Knowing our Lands and Resources: Indigenous and Local Knowledge of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Africa

Introduction

The Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) includes as one of its operating principles the following commitment:

Recognize and respect the contribution of indigenous and local knowledge to the

conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystems.

                                               UNEP/IPBES.MI/2/9, Appendix 1, para. 2 (d)

To spearhead its work on this challenging objective, IPBES Plenary created at its Second Meeting the Task Force on Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) Systems.

The present document is a contribution to the IPBES regional assessment for Africa. Its aim is twofold:

To assist the co-chairs, coordinating lead authors and lead authors of the regional assessment

for Africa by facilitating their access to indigenous and local knowledge relevant to the

assessment theme.

To pilot the initial approaches and procedures for building ILK into IPBES assessments that

are under development by the ILK task force in order to test their efficacy and improve the

final ILK approaches and procedures that the task force will propose to the Plenary of IPBES.

Read more: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002474/247461E.pdf

Summary of the Symposium by Christiaan Winterbach

Botswana Symposium on Wetlands and Wildlife 2015

17 to 19 March 2015

 Summary of the Symposium by Christiaan Winterbach

 The Wetlands and Wildlife Symposium 2015 in numbers:

•      3 Days

•      4 Themes

•      6 Discussion Groups

•      9 Keynote Speakers

•      13 Sessions

•      37 Posters

•      71 Presentations

•      1420 minutes of presentations

 The remarks by the dignitaries, the presentations of the keynote speakers,  the presenters and posters shared the Universal Constant - Things Change!

•      Climate has changed and will continue to change. With this change in climate our challenges will change. We will need to adapt how we manage resources and conserve biodiversity not only in our World Heritage wetland but also the surrounding semi-arid Kalahari.

•      Evolution of thought regarding conservation will continue.

•      Our understanding of our ecosystems will improve.

 The Dignitaries elaborated on the importance of collaboration and action:

•      Collaboration between

–     Different Government Departments

–     Government Departments and Communities

–     Private sector and other stakeholders

•      Action

–     Dissemination of results: we need to make the results, findings and recommendations of our work available and accessible to other stakeholders.

–     Cross pollination of ideas between disciplines.

–     Reduce the gap between knowledge and decision making.

 The Keynote Speakers delivered:

•      Overviews sketching the bigger picture on a variety of topics and provided a framework for us to see where our individual work fit in.

•      Lessons learned

–     Internationally

–     Neighbouring countries

–     Locally

–     How to/ How not to

•      Priorities for research and action

•      Potential for collaboration

 Symposium Stakeholders contributed by:

 •      Provide pieces of the puzzle to fill in and expand the bigger picture

•      Identify missing pieces of the puzzle

•      Networking opportunities for stakeholders

•      Progress on collaborations

•      Debate and recommendations

 AND WE HAD FUN DOING IT!

 In the words of the Honorable Minister of Wildlife, Environment and Tourism, “Throw away the box and make a difference”.

Ecological sanitation

Much of the pollution in developing countries is caused by inadequate sanitation services. As cities expand and populations increase, the situation will grow worse and the need for safe, sustainable and affordable sanitation systems will be even more critical. Existing approaches to sanitation are neither viable nor affordable to the vast majority of people.
This book is about seeking new solutions in the form of "ecological sanitation". The book discusses what is currently known about ecological sanitation systems, their strengths and weaknesses. Read more at: http://www.ecosanres.org/pdf_files/Ecological_Sanitation_2004.pdf