Photo: Nick Lunch
l Creating the Ulu Papar biocultural community protocol 145
Community researchers trained in participatory video.
The biocultural community protocol
To deal with these problems and ensure the
recognition of Ulu Papar as an important
site for the protection and promotion of
biocultural heritage in Sabah, the community researchers complemented the
ongoing broad range of participatory advocacy activities by launching a process to
develop the Ulu Papar BCP in 2010 with
the support of various partners. In this
context, it was the participatory research
and advocacy processes that provided
community researchers with the techniques and experiences to draw on, in the
process of developing the protocol.
The Ulu Papar BCP is a document
describing the community, its members’
way of life and culture, and the activities
that sustain their daily lives, such as agriculture, hunting and harvesting forest and
river resources. It elucidates the rights,
responsibilities, interests and roles of the
community in overcoming the challenges
they face as well as their unique management and conservation approaches that are
based on their adat (customary laws) and
culture. The protocol represents the product of consultations that have involved
many community members in the process
of thinking about and analysing their priorities as a united collective. In this way, it
also embodies a framework guide to stimulate unity as they move to resolve the
problems faced in each village.
Most importantly, and moving beyond
village-level problems, the protocol represents a clear articulation of the
community’s aspirations in terms of future
interactions with outside actors, including
representatives of government agencies. In
this sense, the protocol is a fundamental
tool in any process where outside parties
intend to obtain the community’s free,
prior informed consent (FPIC), and therefore represents the first step in a larger
mechanism for engagement with outside
actors, within the community, and with
future generations.
The process to develop the Ulu Papar
protocol was conducted through a series of
workshops, trainings and discussions with
community members and relevant parties