Indigenous rights, conservation to headline African Regional Learning Exchange

The rights of indigenous people and conservation have been placed at the heart of the forthcoming African Regional Learning Exchange (ARLE) set to take place between October 2 and 6.

The learning exchange will set the stage for advocates, experts, stakeholders and community members to deliberate on advancing the rights of the indigenous people and local communities in Africa while at the same time nurturing biodiversity.

The ARLE is being hosted by the International Land Coalition (ILC), the Tenure Facility (TF) and Community Lan Action Now (CLAN).

The learning exchange will bring together delegates from various African nations including Kenya, Burkina Faso, Mali, Liberia, the Democratic Republic Of Congo, Malawi Gabon, Tanzania, Uganda and Cameroon.

"This five-day event is a collaborative effort to learn, inspire, discuss and coordinate actions that empower the Indigenous People and Local communities to secure their land and territorial rights, recognising their vital role as stewards of nature," ILC regional coordinator  Audace Kubwimana said in a press conference on Tuesday.

ILC-Africa brings on board more than 300 other members globally and 95 from Africa involved in land rights and ownership.

The press conference brought together Vincent Oluoch, Senior Programme Officer, Kenya Wildlife Conservancy Association (KWCA), Tunda Lepore from Slow Food International and Diana Kyallo from CADASTA Foundation.

Kubwimana noted that the learning exchange seeks to provide a platform to share knowledge and experiences in advocating for the rights of indigenous people and conservation.

He said the platform will give stakeholders an opportunity to acquire new ideas and approaches concerning their work in advocacy.

"The event will enable stakeholders to come up with action plans and gain new approaches to advocacy. This will enable the formulation of policies that respond to the emerging realities across the globe and provide a pool of information for future references," Kubwimana said.

Eva Maria, Senior Programme Officer, International Land Coalition, Africa said the learning exchange objectives are aligned with the global efforts to combat biodiversity loss and protect indigenous rights.

The post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, as agreed upon at COP15 in Montreal in December 2022, seeks to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by putting 30 o per cent of the planet and 30 per cent of the degraded ecosystem under protection by 2030.

"The  African Regional Learning Exchange will delve into the implications of this biodiversity agenda within an African context, exploring the potential for more equitable benefit sharing and rights-based development outcomes," Maria noted.

Oluoch, who works with KWCA, emphasised the need to channel more efforts into championing the indigenous people's rights.

He said the indigenous people and local communities must be placed at the heart of conservation efforts.

"Coming from an organisation focused on conservation, we believe putting the indigenous people at the heart of efforts to conserve biodiversity is the best approach to yield positive results," he said.

"The indigenous people and local communities  are the stewards of conservation."

Lepore from Slow Food International said there is a need to improve civic education to ensure indigenous people and local communities are best equipped to respond to conservation efforts.

She said a well-informed indigenous community will respond positively to conservation efforts and adopt measures aimed at bettering their society.

Slow Food is a global, grassroots organization, founded in 1989 to prevent the disappearance of local food cultures and traditions, counteract the rise of fast life and combat people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from and how our food choices affect the world around us.

Kyallo from Cadasta said there is a need to leverage technology in advocating for indigenous people's rights and conservation.

Cadasta is one of the world’s leading global land technology and services platforms.

"Our tools empower vulnerable communities to affordably and easily document, map, and secure inclusive land and resource rights at scale for a more sustainable and equitable planet," she said.