AWF at Green European Foundation Webinar: Youth Engagement Key in Biodiversity Protection

The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) drew attention to the importance of youth engagement for conservation in a recent webinar organized by the Green European Foundation. Simangele Msweli,  who oversees AWF’s Youth Leadership Program, took part in the event entitled 'The role of indigenous peoples in protecting biodiversity,' alongside speakers from global NGOs and indigenous communities.

Speakers unanimously agreed on the importance of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) for conservation efforts. “Indigenous communities constitute 5 percent of the global population but safeguard 80 percent of the world’s biodiversity,” noted Raktima Mukhopadhyay from the Indian Institute of Bio Social Research. She went on to discuss how their knowledge can help to manage forests sustainably as they already “coexist with nature.”

Daniel Kobei, the Founder and Executive Director of Ogiek Peoples’ Development Program added that indigenous communities were well-placed to protect biodiversity because they understand its value. “We see a forest as a supermarket,” he said. “There’s a need to protect biodiversity because we gain from it directly via our food, medicines, and the trees we use to build our homes.” He highlighted the importance of listening to the knowledge IPLCs can contribute to protecting areas and gave the example of advising on the reforestation of some land in Kenya. The government was promoting the reforestation program but they chose fast-growing non-flowering trees that did not support the full ecosystem. Local communities were able to step in and share their knowledge to advise on the appropriate species.

AWF’s Simangele Msweli spoke about the importance of youth engagement for conservation and discussed some of her work with the Youth Leadership Program. In Africa, about 70 percent of the population is under 35 and young people face several challenges such as unemployment. Wildlife crime can be exacerbated by these issues so it is necessary to engage with them and create real opportunities in conservation. Only then is it possible to create a future generation who will work to conserve nature.

As part of AWF’s work, for example, the organization partnered with other NGOs to launch the Top 100 Young African Conservation Leaders List to recognize youth leaders in conservation on the continent. The Top 100 initiative showed that even though youth are facing challenges in the continent, some are leading outstanding work and hence there is need to invest in upscaling youth initiatives.

Speaking on the role of youth and IPLCs in engaging international policy processes, Msweli emphasized the value of alliances such as the African CSOs Biodiversity Alliance (ACBA) in ensuring that youth groups, IPLC groups, and other NGOs — irrespective of their capacity and reach — are able to join hands and build on each other’s strengths to influence international policy processes. Part of ACBA’s achievements in 2021 include the publication of a paper in a peer reviewed journal, where leaders from various constituencies in Africa (including youth and IPLCs) came together to pen down their perspectives on the ongoing negotiations on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.

In their final remarks, speakers highlighted the importance of listening to the voices on the ground. Young people and IPLCs have significant experience to share and participants showed that we must make sure that their voices are heard. “They need to be shaping the policies that are happening, because whatever decision will be taken, will be implemented where these people live. Experiences on the ground must shape international processes,” said Msweli. Kobei agreed, calling for resources to reach grassroots organizations so that indigenous communities do not just implement policies but are there to inform original government plans.

Closing the discussion, Myrah Vandermeulen from Oikos Think Tank explained that we must support indigenous people and local communities at both grassroots and policy level. Although the speakers came from different continents, they showed how the knowledge of IPLCs can contribute to conservation and reaching biodiversity goals.

The panel featured Raktima Mukhopadhyay (Executive Director of  the Indian Institute of Bio Social Research), Else Demeulenaere (Associate Director for Natural Resources at the University of Guam’s Center for Island Sustainability), Daniel Kobei (Founder and Executive Director of Ogiek Peoples’ Development Program) and Simangele Msweli (Senior Manager, Youth Leadership Program, AWF). The session was moderated by Myrah Vandermeulen from Oikos Think Tank.

The talk is available on demand via Facebook here.