African Commission Passes Resolution to Protect Sacred Natural Sites

At its 60 Ordinary Session in Niamey (Niger), the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights passed Resolution 372 on the Protection of Sacred Natural Sites and Territories.

In this resolution, the African Commission recognises that sacred natural sites are one of the oldest forms of cultural conservation, and often harbour rich biodiversity. It highlights the role that custodian communities and their customary systems play in preserving traditional values, and that they require legal recognition and support to do so. At the same time, it expresses concern about the continued rapid growth of environmentally damaging industrial activity and infrastructure development causing irreparable damage in these sacred sites.

The Resolution therefore calls on state parties to recognise sacred natural sites and territories and their customary governance systems, as well as to uphold their commitments under regional and international law and the rights of custodian communities. It urges state parties and other stakeholders, including businesses, to recognise and respect the intrinsic value of sacred natural sites and territories.

In developing this resolution, the African Commission drew on a “Call for Legal Recognition of Sacred Natural Sites and Territories, and their Customary Governance Systems”, which carried the voices of custodian communities from six African countries. Natural Justice was able to facilitate the presentation of this report by the Gaia Foundation to the African Commission’s Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities. In a joint press release with the African Biodiversity Network, Liz Hoskins, the Director of the Gaia Foundation, states that “in this landmark resolution, the African Commission opens a space for affirming plurilegal systems, which recognise the Earth as the primary source of law. The Commission positions itself with other progressive initiatives to transform the dominant industrial jurisprudence and recognize indigenous rights and Nature’s rights.”

Picture: Benin is one of the few African countries that legally recognize Sacred Natural Sites. Natural Justice works with local partners to support the custodians of these forests, for example through the development of community protocols. 

Call for contributions for the forthcoming book "Indigenous Perspectives on Living with Sacred Heritage (2016)"

A forthcoming book aims to amplify Indigenous custodians voices in a publication entitled "Indigenous Perspectives on Living with Sacred Heritage (2016)".

The book will look to the notion of a sacred site as defined by its indigenous custodians. The primary interest of the volume is to provide a platform for indigenous custodians to explain how they view and treat the sacred through a written account that is available to a global audience.

The volume seeks contributions that provide examples of indigenous sacred sites governance and management, with each example treated as a separate chapter. The goal is to highlight indigenous approaches and present concerns regarding sacred natural site management. The prefereance is to encourage indigenous authors, but all voices that further the proposed goals of the book are invited.

Authors should indicate their expression of interest by 30 June 2016. Please seethe Sacred Natural Sites page here for more details.

Sacred Natural Sites Side Event as the Asian Parks Congress

The First Asian Parks Congress this year was held from 13-18th November in Japan, hosting over 800 people. The meeting is in preparation for the World Parks Congress in Sydney next near. The Sacred Natural Sites Initiative and WCPA Japan hosted a side event that discussed the richness and diversity of Sacred Natural Sites in Asia. Steps were also taken to establish as Asian Sacred Natural Sites network. Sacred Natural sites achieved a high profile overall over the course of the Asian Parks Congress and received substantial mention within the outputs of the meeting.

The key questions of the side event were:

1. To what extent do Sacred Natural Sites form the backbone of many protected areas in Asia, e.g. their cultural, spiritual and philosophical underpinnings?
2. What is the modern relevance of Ancestral Sacred Natural Sites to Protected Areas and how can this be better recognised and the traditional guardians be engaged?
3. How can we improve management effectiveness, governance and equity of Sacred Natural Sites within and outside government protected areas in Asia?

For more information, please see a full article on the event here. 

International Workshop on ICCAs in Thika, Kenya

On November 5th 2013, Maya Sikand from Natural Justice attended and presented at an International Workshop on ICCAs in Thika, Kenya. The workshop was hosted by the Institute for Culture and Ecology (ICE) and the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation. Participants included representatives from community organisations from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Africa, Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya. The workshop provided an excellent opportunity for the different organizations to share lessons from the ICCA-related work they are doing across the world. 

Maya Sikand gave a presentation on International Law and Policy Frameworks and ICCAs. Information about the various international mechanisms that exist was welcomed as just one tool of many to support and protect ICCAs. Different participants were able to connect the international frameworks to projects or developments in their own countries. For example, some had engaged with REDD+ or the Nagoya Protocol. Other participants came from countries that have put in place laws to protect Indigenous Peoples’ rights, and have participated in the work of implementing these laws. This presentation was followed by a discussion led by Adam Hussein Adam on the national legal context for Kenya, taking much from his recent report on the legal context for Sacred Natural sites in Kenya. 

Workshop on Biocultural Community Protocols Held in Guatemala

Between March 18 and March 20, 2013, Eli Makagon attended a workshop on biocultural community protocols (BCPs) in Totonicapán, Guatemala. The workshop, coordinated by Guatemalan NGO Oxlajuj Ajpop and the Sacred Natural Sites Initiative, brought together representatives from communities in the region interested in learning more about BCPs, including their development and implementation. Over the course of the workshop, members from the communities of San Andres Sajcabaja, Chichicastenango, and Totonicapán shared information, provided background on the challenges their communities face, and discussed ways forward in the struggle for recognition of their customary rights. Challenges include loss of traditionally occupied land to government and external parties, deforestation, and internal conflict between those who ascribe to traditional Mayan beliefs and those who have converted to Christianity, Catholicism or Evangelicalism. The workshop was particularly timely in light of a recent decision by Guatemala’s highest court to uphold a mining law against a constitutional challenge brought by the Western Peoples’ Council (CPO) for lack of prior consultation with indigenous peoples.

Assisted by translator and facilitator Joseph Kuper, Eli presented on BCPs, explaining their purpose and providing examples of where they have been used. Community members met in groups to identify challenges, map stakeholders and allies, and discuss next steps in the BCP process. For the participants, the workshop offered an opportunity to learn more about BCPs as well as to exchange experiences regarding community organization and explore potential partnerships in the future.

National Geographic Post on Biocultural Diversity

Via nationalgeographic.com

Gleb Raygorodetsky of Natural Justice-partner the Sacred Sites Initiative has drafted a post at National Geographic on the intensifying erosion of the earth’s biodiversity entitled "Pulsating Heart of Nature: How to Ensure Our Collective Bioculturally Resilient Future." He notes the limits in the capacity of linear, reductionist thinking in seeking solutions to this degradation and encourages integrative fields of inquiry to develop new and more meaningful responses. 

He concludes by emphasising the need for a more holistic worldview based on valuing biocultural diversity, and lays out the following requirements for achieving this transformation: 

 “We must embrace change as an inalienable part of life, rather than trying to avert it at any cost. We must be realistic about the scope and scale of what should be done to correct the course, as well as what each of us is capable of doing him or herself. We must also expand our notion of community from a group of people united by their geographic or genetic proximity, to a broader global community inclusive of other like-minded individuals and groups united by their recognition of the value of biocultural diversity as the very ‘pulsating heart’ of Nature. We must work towards a biologically and culturally rich world not only through our work, but more importantly by changing our own thinking and actions.” 

 The post can be accessed 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.