Knowing our Lands and Resources Indigenous and Local Knowledge of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Africa Science and Policy United Nations for People and Nature Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Knowing our Lands and Resources Indigenous and Local Knowledge of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Africa ▶ Edited by: M. Roué, N. Césard, Y. C. Adou Yao and A. Oteng-Yeboah ▶ Organized by the: Task Force on Indigenous and Local Knowledge Systems Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) ▶ in collaboration with the: IPBES Expert Group for the African Regional Assessment ▶ with support from Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) ▶ 14–16 September 2015 • UNESCO • Paris Science and Policy United Nations for People and Nature Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Published in 2017 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France © UNESCO 2017 ISBN: 978-92-3-100208-3 This publication is available in Open Access under the Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC-BY-SA 3.0 IGO) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/). By using the content of this publication, the users accept to be bound by the terms of use of the UNESCO Open Access Repository (http://www.unesco.org/open-access/terms-use-ccbysa-en). The present license applies exclusively to the text content of the publication. For the use of any material not clearly identified as belonging to UNESCO, prior permission shall be requested from: [email protected] or UNESCO Publishing, 7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP France. To be cited as: M. Roué, N. Césard, Y. C. Adou Yao and A. Oteng-Yeboah (eds.). 2017. Knowing our Lands and Resources: Indigenous and Local Knowledge of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Africa. Knowledges of Nature 8. UNESCO: Paris. 156pp. Under the scientific direction of: Marie Roué, Nicolas Césard, Yves Constant Adou Yao and Alfred Oteng-Yeboah With contributions from the following members of the IPBES Task Force on Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) Systems: Yildiz Aumeerudy-Thomas Peris Mweru Kariuki In collaboration with members of the IPBES Expert Group for the African Regional Assessment: Emma Archer Van Garderen Jo Mulongoy Kalemani Mariteuw Chimere Diaw Marie-Christine Cormier Salem Katja Heubach Fred Kizito Nicholas Oguge Lindsay Stringer With support from UNESCO as the Technical Support Unit for the IPBES Task Force on ILK: Douglas Nakashima, Cornelia Hauke, Hong Huynh, Khalissa Ikhlef, Tanara Renard--Truong Van Nga, Jennifer Rubis, Kang Sungkuk and Alejandro Rodriguez Funded by: Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) English and Copy Editor: Kirsty McLean Cover photo: Ole Kaunga Graphic and cover design, typeset: Julia Cheftel Images: Yildiz Aumeerudy-Thomas, Patrice Bigombe Logo, Finn Kjellberg, Nicholas Oguge, Verohanitra Rafidison, Bakolimalala Rakouth, Riziki Shemdoe and Claude Villeneuve Hard copies are made available compliments of UNESCO The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The ideas and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors; they are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the Organization. Table of Contents Introduction ____________________________________________________________ 4 1 The use of indigenous traditional knowledge for ecological and bio-diverse resource management by the Laikipia Maasai and the Samburu _______________ 6 Johnson M. Ole Kaunga 2 Landscape ethnoecological knowledge base and management of ecosystem services among the Samburu of northern Kenya ___________________________ 18 Nicholas O. Oguge 3 Community dialogue on indigenous local knowledge relevant for food and water protection in Tharaka, Kenya _______________________________________ 30 Gathuru Mburu and Sabella Kaguna 4 Indigenous and local knowledge for biodiversity and ecosystem services in Tanzania: The case of two selected communities ___________________________ 41 Riziki Shemdoe 5 Savoirs et pratiques traditionnels et locaux en agroécologie et conservation de la biodiversité : zones forestières du centre et sud Cameroun ________________ 53 William A. Mala 6 Les plantes médicinales traditionnelles des Pygmées Bakola–Bagyéli du Cameroun : usages thérapeutiques, diversification des menaces et mesures efficaces de protection _________________________________________________ 84 Patrice Bigombe Logo, Gilbert Aboushow Nzie, Ngally Sadrack and Paul-Félix Mimboh 7 Pratiques et connaissances naturalistes des communautés Betsileo : lisière du corridor forestier Andringitra-Ranomafana, Madagascar ____________________ 95 V. Rafidison, B. Rakotoanadahy, A. F. R. Ralaha, Rakotomaro, J. F. Rafanomezantsoa, E. Rasabo, R. Rakotozafy and Y. Aumeeruddy-Thomas 8 Traditional knowledge associated with desert ecosystems in Egypt __________ 107 Marwa Waseem A. Halmy ANNEX 1 – Agenda of the ILK dialogue workshop ____________________________ 146 ANNEX 2 – Participants List for the ILK dialogue workshop _____________________ 150 ANNEX 3 – Author bionotes ________________________________________________ 154 Introduction The Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) includes as one of its operating principles the following commitment: Recognize and respect the contribution of indigenous and local knowledge to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystems. UNEP/IPBES.MI/2/9, Appendix 1, para. 2 (d) To spearhead its work on this challenging objective, IPBES Plenary created at its Second Meeting the Task Force on Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) Systems. The present document is a contribution to the IPBES regional assessment for Africa. Its aim is twofold: ▶ To assist the co-chairs, coordinating lead authors and lead authors of the regional assessment for Africa by facilitating their access to indigenous and local knowledge relevant to the assessment theme. ▶ To pilot the initial approaches and procedures for building ILK into IPBES assessments that are under development by the ILK task force in order to test their efficacy and improve the final ILK approaches and procedures that the task force will propose to the Plenary of IPBES. To meet these two objectives in the framework of the African regional assessment, the task force on ILK implemented a step-wise process including: ▶ A global call for submissions on ILK related to biodiversity and ecosystem services in Africa; ▶ A selection of the most relevant submissions from ILK holders and experts, taking into account geographical representation, representation of diverse knowledge systems and gender balance;1 ▶ Organization of an Africa Dialogue Workshop (Paris, 14–16 September 2015) to bring together the selected ILK holders, ILK experts and experts on ILK with the co-chairs and several authors of the IPBES assessment report; ▶ Development of proceedings from the Africa Dialogue workshop in Paris that provide a compendium of relevant ILK for authors to consider, alongside ILK available from the scientific and grey literature, when drafting the Africa assessment report; and ▶ Organisation of local follow-up work sessions by the selected ILK holders, ILK experts and experts on ILK in order to work with their communities to address additional questions and gaps identified with authors at the Paris workshop. These contributions from the Africa Dialogue Workshop in Paris and its various follow-up meetings, provide a compendium of ILK about biodiversity and ecosystem services in Africa that might not otherwise be available to the authors of the assessment. It complements the body of ILK on biodiversity in Africa that the authors are able to access from the scientific and grey literature. 1 Note that in rural/indigenous societies in Africa, men and women’s roles are often complementary but distinctive. 4 This in turn results in complementary and distinctive sets of men and women’s knowledge. Knowing our Lands and Resources: Indigenous and Local Knowledge of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in Africa 1. The use of indigenous traditional knowledge for ecological and bio-diverse resource management by the Laikipia Maasai and the Samburu Johnson M. Ole KAUNGA Director, IMPACT; Advisor, Maasai Cultural Heritage, Kenya 1.1. Background The Laikipia Maasai are a community of the wider Maasai who live in Laikipia County in north central Kenya. The Samburu are known to be distant cousins of the Maasai, and live in Samburu county and parts of Laikipia, Isiolo and Marsabit. They migrated to Kenya from North Africa. They speak the Maa language. Both communities practice pastoralism in the northern rangelands of Kenya. The mobility of people and livestock is a key element of their livelihood, and fundamental for the optimal use of rangelands and range resources. Pastoralism is a traditional occupation, and a productive livelihood where a finely-honed symbiotic relationship between people (pastoralists), domesticated livestock, and local ecology in resource-scarce and highly-variable arid regions