The Samburu
Community
Protocol about
the Samburu
Indigenous
Livestock Breeds
and their
Rights to their
Indigenous
Livestock Genetic
Resources and
Role in Global
Biodiversity
Management
lead to unsustainable use of natural resources, must be preceded by an
environmental impact assessment. This is in line with the Akwe: Kon
Guidelines, relating to activities undertaken on community lands.
International Law: We the Samburu identify the following principles and
rights based on international law, (that are further elaborated in Appendix II), namely:
A. Principles
We are creators of breeds and custodians of our livestock;
Our clans and the sustainable use of traditional breeds are highly
dependent on the conservation of the environment in which we are
living; and
Our traditional breeds represent collective property, products of indigenous knowledge and our cultural expression.
B. Rights
We have the right to:
Make breeding decisions and breed the breeds we maintain;
Participate in policy formulation and implementation processes on
our livestock;
Receive appropriate training and capacity building and equal access
to relevant services enabling and supporting us to raise livestock and
to better process and market our products;
Participate in the identification of research needs and research design with respect to our livestock and plant resources, as is mandated
by the principle of Prior Informed Consent; and
Effectively access information on issues related to our local breeds
and livestock diversity.
HOW WE INTEND TO DEAL WITH THIS CRISIS
We want to continue to live in this region, to maintain our way of live,
culture and traditional knowledge that sustains important indigenous
breeds and supports the conservation of biodiversity. Whilst no local actors can be blamed for the climatic change this region is experiencing,
we realize now that the emphasis the government put on exotic breeds,
whilst increasing production at time of plentiful rainfall, leaves us much
more vulnerable to an increase in droughts.
From the Kenyan Government: We demand to be respected as keepers
of important livestock breeds and as custodians of wildlife according to
national and international principles and laws. Specifically with regard to
the present circumstances, we call on the government for a number of
things:
10
1. Our free prior informed consent must be sought before any new activities are undertaken on our land or relating to our land, indigenous
livestock and/or traditional knowledge. We must be included in government policy about these issues and any policy intervention must
be based on a participatory process