Indigenous knowledge and Climate change

The issue of climate change has in the recent days gained a lot of public attention and generated an interesting debate among top scholars, governments, researchers and environmenlists alike. Much of the debate has revolved around the issue of adaptability and resilience in the face of climate change and its impacts especially among the countries predicted to be worst hit by climate change. This has seen the emergence of different arguments coming from both the proponents for and against climate change, with others questioning whether its real or just a propaganda gimmicks by the 'green' campaigners with the objective of 'forcing' and influencing behavioral change through the installation of fear and in the process subterfuge people. Those are the politics of climate change, but when all is said and done, governments and the proponents for or  against the subject of climate change, ought to ask themselves indeed very serious and deep questions concerning our current state of affairs as far as the climate is concerned. A cursory look at the statistics from climate scientists, its obvious that the status quo has been shaken. The business as usual approach is no longer an attractive option going by the evidence of the changing climatic patterns. There are arguments from different scientists that, while areas mainly in Africa are likely to suffer in terms of prolonged droughts and flooding incidences, areas in Europe are expected to record a favorable weather patterns that would be considered a positive thing or a gain.  On the flip side, sea levels are expected to rise by 18 and 59 centimeters by the end of the century in many parts of the world. Floods and prolonged droughts are a reality in many parts of Africa today with many farmers recording zero harvests or a delay in the onset of the rainfall sessions; lack of fresh drinking water and the spread of diseases like malaria are just but a few of the changes brought about by climate change.
A lot of these can be blamed largely on anthropogenic factors driven by man's ways of living. Many countries in their attempt to create jobs and boost their revenue base through exports in this hard economic times, have continued to emit a lot of greenhouse gases in to the atmosphere. The increase of the global population hasn't helped the situation either by exerting tremendous preassure on the finite resources like energy, water etc; Extravagant and less green lifestyles in the modern world has meant that many families are owning several vehicles, which translates to more gas consumption and therefore pollution in to the atmosphere.
Several solutions have been mooted in an attempt to nip this global warming trend in the bud. The Kyoto protocol as a case in point-an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC)- sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As much as this is a loadable effort, the less developed and developing countries of the world, which are also making efforts to catch up with their European and western counterparts in industrialization and information technology, cannot be said to be that green. Emerging economic powerhouses as they are called, consisting of countries like India, Brazil and even South Africa are all in the race to joining the club of the big boys, so to speak, by marching their per capita incomes building state-of-the-art infrastructures.
Other efforts like the clean development mechanism(CDM) have been put in place to stimulate sustainable development and emission reductions. The mechanism allows emission-reduction projects in developing countries to earn certified reduction credits. (source: UNFCC)
Much of the aforementioned efforts are mainly scientific and technical in nature. Other less technical, yet effective approaches are yet to be explored fully.Most African countries and in deed others as well like Brazil and Australia and many others, have minority indigenous groups domiciled mainly in forested areas. Most of their lifestyles-largely traditional- could be considered arguably 100% green. Their livelihood completely hinges on the provisions of nature for their daily survival.

A traditional beehive made from a dead log.

The forests are considered rich with different natural resources like herbs, traditional vegetables, honey(both ground and surface honey), water etc which form a crucial resource base for these communities.
Since the forests are their livelihoods, they tend to live a very disciplined lifestyle, where the use of resources is guided by certain principles. In one indigenous community in Kenya called the Ogiek(Mau Forest) and the Yiaaku(Mukogodo Forest), i got to learn quite a lot about their lifestyle during my research. They both have a system of governance-both social and in terms of resource utilization- that contributes to natural resources management. In both communities-who are more or less like relatives- trees and all the resources in it, play a crucial role in their day-to-day life. For instance, its prohibited to cut down a live tree among the Ogieks, for either making a bee hive or for firewood. Tradition dictates that only dead trees be used for such. Traditional herbs can only be harvested by a specialist, mostly considered to be the community doctor. Trees played a key role in their life such that it was believed that in the event that one cuts down a tree, they would invite curses not just for themselves only but also the generations to come. This therefore meant that people exercised utmost discipline in resource utilization. Trees also acted as shelters i.e as a house and also provided camouflage and a hiding place and a safe refuge when enemies attack and also during the rainy seasons.
Such a strict  traditional governance system therefore ensured that much of the remnants of truly indigenous trees in Kenya were protected  and this can be spotted in areas still occupied by the indigenous communities. Of late however, the situation is gradually changing partly as a result of politics that has seen the large-scale eviction of the indigenous communities from their ancestral lands in the name of creating conservation areas and also resettlement programs in an aim to rehabilitate the degraded lands. Instead, what has happened is that another door of corruption has been opened, where timber merchants obtain dubious licences for harvesting indigenous trees-mainly hardwood-considered to be of high quality. Huge blocks of forested areas covered by indigenous trees-which really take many years to mature-and also form catchment areas for many rivers and streams supplying water to urban centers around and far away have been cleared.
Efforts to replace the indigenous trees with exotic trees hasn't born much fruit since most of these exotics are not well adaptable to the surrounding environment. Further, the fact that many of them mature faster, means that we are trapped on a zero sum game with no significant increase in the forest cover. These trees are toxic in nature, restricting undergrowth which means they are not good for rehabilitating an ecosystem which hosts a variety of flora and fauna that  are interdependent.

One of the rivers emanating from 

Cherangany Hills-a key catchment area

for many rivers in the Rift Valley, Kenya.

The government through international agencies like the World Bank, is slowly beginning to appreciate the role traditional ecological knowledge from the indigenous people can play in restoring the former glory of the hitherto destroyed forests. Quite a number of projects like the Natural Resource Management(NRM) by the World Bank through the Kenya Forest Service-a government arm in charge of managing all forests in Kenya- have been initiated and are required to incorporate indigenous people with ideas as key stakholders. This has led to the emergence of a partnership between the government and the people towards the protection of the forests considered by climate scientists as carbon sinks capable of storing carbon for many years thus ridding the ozone of harmful GHC gases. This therefore means that the indigenous communities will be allowed to access the forest to extract essential resources for their livelihood like honey, herbal plants, vegetables and dry firewood among many others, while at the same time helping the government in rehabilitating and managing the forests by planting more indigenous trees; Equally important. they'll be key participants on issues of policing efforts to guard against illegal logging and extraction of forest products. The other areas of corporation is in the implementation of the REDD+(plus)(Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) mechanism by the UN. This is aimed at creating a financial value for the carbon stored in the forests, as an incentive for developing countries to adopt green strategies by investing in low-carbon development paths for sustainable development. This is where the role of conservation and sustainable management of forests comes in. Its envisaged that the financial flow for greenhouse gas emission reduction from REDD+ could reach up to 30billion US dollars a year, which forms a good revenue base that could be used to boost pro-poor development initiatives.In order to achieve these set goals, the UN has recognized the role of the indigenous groups and has set up mechanisms that will ensure that their rights are secured in the REDD+ implantation as key stakeholders. In fact, World Bank has incorporated in its terms of reference concerning projects under their funding with indigenous communities, a clause on FPIC(Free Prior and Informed Consultation) which basically means that, before any project under its funding is implemented, the people in that area-who are key stakeholders- ought to be consulted in advance and supplied with full information concerning the pros and cons of the project.
Indigenous communities and indigenous knowledge has therefore come to play a very central role in the efforts to reduce the impacts of climate change and global warming. To this far, challenges still abound both from internal and external sources with the former mainly emanating from the government while the latter is mainly due to a change in lifestyle and modernization among people, which means that people have been forced to adopt modern lifestyles  hence abandoning their traditional social and economic systems of living for modern and "fancy" ones which are capitalistic in nature. This has therefore broken that critical societal fabric guided by customs and traditions governance system, meaning that people begin to live individual lives and start demanding modern sources of energy and foodstuffs etc which require money to sustain them. This has forced many to turn to forest and its products for sustenance. The result has been and sadly so that, people who ought to protect these forests, have turned in to loggers themselves all in an attempt to eke out a living.

Agrotourism: The untapped Opportunity

A traditional store used for preserving food.

Agrotourism by definition is a form of tourism which capitalizes on the richness of the rural culture as a tourist attraction. The concept is quite new and as such, it has been absorbed or lumped up together with eco-tourism which mainly focuses on the natural biodiversity consisting of flora and fauna.
Most traditional communities the world over are rich in customs and norms that defined their way of living, defining individual roles, not just within the family but also in the wider community across all gender, age and status.
Culturally, agrotourism has remained an untapped potential in many societies mainly in Africa, which are rich in culture and traditional practices. This traditions have been adopted in part or in toto in our modern lifestyles, with slight modifications here and there. Some of them (traditions) are still strictly adhered to especially in areas and societies that are still closed up as far as information penetration is concerned. Others, according to UNESCO reports, are facing the threat of extinction mainly as a result of modernization as people get exposed to modern cultures and lifestyle especially in urban areas and forget their own cultures.
I've been lucky enough to work closely with an organization dealing with indigenous communities, both in Kenya and outside. From my small research work, i came to learn that these communities were completely organised despite the fact that their traditional structures and way of life were considered archaic- at least by today's standards. This was evident through traditional systems that governed different aspects of their lives like, marriage, divorce, death, circumcision, leadership etc. While some like female genital mutilation(FGM) and early marriages, could be considered repugnant, there's a lot of richness and diversity within traditional cultures. For instance, to attain food security, there were procedures and methodologies used, not just during hunting period but equally important, areas for hunting were clearly designated while in others, one had no permission to cross over someone else's territory without permission as this could invite not just conflicts but curses as well. There were also skills how the hunted animal would be preserved. This in a way ensured that there was food in the family during the rainy season, but also there was sustainability in the hunting i.e. people only hunted when there was need to. Economically, there were structures which governed the interactions between different communities in terms of trade and commerce thus ensuring that community members accessed goods and services they did not produce.
The field of medicine also has a long history. Traditionally, each community had a medical doctor or medicine-man/woman, who catered for all the patients both within and outside a given community. This was mainly done using traditional herbs-which still have relevance and wider application in modern medicine in treating diseases like epilepsy while others still are raw materials for some of the major pharmaceuticals and drug manufacturing companies. These rare skills were considered God-given and only possessed by certain families or a few talented people in the society and who were accorded esteemed for that. To date, some people still rely heavily on this traditional medical practices for treating chronic diseases like diabetes and many others. Its the same knowledge that a traditional-cum-modern medical doctor in a remote village in Tanzania, got a lot of publicity for his ability to cure all the diseases that afflict people. People streamed in their thousands via various means including helicopters to the hilly village in order to get a taste of the magical concoction. As much as these people were sick and needed help, to the Tanzanian government, they represented a good portion of medical tourists thereby earning the country the much needed revenue.
In Kenya, the Luhya community from western province, is famous for different cultural traditions. One is the bull fighting which attracts quite a sizable number of tourists, both local and international, who travel for miles to come over there and experience the drama, as bulls trained for fighting engage in a duel. In addition, there's also the annual circumcision ceremonies done during the Christmas holidays, where many boys move around the streets in the town and villages, singing songs and dancing as they undergo the passage of right from childhood to adulthood. The Maasai community- also in Kenya, is famous for this kind of tradition as well. The morans are famous for painting their head with red orchre soil, and it is said that in the past, for one to be considered a real man as a right of passage, they had to kill a lion. This tradition has so far been overtaken by time with the introduction of the modern governance system which emphasizes on conservation and the protection of flora and fauna.

A traditional hut(Manyatta)
 used to house a  family.

Other traditional cultural behaviors that could attract tourists include the traditional songs and dances, folklore and story telling. Traditional songs and dances is another selling point for agrotourism. Pretty much every traditional community around the world, had different songs which were sang in different occasions. For instance, there were songs sang during the circumcision ceremonies, praising the initiates for their promotion to a new status and for displaying bravado during the whole process of initiation which was considered excruciating since crude methods were used during the circumcision. Others were war songs  sang during battles; There were songs sang during harvest times.Others still, were sang during sad times like the loss of a community member or to sooth a crying baby. Some community members especially in areas toured by foreigners for scenery, community members in the vicinity have organised themselves in groups that entertain their guests. Others have taken it as a full time job and have been contracted by big companies running tourist resorts to offer entertainment. They are also invited by other bodies like the government during special functions
Artistry and creative art work is also another area that could benefit local communities if well managed. Different cummunities were traditionally known to posses different artistry and craft work which were not only used to ease their work on a day to day basis, but also traditionally used as a currency for barter trade. With such a rich traditional knowledge, women were mostly talented(and still  are) in weaving and basketry work while their male counterparts were known for carvings and metal work. Such beautiful artifacts are a common place in many tourists hotels and resorts although if the same tourists were to visit places where these items are made i.e. villages, they'd probably get value for their money because they'll get to learn so much about the product they've purchased, including the motivation and inspiration behind such beautiful art work since many artists normally have stories attached to their work.
As much as this opens up so many opportunities for the traditional artist, a few challenges still exist. One obvious one is the level of education or exposure to information especially the ICT among the rural folks. A good number of them sell their art work to middlemen who in most cases pay them peanuts while they themselves fetch a lot of money from the sell of the same product(s) to tourists and other interested buyers. The fact that people sell their wares as individuals, puts them at a disadvantage and denies them the benefit of collective bargaining. This has therefore seen lots of them being exploited considering the fact that a great deal of them can hardly afford a square meal a day therefore any offer made would suffice as long as they are able to survive with it. The other issue touches on intellectual property rights. The fact that most of them have basic education or none at all, means that they understand very little about ownership of ones creativity and innovation. As observed by UNESCO "...low level of enforcement of copyright laws destroy the incentives for the creation and distribution of local cultural products in all the countries of the world and reveal the need for concerted efforts to encourage creativity and to foster sustainable development."(Source: http://www.unesco.org). Without the establishment of an oversight body that would ensure that all products are copyrighted before they are offered out for sale, the innocent artist deep in the village could face legal actions from other parties or companies claiming legal ownership and copyright of the products. Community members also ought to be trained on entrepreneurship in order to maximize on their culture and be able to package it in order to derive maximum benefits. The use of ICT and the social media presents powerful tools that could offer wider exposure of a community's culture to the wider world at no cost. Governments also have a responsibility to protect such rich cultures through legislation and education initiatives on the value of traditional culture in the tourism sector. This will ensure that their interests are not only protected, but most vitally is that, they will be taken as key stakeholders in the development agenda. This initiative would gain credence especially considering that traditionally sources of revenue for most governments i.e the export of agricultural products, has largely been hit by both the climate change phenomena and the recent underperformance of the global economy which in turn has tremendously affected the purchasing power of most citizens.

My journey to Kibera slum: Hopes and Fears in the Face of Climate Change; The urban perspective

One of the many pathways in Kibera
with houses & shops on either side.

I took a casual stroll in one Sunday afternoon to arguably one of the largest slums in Africa; In actual fact, according to UN-HABITAT reports, its the second largest informal settlement in Africa. My visit there lasted for slightly over one hour, give or take, yet what i saw was overwhelming. Typical of any informal settlement, with a cursory look, i was welcomed with a strong stench from the many trenches with stagnant sewer waters, the human paths were narrow and crowded, the shacks were congested with poor sanitation, yet amidst all these gloom and doom, i was particularly impressed by the people's resilience to keep on keeping on by facing each day boldly. However, i was left wondering how long they can sustain this facade in the face of many challenges threatening their livelihood. I couldn't help eavesdropping at a conversation some women were having at a local market selling second hand clothes popularly known as mitumba. The discussion which bordered on survival especially in the face of the poor performance of the Kenyan shilling against the international currencies like the sterling pound and the greenback, and which therefore has had a knock-on effect on all basic commodities. One of them was wondering how she'll manage to pay rent and still buy water from the local vendors with the little she makes from selling clothes.
This got me thinking how such people not just in Kibera slum but other  informal slums are prepared for the impacts of climate change and whether their resilience can withstand the test of time. Most families there hinge on small businesses for their upkeep with the meager profits they make, if any, going to purchasing a few household items here and there. Its not strange to find a house doubling up as a food cafe during the day all in an effort to survive. Some are engaged in charcoal business oblivious of the damage the tree that were used in the charcoal making caused to the environment and subsequently to their well-being. Those who can't open up kiosks end up working as house-helps for the middle-class citizens or toil from one construction site to another looking for at least a chance to make that extra shilling. Some girls are also forced to engage in premature sex while others still venture in to prostitution in order to eke out a living and survive another day in this hard economic times.
Much debate on climate change and the capacity for resilience has been focused on rural folks and how well prepared they are as far as adapting to climate change is concerned. While this could be justified, bearing in mind that a lot of the food stuffs consumed in urban centers come from such areas plus their lack of access to information and technology makes them more vulnerable, the people living in the cities face some of the greatest and unique challenges as well. Unlike people in the rural areas who could possibly have a farm or land to fall back on and which cold help them secure some sort of food security and access to water, the slum dwellers are in a much trickier position owing to the fact that they are 'foreigners' in the lands they occupy and live a hand-to-mouth lifestyle that involves purchasing everything from food, water, plus strange enough, toilet and bathroom use. This therefore places a great strain on their ability to survive by narrowing down their alternatives.

Charcoal sold in Kibera in small tins 

of Ksh.10

Their economic system being in an urban set-up, is that of a net consumer with very little production happening, if any. The urban farming initiative, while it has a tremendous chance and prospect of cushioning these people at least in the short term from the vagaries of climate change, has very little application in an area where virtually every space on the land is covered by a house, occupiers lack security in terms of tittle deeds among many challenges. There are also other challenges like where to get the water for irrigating vegetables planted in a gurney bag for instance plus issues to do with resources for achieving that.
In light of these challenges, a sustainable mechanism therefore ought to be drawn, bringing together different stakeholders both in the private sector, the public represented by the government and the international community through various agents like the World bank, IMF and UN. Their efforts ought to focus on research focusing specifically on urban environments and their coping mechanisms and adaptation to climate change. The findings would inform policy formulation and decision making regarding the response and resource distribution by the government. The vulnerabilities in urban and specifically rural areas could be treated as a special case and effective steps taken regarding that. This could involve encouraging people to use alternative and efficient green energy sources like bio-gas and solar energy. In India for instance, UNEP's Indian Solar Loan Programme, saw over 20,000 solar homes systems financed in a major partnership with the local banks. This ensured that the poor who were both in urban and rural areas and who couldn't afford electricity and cheap clean energy, were supplied with clean reliable energy from solar. This idea could be replicated elsewhere and still achieve excellent results. Some could also involve supplying the slum dwellers with water tanks and also educating them on natural water treatment techniques like the use of ultra violet light to kill bacteria present in the water like has happened in a few slums in Kenya.
The people also ought to be empowered with the necessary information that would perhaps foster behavior change towards adaptation to climate change. This is where the use of ICT comes in strongly through its various mediums like local radio stations, mobile phone sms, tv and the internet through blogs like this one and social networks sites like Twitter and Facebook. These cold be complemented with music concerts, posters, caravans etc all in a concerted effort aimed at driving the message of climate change home and in the process enable them form a strong community network which could help them in adapting to and also expel myths hitherto associated with climatic changes.