The BCP training in Waso was attended by a number of the community members, including elders, women, youth and NGOs supporting the community. The BCP process, or Fin Jiru Gumi Waso (Wellbeing of the Waso Community in KiBorana), will combine with a number of ongoing projects in the region which seek to protect the community’s resources and culture. The process will highlight the community’s customary laws and norms around biodiversity conservation, inform the community of their relevant international and national biocultural rights, establish representative bodies to dialogue with government or private enterprises interested in utilizing the resources and/or traditional knowledge on their traditional lands, and create a platform for discussion with neighbouring communities in the interest of peacebuilding. This initiative is supported by the Christensen Fund.

Natural Justice presented on its experiences with communities that have interacted with the green economy through mechanisms such as Access and Benefit Sharing and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD). The presentation emphasised that much can be learned from the traditional stewards of the lands, waters and resources, such as some of the Indigenous communities in Namibia, who have been able to maintain some of the most biodiverse areas in the world. 

Find further information on Natural Justice work on the green economy here.