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65 Köhler-Rollefson, Kakar, Mathias, Singh Rathore and Wanyama
their own and other communities and lobby for their rights.
Their corrections and amendments were included in the final
document before printing.
The Samburu BCP was
launched on 28th May 2010 in
Maralal through the deputy
director of the Kenyan Livestock Production Service in the
presence of more than 30
Samburu livestock keepers and
officials from the Samburu
Livestock Production Service.
The Samburu were happy to see their
protocol published and expressed eagerness to initiate conservation activities.
Moreover, the deputy director has
embraced the idea of biocultural protocols
and is set to promote them further.
Problems and constraints
Unlike with the Pashtun and Raika, there
are no local Samburu organisations to
provide continuity to the BCP process and
follow-up. At the time of writing, it is
unclear to what extent the community has
made use of the BCP document. However,
efforts are underway by LIFE Network
Africa to revive the interaction and to use
the existing work as a starting point for a
comprehensive project to conserve the Red
Maasai sheep breed.
Conclusions
Biocultural protocols are an extremely
useful tool for making visible the connection between communities and their
breeds – a connection that continues to
remain invisible to outsiders, including officials who are tasked with conserving
animal genetic resources. BCPs provide the
foundation and an essential first step for in
situ conservation projects for animal
genetic resources. They make clear that the
ownership is with the communities. This is
of great importance not just for conservation projects. In future, commercial
interest in locally adapted breeds and their
The Samburu BCP cover.
adaptation traits can be
expected to increase.
The idea behind BCPs is
that they are a communityowned and driven process.
The cases described here
were catalysed by outsider
organisations or people,
who either had long-standing relationships with the
community (Raika) or originated from them (Pashtun
and Samburu). BCPs cannot be a standalone measure and need to be embedded
in a continuous long-term process directed
at community empowerment if they are to
be used to defend communities’ rights. The
biocultural community protocol document
captures this process and the relationship
between the community, its eco-system
and outside actors at a particular point in
time. The role of outside facilitators is to
ensure that this happens in a truthful and
comprehensive manner.
The meaning of the BCP document will
vary tremendously. It will not only depend
on the community, but also pressures
exerted upon them. If a community is
living happily, they will find it difficult to
understand the rationale for the BCP and
the process behind it. But this situation
changes once a community comes under
pressure from outside.
The Raika are experiencing a major
threat to their way of life. In recent months
– while this article was written – they have
been informed that their prime natural
resource base, the Kumbhalgarh Wildlife
Sanctuary, is being converted into a
National Park. Among other documents,
they are submitting the BCP as proof of
their legitimate claim to a role in the future
management of the park. So even though
the benefits may not be immediately apparent, we believe that BCPs are an important
tool for securing the assets of livestockkeeping communities in the long term.