In May 2008 an African Biodiversity Network delegation will visit indigenous communities in the Colombian Amazon and participate in exchanges on the regeneration of traditional culture and indigenous governance systems. Representatives from Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa will participate in the exchange. They will also observe negotiations between the traditional indigenous authorities of the Amazon region and the regional government on issues such as the decentralisation of governance, budgetary management, education and health. The Colombian Constitution has created a framework that recognises the cultural diversity of the Colombian peoples and enables indigenous communities to participate in the planning and management of their own health, education and development projects. The Amazon Regional Initiative is an intercultural alliance, woven over the last 20 years, resulting in an area larger than the UK being administered by indigenous communities, as local government, based on protecting the ecological and cultural identity of this system. Pioneered by Gaia Amazonas, Colombia, this initiative now provides a powerful learning experience for partners in the ABN and CEG-GA, to adapt and evolve the Community Ecological Governance approach in their own context.
ABN News : 28th February 2008
"Baviaan's Kloof Conference"
Members of the African Biodiversity Network recently attended a revisioning meeting in the Baviaan's Kloof, a world heritage site, to look at how to scale-up and strengthen their different innovative and community-led approaches to biodiversity protection and community rights.
Africa and the neo-liberal trade agenda, Globalization and Climate Change, agrofuels, privatisation of land, were just some of the issues on the agenda; followed by a sharing of ABN actions in the different African countries to build grassroots movements, strengthen ecological governance, and protect community rights.
