98
This exclusion motivated them to develop a biocultural community protocol to highlight their strong
cultural history and connection to the ecosystem, express the injustices they continue to face, and call
on the government to address their concerns according to national and international law. Initially
championed by one community-based organization, the process is now led by Save Lamu, a group of
concerned residents that include representatives of over 30 community organizations, NGOs, and
Indigenous peoples. Members of Save Lamu have formed sub-committees (including on writing, media,
lobbying, and finances) to deal with all aspects of the process of developing and using the protocol.
They intend to extend the process to include legal capacity seminars with local Kenyan lawyers.
Community consultations, meetings, and discussions have taken place over several months in over 30
villages and towns throughout the district, often requiring Save Lamu committee members to travel
long distances to meet with community representatives.
Based on this process, they have begun to engage in meetings with relevant stakeholders, including
government representatives, to request disclosure of information and participation in fair
environmental and social impact assessments. The communities have made it clear that they are not
necessarily opposed to the port itself. Above all, they seek fulfillment of their right to full and effective
participation in decision-making processes that affect them and the ecosystems upon which their
cultures and livelihoods depend.
COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE:
Tanchara Community Responds to Gold Mining by Focusing on Wellbeing in Northern Ghana
Resource: Adapted from Ghanaian Community Protects Sacred Groves from Mining (COMPAS
Endogenous Development Magazine, Issue 7, 2011)
In recent years, the Tanchara community of the
Upper West Region of Ghana has been subjected
to a number of illegal gold mining operations that
have posed serious threats to the community’s
land, soils, drinking water, social security, and
sacred groves and sites. The latest group of illegal
miners was attracted by the prospecting of
Azumah Resources Limited, which appeared to
have received permission from the Ghanaian
government without informing or seeking
consent from the Tanchara community. In
response, the local spiritual leaders and
caretakers of the land (the Tingandem) came
Figure 19: Tanchara community members and staff of
together to protest the illegal activities and to
CIKOD survey the impacts of an illegal gold mine
call upon the government to safeguard their
(Courtesy: Bas Verschuuren/COMPAS)
sacred groves and sites from mining. Their main
concerns are their lack of involvement in the decision-making processes that have led to the mining and
the lack of respect for their right to provide or deny free, prior and informed consent.
The Tingandem and broader Tanchara community have been developing a biocultural community
protocol to assert their rights under customary, national, and international law. With the long-term
support of a local NGO, the Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organizational Development (CIKOD),
the Tanchara have been using a number of endogenous development tools to strengthen local
capacities and customary institutions and governance systems. They have also developed their own
tool, the innovative Community Wellbeing Impact Assessment (see Part I: Section IV/A), in direct
response to the gold mining activities. By conducting their own impact assessment, they were able to
focus explicitly on community-determined values and priorities such as education, health, and other
spiritual, social-cultural, and material aspects of their ways of life.