International
Co-ordination
During the
period under review WIMSA received numerous invitations to international
conferences and workshops. Some had to be declined as only a few San to
date have acquired the organisational, administrative, linguistic and
representational skills needed for participation in such international
events. Almost all of these few representatives work full time for San
organisations and are sorely missed in the day-to-day running of the office
and field work while they are attending international gatherings. Careful
consideration and regional co-ordination therefore determined whether
or not participation in each international gathering was possible.
FPW
Advisors Meeting
WIMSA Co-ordinator
Axel Thoma is one of the 13 advisors to the USA-based organisation First
Peoples Worldwide (FPW), whose mission is "to promote indigenous
determination and control of assets by strengthening indigenous communities
through sharing of knowledge of both needs and resources". The advisory
committee held its third meeting in Kautokeino, Norway, in April 2001.
The advisors were invited to review the status of projects facilitated
by FPW in Australia, Southern Africa and the Philippines, make suggestions
on future direction, outline the organisational structure and help develop
an international network of indigenous contacts. Since the meeting took
place in Norway the advisors and FPW staff were briefed on the situation
of the Sami, whose history has been defined through Norwegian, Swedish
and Finnish laws designed to "protect", but which more often
restrict, Sami culture. The advisors visited the Sami Institute, a research
organisation representing the Sami. The Institute was developed by the
Council on Nordic Countries. Its research focuses on language, legal rights
and social issues. Advisor Russel Barsh presented an overview of his research
paper which FPW commissioned, titled "Indigenous Peoples and Biotechnology".
His core finding is that it is academic research, not corporate-funded
research or government research, that puts North American indigenous peoples'
knowledge into the public domain. He estimates that 98% of all indigenous
knowledge reaches the pharmaceutical industry via published work.
19th
UNWGIP Session
Four San,
namely Magdalena Kassie and Tomsen Nore from South Africa, MathamboNgakaeaja
from Botswana and Joram |Useb from Namibia participated in the 19th Session
of the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations (UNWGIP)
in Geneva, Switzerland, in July 2001. The theme was "Indigenous Peoples
and their Right to Development". Assistant to the WIMSA Co-ordinator
Joram |Useb delivered an address concerning the Namibian Government's
plan to relocate 21 000 refugees to M'Kata in Tsumkwe District West, the
ancestral land of the !Kung in the area. He explained to the indigenous
peoples' representatives from around the world that this plan would undermine
the !Kung community's work towards establishing a conservancy which would
give them control over the area and income generated from natural resources
and tourism there.
While in
Geneva the San discussed issues of mutual concern with other indigenous
peoples, met representatives of the International Labour Organisation
(ILO) and attended the AGM of the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Co-ordinating
Committee (IPACC), in which WIMSA/Botswana Co-ordinator Mathambo Ngakaeaja
was elected as IPACC Chairperson for the Southern African Region.
Forest
Peoples Project Conference
Since November
2000 the UK-based organisation Forest Peoples Project (FPP) has facilitated
a two-year project titled "Indigenous Peoples and Protected Areas
in Africa: from Principle to Practice", the aim of which is as follows:
[T]o support
a dialogue between African indigenous peoples and conservation bodies
to encourage the implementation of new internationally-agreed conservation
principles which recognise indigenous rights to land and resources,
and involve indigenous people in decision-making. ...1
The following
explains WIMSA's involvement in the project:
In order
to create a forum in which to explore why the new conservation principles
are not working and identify measures to result in more just and sustainable
conservation practices, FPP invited indigenous peoples in seven African
countries to produce their own case studies documenting the impacts
of conservation projects on their land and livelihoods.2
The case
studies were the focus of a four-day conference held in Kigali, Rwanda,
in September 2001, attended by over 60 people including indigenous community
representatives, African conservation managers and staff, and members
of support organisations in Africa, Europe and the USA. The San were represented
by Petrus Vaalboi from South Africa and Joram |Useb from Namibia. The
case study titled "Indigenous Peoples and Conservation: Workshop
Presentation by the ‡Khomani San of South Africa" prepared by
SASI/WIMSA lawyer Roger Chennells was complemented by former ‡Khomani
CPA Chairperson Petrus Vaalbooi's further explanations on the successful
‡Khomani land claim. Eleanor McGregor of SASI translated the presentation
from Afrikaans into English. In one of the panel discussions Joram elaborated
on the establishment of the Nyae Nyae Conservancy in Namibia's Tsumkwe
District. He stressed that the terminology in the conservancy and community
policies should be translated into the language of the local people.
The very
constructive conference discussions culminated in the recommendations
made by the participants about how to increase the dialogue between
protected area managers and indigenous communities, and ways to empower
indigenous communities to engage more effectively with their governments
and conservation organisations to lobby for changes to park management
guidelines and practices. These recommendations form the basis for activities
now taking place in the second year of this project, in which indigenous
communities and support organisations are seeking to engage directly
with protected area managers and to assess the impacts of improved dialogue
on the welfare of their communities.2
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