African Protected Areas Congress (APAC) 2022

The African Protected Areas Congress (APAC) that took place from 17-23rd July 2022 in Kigali, Rwanda, being deliberated by the IUCN was the first one ever organized targeting the whole of Africa.

The APAC congress placed the African protected and conserved areas within the broader goals of economic development and community well-being and increasing the understanding of the crucial roles of the African protected areas in the conservation of biodiversity and delivering ecosystem services that underpin human welfare and livelihoods.

The Congress advanced an ambitious agenda that inspired sustainable solutions for today’s most pressing conservation and livelihood challenges in Africa. It brought together African leaders including heads of states, ministers and government agencies, citizens, political and community leaders, protected area practitioners, professionals from diverse fields, scholars, researchers, the youth, partners and stakeholders from public and private sectors and interested parties from across the continent – they discussed how to protect Africa’s resources, and to develop a strong and united voice in the management of protected areas, biodiversity conservation, sustainable development while conserving Africans cultural heritage and traditions.

The African conservation agenda was expected to review Africa’s overall progress towards implementing global commitments related to conservation as well as discuss challenges related to biodiversity and showcase inspiring African examples of sustainable solutions that harmonize conservation and human development goals.

Over 2000 delegates from every African country forged partnerships and commitments to help secure a sustainable future for Africa’s protected areas, people and biodiversity. Participants identified key issues and challenges, and showcased inspiring African examples of practical, innovative, sustainable and replicable solutions that harmonize conservation and human development goals. They also developed priorities and strategies on issues of common interest and provided a consolidated African input into the development of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. The forum reported on the progress made in implementing relevant regional and global commitments and identified new steps and alliances to address Africa’s unique challenges.

Our CEO Mr. Mali Ole Kaunga was one of the main panelists, he presented a theme on “Strengthening Inclusive & just conservation of land & other natural resources in Northern Kenya by facilitating solutions tailored to the context, conceived & run by Indigenous People”. This seeks to strengthen & sustain values that embody inclusive conservation through networking for mutually beneficial learning, sharing & empowerment. Inclusive conservation initiatives depend on the strength of the communities themselves.

IMPACT Kenya and ICCA will also hosted side events during the APAC to discuss issues such as:

Pathway to inclusive and Just conservation
Securing Indigenous Peoples’ tenure rights towards sustainable biodiversity
Resource mobilization and Indigenous peoples’ role in accountability and mechanisms of the resources

APAC Nairobi Preparatory

The indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ experiences with conservation are of mixed responses with a considerable number indicating that conservation is a means of losing customary tenure rights and natural resources rights, displacement and disconnecting from ancestral territories and a trail of human rights abuses among other concerns. Indigenous Peoples’ organizations founded and led by well-known leaders are joining efforts to ensure that indigenous peoples concern, voices and issues are at the APAC.

The organizations include the Indigenous Movement for Peace Advancement and Conflict Transformation (IMPACT- Kenya), Pastoralists Alliance for Resilience and Adaptation in North Rangelands (PARAN- Kenya), Pastoralists Indigenous Non-Government Organizations’ Forum (PINGOs Forum -Tanzania), Ujamaa Community Resource Team (UCRT -Tanzania), Pastoralists Women’s Council, Indigenous Information Network, Pastoralists Forum of Ethiopia (PTE), Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC), OPDP (Ogiek Peoples Development Program), Association of Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT), Friends of Lake Turkana(Fault), the Network of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities for the Sustainable Management of Forest Ecosystems (REPALEF – DRC), Strong Roots – Congo, the African Indigenous women Organization (AIWO) and others.

IMPACT-Kenya is coordinating organizations from East Africa under a platform for common interest called ARISE-C (Alliance for Rights, Inclusivity and Social Equity in Conservation) which is at a formative stage initiated by IMPACT under its Inclusive and Just conservation initiative conceptualized in 2021 to attend the APAC.

A consultative workshop with like-minded organizations (APAC preparatory meeting) is planned on 15th and 16th June 2022 in Nairobi, it will define its approach, principles, and mode of work including governance structures that seeks to ensure the indigenous peoples’ livelihoods and territories are recognized and respected, as well as their cultural, knowledge and heritage contribution in solving climate change risks, conservation and biodiversity restoration.

The Nairobi IPLCs pre-paratory meeting was a success with the participants coming up with a declaration to be presented at the pre-congress in Kigali,Rwanda ahead of the APAC.

IPLCs Kigali Pre-Congress

Another IPLCs workshop was organized by IMPACT together with the ICCA Consortium (Kigali pre-congress) on the16th and17th of July in Kigali, ahead of the IUCN Africa Protected Areas Congress in Kigali,Rwanda;

to shine a spotlight on how Indigenous Peoples and local communities are conserving a significant proportion of the world’s biodiversity and nature through their self-determined cultures, ways of life and governance systems; to discuss experiences, challenges, opportunities, and recommendations for appropriate recognition and support for the communities’ self-determined priorities for their collective lands, waters, and territories; to discuss strategies for advancing the movements for conservation justice and collective land, territorial, and tenure and resource rights in the context of nature conservation including the proposed 30×30 target; and to support Indigenous and community representatives to prepare for participation in the main IUCN Congress.

The larger group of IPLCs came up with one declaration (see attached below) to be presented at the main African Protected Areas Congress.