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Chepkitale Ogiek community document their customary bylaws for the first time in order to ensure the continued conservation of their ancestral lands and natural resources

26 November, 2013

VIDEO: The Customary Bylaws of the Ogiek of Mount Elgon

“We have never conserved. It is the way we live that conserves. These customary bylaws we have had forever, but we have not written them down until now."

As a result of an intense community process of mapping and dialogue, the Ogiek of Mount Elgon, Kenya, have finalised their bylaws in a document which opens with these words:

“The Ogiek have lived in their ancestral lands, Chepkitale, governed and bound by their traditions being the unwritten law. This is what is captured in this document in the simplest language possible. This is a product of the community, by the community. It has been written with all input coming from the community and agreed on and endorsed by the community. It brings a governance structure relevant to the community today as it has been for centuries.”

The process has involved much passionate debate. In a sense, the Ogiek are simply writing down how they have organised themselves and how they have managed their forest and moorlands since time immemorial, but as one community member pointed out: “When you write things to say this is what we should do then you get community members who disagree and you have to decide what to do".

At a huge meeting in Laboot in April 2013 the Ogiek community adopted its bylaws but only after major debate. Then finally, on 8 July 2013, the Laboot Declaration included the following key bylaws:

Forest Peoples Programme, Thai and Kenyan partners report back on 5th IUCN World Conservation Congress

15 October, 2012

With generous assistance from the Rights and Resources Intiative (RRI) and IUCN’s Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP), Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) supported Thai and Kenyan partners to attend the 5th IUCN World Conservation Congress (WCC5) from 6-15 September in Jeju, South Korea. Fred Kibelio Ngeywo (Chepkitale Indigenous Peoples' Development Project, CIPDP, and from the Ogiek community at Mount Elgon, Kenya), Udom Charoenniyomphrai (Inter Mountain Peoples Education and Culture in Thailand Association, IMPECT), Kittisak Rattanakrajangsri (Indigenous Peoples’ Foundation for Education and Environment in Thailand) and Michael Kipkeu (Kenya Wildlife Service) were involved in supporting key motions (reports below), and presenting the Whakatane Mechanism which seeks “to address and redress the effects of historic and current injustices against indigenous peoples in the name of conservation of nature and natural resources”[1]. The FPP team also attended key workshops on the World Heritage Sites and a host of side events.

FPP sponsored IUCN Motion on the World Heritage Convention and the Implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)

Whakatane Mechanism workshop invitation and draft Framework open for feedback by IUCN members

22 August, 2012

The Whakatane Mechanism, an IUCN “One Programme” initiative in which FPP is deeply involved, aims to ensure that conservation policy and practice respect the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities. The Mechanism includes undertaking a fieldwork assessment in a protected area by a multi-stakeholder taskforce. This taskforce provides recommendations to address human rights violations and facilitates a dialogue in order to reach joint solutions to be put in place by the various parties involved. The Mechanism also celebrates and promotes best practices in conservation and successful partnerships between indigenous peoples, local communities and protected areas authorities.

You can find more information about the Whakatane Mechanism on the website: www.whakatane-mechanism.org. (in English, French and Spanish)

Invitation to the Whakatane Mechanism workshop - 10 September 2012, IUCN WCC5, Jeju, South Korea

The workshop 'The Whakatane Mechanism: A multi-stakeholder approach to solving human rights conflicts in protected areas' will be held at the IUCN World Conservation Congress on 10 September 2012 from 7pm to 9pm (in Room 202 of the Jeju International Convention Centre). This event will be held in English and is open to the public. Space is limited and will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. Refreshments will be provided. Click here to download your invitation to the workshop.

Draft framework for the Whakatane Mechanism open for feedback by IUCN members

21 August, 2012

A draft Framework for the Whakatane Mechanism has been developed jointly by the IUCN secretariat, IUCN-CEESP, IUCN-SPICEH and FPP with feedback by many others and based on the experience of the two pilot Assessments in Thailand and Kenya. The aim is to circulate it within IUCN for wider feedback in order to agree on a final Framework by the end of the World Conservation Congress in Jeju. The draft Framework (available here) includes suggestions in track changes to facilitate a final agreement at WCC5. If you are an IUCN Member and you'd like to provide feedback, please send comments or text suggestions in track changes to emmanuel@forestpeoples.org by 30 August. The details of the functioning of the Mechanism start on page 10. We look forward to receiving your input and ideas.

To find out more about the Whakatane Mechanism visit its website.

Whakatane Mechanism workshop at the 5th World Conservation Congress in Jeju, Korea on 10th September 2012

8 August, 2012

A workshop about the Whakatane Mechanism will be held at the IUCN World Conservation Congress on 10th September from 7pm to 9pm (in Room 202 of the Jeju ICC).

The Whakatane Mechanism aims to ensure that conservation practices respect the rights of indigenous peoples. It assesses the respect of human rights in protected areas, provides recommendations to address human rights violations and facilitates a dialogue between the management authorities and indigenous peoples in order to reach joint solutions. It also celebrates and promotes best practices in conservation and successful partnerships between indigenous peoples and protected areas authorities.

To read more about the workshop click here.

Whakatane Mechanism Workshop Leaflet (0.8 MB)

Pilot Whakatane Assessment in Ob Luang National Park, Thailand, finds exemplary joint management by indigenous peoples, local communities, National Park authorities and NGOs

20 February, 2012

Since its inception at the IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP) ‘Sharing Power’ conference in Whakatane, New Zealand, in January 2011, the Whakatane Mechanism has been piloted in two places: at Mount Elgon in Western Kenya and most recently in the Ob Luang National Park in Northern Thailand. The aim of the Whakatane Mechanism is to assess the situation in protected areas and, where people are negatively affected, to propose solutions and implement them. The Mechanism also aims to identify, celebrate and support successful protected areas where the new paradigm of conservation is being implemented.

Joint management of the Ob Luang National Park is an example that should be shared. Since 2004, the park authorities, local communities and NGOs have been working together to implement joint management, taking special care to include women and young people. The pilot Whakatane Assessment in Ob Luang was also carried out jointly, with a team including staff from the Inter Mountain Peoples Education and Culture in Thailand Association (IMPECT), Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Forest Peoples Programme, IUCN, local NGOs, indigenous peoples and local community networks (the Watershed Network and Highland Nature Conservation, Chomthong).

Concept note for the Pilot Whakatane Assessments

FPP

3 August, 2011

Draft concept note for pilot Whakatane Assessments now open for feedback

7 July, 2011

Update 3rd August 2011

The concept note for pilot Whakatane Assessment has been finalized. You can download it here

As mentioned in Forest Peoples Programme’s February E-Newsletter, a meeting was held at the IUCN CEESP Sharing Power conference in Whakatane, New Zealand, January 2011, between indigenous representatives, the chairs of three IUCN commissions (CEESP, WCPA and SSC) and sub-commissions (TILCEPA and TGER), key staff of the IUCN secretariat (the Director of the Environment and Development Programme and the Senior Adviser on Social Policy), and other staff from IUCN, Conservation International and Forest Peoples Programme.

The main outcome of the meeting and subsequent follow-up discussions was an agreement to implement a series of measures to review the implementation of resolutions related to indigenous peoples adopted at the 4th World Conservation Congress (WCC4) in 2008 and to advance their implementation should there be a gap.

As part of this agreement, the IUCN committed itself to implement Whakatane Assessments of protected areas at the local level, in partnership with Indigenous Peoples’ Organisations (IPOs), the Forest Peoples Programme, CEESP, TILCEPA and TGER. It was decided that FPP would draft a concept note, which will be used to guide pilot Whakatane Assessments.

International Union for the Conservation of Nature takes positive steps towards realising indigenous peoples’ rights in conservation

18 February, 2011

Over the last 10 years, governments and conservation organisations have made significant commitments at the international level to promote participatory conservation, and uphold the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities in protected area policies and activities. But, on the ground, progress to implement these commitments has been very patchy. In many cases, protected areas are still imposed through top-down policies and approaches, leading to the displacement of indigenous peoples, curtailment of their livelihoods and conflict over resources.Last month, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) took positive steps to address these issues at a high-level dialogue with indigenous peoples’ representatives and other conservation organizations during the 'Sharing Power' conference, in Whakatane, New Zealand. IUCN agreed to review the implementation of their previous resolutions relating to indigenous peoples, and in collaboration with indigenous peoples to develop appropriate mechanisms for implementing conservation programmes and projects that fully involve indigenous peoples and respect their rights.

Read related media briefings

Press Release: International Union for the Conservation of Nature to review and advance implementation of the ‘new conservation paradigm’, focusing on rights of indigenous peoples. January 14, 2011

14 January, 2011

Indigenous peoples’ representatives met with Chairs of Commissions of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and other conservation organizations, for a high-level dialogue during the Sharing Power conference, in Whakatane, New Zealand, on January 13th, 2011. IUCN agreed to review the implementation of resolutions related to indigenous peoples taken at the 4th World Conservation Congress (WCC4) in 2008, in Barcelona, Spain, and to advance their implementation. These resolutions, along with the Durban Action Plan and the Programme of Work on Protected Areas of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), are often termed as the “new conservation paradigm”. They are crucial for ensuring that conservation practices respect the rights of indigenous peoples and their full and effective participation in policy and practice. Unfortunately, the actual implementation of these decisions in support of indigenous peoples has been very patchy. The information gathered by the IUCN review processes will feed into its 2013-2016 Programme, to be discussed and adopted in September 2012 in Jeju, Republic of Korea.

Specifically, the meeting participants agreed that IUCN will:

· Reinforce its multi-level process (encompassing international, regional, national and local levels) to assess and advance the implementation of the “new conservation paradigm”. This process would focus on specific WCC4 resolutions relevant to indigenous peoples.

Whakatane Mechanism

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