the natural grown fruits has primarily been a women activity. With no or little opportunities, women
would usually rely on the Shea butter as a source of income. With an ever-growing demand, the
Shea industry has a huge potential for poverty alleviation. SVN is working with different stakeholders
and partners to harness such a potential to improve the livelihood of communities of the West Africa
Region. The aim is to promote the Shea on the global market and link the natural resource and
harvesters to markets.
The development of a BCP will help to sustain the livelihood of thousands of women in Ghana. More
men are coming into the sector, and as the land belongs to them, women’s access to the Shea Tree
might soon become quite limited.
Mr Banye informed the participants that SNV is implementing similar projects in Benin and Burkina
Faso. It was reported that the situation in Benin was slightly different because most of the Shea Trees
are not located on private property. In Ghana however some groups of women have taken over
the market preventing other women to operate and make a living out of this industry. Shea butter is
very valued at community level and most communities will protect the trees. Therefore, if a BCP
were to be developed, a grassroots assessment must be done with the participation of the local
communities in the entire process.
8. Discussion: Thinking Aloud and BCPs
The second round of presentations
reported, for the most part, either
cases where BCPs would be relevant
to address the challenges faced by
the communities, or cases where
communities are about to initiate a
BCP to protect their indigenous
knowledge and preserve their
traditional way of life. However, the
example
of
Namibia,
where
legislation provides a comprehensive
framework
and
systems
for
communities, raised the questions of
when, in which context and to which
extent, developing a BCP would be
necessary.
Considering the conservancy structures in Namibia, participants were interested in knowing how
communities that have lived on these lands for centuries feel about having to register for a
community conservancy to have rights to use it. Interestingly, the process of registration was
described as an intense and empowering process for the communities.
Participants pointed out the many similarities in terms of issues and challenges faced by ILPCS.
Obvious parallels could be made, not only between organisations operating in the same countries
but also across countries and regions.
Land related issues came up as one of the major and common themes. Kenyan representatives
highlighted the complexities to deal with this matter despite a new national constitution that is more
supportive of community land rights and customary land tenure.
Participants placed emphasis on the need for capacity building and legal support when initiating a
BCP process. The development of source of information such as a BCP database could assist NGOs,
CBOs and communities in the development process and widespread of BCPs. It was emphasised
that when developing a BCP, a genuine participatory approach was essential.
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