65 Köhler-Rollefson, Kakar, Mathias, Singh Rathore and Wanyama
presented the BCP at a meeting of local and
indigenous communities on access and
benefit-sharing (ABS) in Nairobi. She later
travelled to Montreal for the Sixth Ad hoc
Open-ended Working Group on Article 8J
(Convention on Biological Diversity).
However, it was difficult for her to share
these experiences with the community
afterwards, since they could not relate to
travel abroad.
The Raika have used the document
when interacting with government officials, especially the Forest Department. It
has put them ‘on the map’ and become a
source of information for young people.
However, in their current struggle for grazing rights, it has also become evident that
internationally binding agreements like the
CBD severely lack local awareness and
implementation, even though India is a
signatory to the convention.
Problems and constraints
The Raika BCP builds on extensive existing documentation. It represents a concise
summary of important aspects of Raika
culture, traditional knowledge and genetic
resources. This is useful, but also dangerous. It is not a comprehensive record and
provides a limited segment of their total
knowledge. While its legal contents are
valuable, they are difficult for the Raika to
understand, highlighting the need for legal
empowerment within the community. The
biggest value is in using the printed document to interact with outsiders. Overall,
the BCP is just one of many tools in the
arsenal required by the Raika to claim their
rights under the Indian Forest Rights Act.
main subdivisions, White Cow and Black
Cow. Eight keep livestock and the ninth
consists of hunters and gatherers. They
moved to the present area following the
1911 Treaty between Maasai leader Lenana
and the British.
The Samburu keep small East African
Zebu cattle, Red Maasai sheep and East
African goats. The Red Maasai sheep has a
unique genetic capability to cope with
internal parasites, especially Haemonchus
contortus (a kind of stomach worm). This
has attracted attention from scientists who
are keen to understand the genetic basis of
this trait, which has obvious commercial
potential. Despite this interest, the survival
of the Red Maasai is threatened, particularly by the strong promotion of
cross-breeding with Dorper sheep and
market demand for large-bodied animals.
The community itself seems to have lost
confidence in its indigenous breed,
although it is significantly more drought
resistant than the Dorper and required for
a number of Samburu life-cycle rituals.
Process
Compiling the Samburu BCP built on a
series of activities that the LIFE Network
Africa coordinator initiated in Samburu
District, 2008.6 It began with a study of
indigenous knowledge and breeding pracPhoto: Ilse Köhler-Rollefson
114
Samburu Biocultural Protocol
The Samburu are Maa-speaking pastoralists in Northern Kenya. They are closely
related to the Maasai, with an estimated
800,000 households in the districts of
Samburu, Laikipia, Isiolo, Marsabit and
Baringo. Nine clans are divided into two
Samburu herder reading the Raika BCP.
6 The Samburu BCP process is part of the Africa BCP Initiative which is supported by the ABS
Initiative (funded by GIZ), the Open Society for Southern Africa and the Heinrich Böll Foundation.