UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

05/04/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/04/2021 12:24

East African stakeholders review links between living heritage and climate change

On 30 April 2021, UNESCO mobilized over 55 stakeholders from the Eastern Africa region to participate in an online conference to share the results of seven case studies, which were carried out within the framework of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and the UNESCO Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) programme as part of a pilot project to support research and documentation of traditional knowledge systems linked to biodiversity conservation, climate change and disaster risk reduction.

The UNESCO 2003 Convention recognizes the contribution of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) to environmental sustainability, including in the areas of sustainable natural resource management and the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Traditional knowledge systems, oral traditions, rituals and practices, accumulated and renewed by communities across generations as part of their intangible cultural heritage, can play an important role alongside scientific knowledge and policies in sustaining, regenerating, conserving and governing biodiversity. Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage not only serves to transmit knowledge and skills about the environment, but also shapes a certain relationship to nature, usually fostering notions of respect, custodianship and connectivity towards the natural environment.

Following a call for proposals issued by UNESCO in January 2021, the following case studies were carried out as part of the pilot project:

  • Eritrea: Research and documentation of Traditional Knowledge Systems on biodiversity conservation and climate change: experience from Lamza Village, Eritrea (Eritrean Commission of Culture and Sports);
  • Ethiopia: Indigenous Knowledge System and Biodiversity: the Case of Gedeo, South Ethiopia (Addis Ababa University);
  • Kenya: Role of Indigenous Knowledge and Practices in Biodiversity Conservation, Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction among Pastoral Communities in Kenya (National Museums of Kenya);
  • Uganda: Traditional knowledge systems and the conservation of water bodies and aquatic life in Uganda (Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda);
  • Somalia: Somali oral heritage as a vehicle for biodiversity conservation (Somaliland Youth Development and Voluntary Organization);
  • Seychelles: The Creole Garden and Kitchen Pharmacy in Seychelles (University of Seychelles);
  • South Sudan: The Role of Traditional Knowledge Systems on Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction in Eastern Africa: A Case Study of South Sudan Flood and/ or Desert Locusts Invasion in 2019 and 2020 (Mark Oloya Nekemiah).

The case studies were guided by a research brief developed by UNESCO in collaboration with an international Advisory Panel established as part of the pilot project. The final case studies will be featured in a UNESCO PDF publication and made widely available to researchers and the public through UNESCO and partners' web sites.

Ms. Ann Therese Ndong-Jatta, Director of UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa opened the conference by noting that the results of this research will be widely used by Member States, UNESCO and our partners.