INDIGENOUS ‘PEOPLE OF WILDLIFE’ PROTECT NATURE – UN

ROME: In the northern part of Mount Kenya, there is an indigenous community—the Il Lakipiak Maasai (“People of Wildlife”)— who owns and operates the only community-owned rhino sanctuary in the country.

They have managed to alleviate arise in the area due to the intrusion of wild animals searching for water, prey and pasture during drought.

And they achieved this by reducing bush cutting to ensure more fodder for wildlife on their lands. Through this conservation strategy, indigenous peoples have demonstrated that they can coexist harmoniously with wildlife while supporting their own pastoral lives and cultures.

No wonder, for thousands and thousands of years, the Earth’s original peoples have faced hard challenges, yet they managed to survive and conserve their natural environment.

Now, following recent trends, the international scientific and development community has been further recognizing the invaluable role of the indigenous peoples when it comes to facing one of the most dangerous challenges of modern times: the extinction of biological diversity.

For instance, the United Nations said that actively involving indigenous peoples and local com-

Active involvement of indigenous peoples and local communities in wildlife conservation is key to maintaining biodiversity, the United Nations said. An indigenous tarsier holding onto a tree branch in Bilar, Philippines. munities in wildlife conservation is key to maintaining biodiversity and ensuring sustainable rural livelihoods.

The urgent challenges that the world faces in maintaining biodiversity worldwide require that indigenous peoples are empowered to act at the national level with assistance from the international community, said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on the occasion of World Wildlife Day on March 3.

“The cultures of indigenous peoples and local communities involve the stewardship of wildlife. They simply cannot imagine their life divorced from nature and their interest in the sustainable use of resources is strong,” said Eva Müller, Director of FAO’s Forestry Policy and Resources Division.

Empowerment of these groups combined with their knowledge and long-term planning skills is essential to ensure the survival of future generations – of both humans and wildlife, Müller added.

The relationship between humans and wildlife is highlighted in a new edition of FAO’s quarterly forestry publication Unasylva, which is jointly produced by the Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management, comprising 14 international organizations.

It cites several case studies from various countries to illustrate how indigenous peoples can optimize while also safeguarding wildlife, provided they are given the rights to make their own decisions in the territories they inhabit.

Human-Wildlife Conflicts

more frequent and severe particularly in Africa, due to increasing competition for land in previously wild and uninhabited areas, Unasylva noted.

“This is often the result of human population growth, increasing demand for natural resources, and growing pressure for access to land, such as expansion of transport routes, agriculture and industries. More that in central and southern Africa, wildlife and people will continue to share landscapes and resources with - tions are taken.”