Transcript Slide 1

Defending rights. Promoting justice.
Involving the grassroots in
the management of our
environment: The voice of
communities from 13
African countries
UNEA, 24th June 2014
www.acordinternational.org
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About ACORD
• ACORD (Agency for Cooperation and Research in
Development) is a Pan African organisation working for
social justice and development in Africa.
• ACORD is currently present on the ground in 18
countries across Africa.
• ACORD’s vision is a society in which all citizens are
equally able to achieve their rights and fulfill their
responsibilities.
• ACORD works in common cause with people who are
poor and those who have been denied their rights to
obtain social justice and development and be part of
locally rooted citizen movements.
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Post 2015 and Citizen Voices
• For ACORD it is vital that any framework which speaks
on issues of poverty and sustainable development
must be informed by those who experience them on a
daily basis. In this regards, ACORD held 45 citizendriven workshops in 13 different countries across the
continent, reaching over 4,500 people.
• These consultations generated debate and discussion
in some of the most remote and marginalised
communities in Africa today, with citizens reflecting on
the challenges they faced, and their ideas for how they
want to see change take place.
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Natural resources management in
the context of Sustainable
Development
• In many Africa regions of the world, the change of climate
severely diminish the potential profit of agriculture.
• Increasing resource scarcity, climate change population
growth, and urbanization are global challenges that have
local impacts. These challenges affect communities’
livelihood – mostly women and children - through access to
food, water, and energy – resources critical to the
alleviation of poverty.
• African citizens, the majority of whom are women,
employed in small-scale food production and are
dependent on access to natural resources, are also
particularly vulnerable to climate change
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• The preservation and sustainable use of
natural resources are key to sustainability in
agriculture, food systems, environment and
globally in development. Therefore a
participatory approach that involves
grassroots communities is a precondition to
achieve these aims.
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What communities
are asking?
“People and businesses
are destroying our forest
for poles and charcoal
for sale. Our land will
become desert. We shall
not receive enough
water for our crops to
grow. This will lead to
hunger and poverty.”
(Ochola John, Magwi
County, South Sudan)
• In many areas forests are
traditionally a vital resource for
communities, providing food and
fuel, preventing soil erosion, and
capturing and storing water. In 9 of
11 countries where consultations
took place deforestation was raised
as a crucial factor in sustainable
livelihoods. Internal displacement
without consultation has led to
highly concentrated populations in
some areas of South Sudan,
leading to a lack of agricultural land
and reduced incomes.
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What communities
are asking?
• In Mali participants described
“We believe these issues
can be addressed if our
needs and interest are
taken into account in policy
processes. For instance,
realizing the
transformation to
sustainable agriculture,
natural resources use and
food systems, in particular
agro-ecological and
organic farming, that
conserve natural resources
and ecosystems, and
protect public health”.
how the Inner Niger delta has
suffered from non inclusive and
inadequate planned policy.
Increased chemical fertiliser and
pesticide use has depleted soil
fertility and water quality, while
large scale irrigation has reduced
access to water for small-scale
farmers and pastoralists, with a
visible reduction in grazing land.
This has brought pastoralists into
conflict with farmers over access
to pasture and water.
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What communities
are asking?
“We as fisherfolks
should try to avoid bad
fishing methods
because they deplete
the fish. The
committees and task
teams (institutions)
established by
government should
strong and inclusive
mechanism to control
indiscriminate fishing.”
Mukasa Henry,
fisherman, Mukono,
Uganda
• Sustainable food production and food
systems improve food security,
eradicate hunger and are
economically viable and socially
acceptable, while conserving land,
water, plant and animal genetic
resources, biodiversity and
ecosystems and enhancing resilience
to climate change and natural
disasters.
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Recommendations
• Multi-stakeholder approach which includes
Communities, Farmers Organizations, Women Groups
and Civil Society must be pursued.
• Strengthen inclusive environmental regulations and
natural resource governance and management at all
relevant institutional and organizational levels.
• Just and fair access to natural resources is a human
right and a prerequisite for economic and social
development. This is particularly important for poor
households that dependent on natural resource-based
livelihoods linked to productive wetlands, community
forests, grazing lands, and agricultural landscapes
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Conclusion
For the post-2015 framework to effectively build a
new relationship between citizens and states then
it must be rooted in national contexts, and
national governments and citizens must have
primary ownership of it. This will require a
commitment to national democratic ownership,
through the creation of multi-stakeholder,
participatory, empowered and country-led bodies
to decide how to translate global goals into
appropriate country and local-level actions.
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