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Local communities are key for conservation

Equator Prize winners show the power of local action to restore ecosystems, protect wildlife and reduce poverty

March 2^nd, 2022

This year, World Wildlife Day draws attention to successful ecosystem restoration initiatives spearheaded by Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs). They protect keystone species by following the ancient wisdom that guides local action.

UNDP’s Equator Initiative, as part of the broad offerings by UNDP on local action, supports scalable and replicable nature-based solutions championed by IPLCs to promote sustainable development. Success stories of the Equator Prize include tens of organizations protecting critical wildlife like the Pole Pole Foundation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Łutsël K’é Dene First Nation in Canada.

These stories, showcasing the power of community-focused conservation for people and wildlife, come at a critical time for protecting biodiversity.

The ‘key’ to ecosystem restoration

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has identified over 8,400 species as critically endangered, while the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) found that global ecosystems had declined by nearly half. With the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration in full swing, recovering ‘keystone’ species that have an outsized impact on the health of their ecosystems has never been more important.

A musk ox grazing in Thaidene Nëné. With their primary predator being wolves, musk oxen are among many species whose populations are controlled by wolves in the region. Photo: LKDFN/Pat Kane

Equator Prize winners: local leaders and community champions

John Kahekwa and the community he is part of are on a mission to protect the endangered Eastern Lowland Gorilla. They are also protecting the rest of the Kahuzi-Biega National Park ecosystem in DRC. However, as founder of Equator Prize winner Pole Pole Foundation (POPOF), John is not focusing his work on traditional wildlife conservation techniques. Instead, he is developing sustainable livelihood opportunities for all communities surrounding the national park.

“Our goal is to protect the gorillas through taking care of the communities around – that’s the only solution.” – John Kahekwa, Founder of Pole Pole Foundation (POPOF), 2006 Equator Prize winner from the DRC

Local communities are key for conservation

Across the Atlantic Ocean and thousands of miles north, the people of Łutsël K’é Dene First Nation (LKDFN) are protecting the ancestral lands they have shared with wolves, grizzly bears and moose for generations. In 2019, LKDFN and its partners established the 2.6 million-hectare Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area named Thaidene Nëné, “Land of the Ancestors.”

Unlike many other conservation areas in the world, Thaidene Nëné is managed by the Indigenous peoples who have always lived in harmony with the land. Because of LKDFN’s successful advocacy, this biodiversity hotspot has been protected from diamond mining and uranium prospecting.

“We were always told as a child, “Ni’ hołni,” that means: watch over the land. The vision of our elders has been to protect the land.” – Adeline Jonasson, Elder Chief of Łutsël K’e Dene First Nation, 2020 Equator Prize winner from Canada

A member of Łutsël K’é Dene First Nation fishing in the Great Slave Lake. Photo: LKDFN/Pat Kane

Equator Prize winners and keystone Species

Gray wolves are top predators and a keystone species in Thaidene Nëné, playing the unique role of keeping their prey populations healthy by singling out sick and old individuals. Without this pressure on large grazing animals, populations would boom, leading to over-grazing, soil erosion and deforestation.

Meanwhile, the eastern lowland gorilla - another keystone species - plays a comparable key role in their local ecosystem. As some of the largest grazers in their habitats, gorillas curb plant growth to sustainable levels and distribute seeds for diverse forests. Yet, their most important role may be in the tourism industry they create. Gorilla viewing opportunities provide an economic incentive for local communities to preserve gorilla habitat.

Gorilla tourism rebounded in Kahuzi-Biega National Park after 2007 when conflict in the region subsided. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the tourism industry around the park. Although John and his community are hopeful that gorilla tourism will recover again soon, the current situation reinforces the importance of POPOF’s holistic approach to community-driven conservation.

Grauer’s Gorilla with baby in Kahuzi-Biega National Park. Photo: Andrew Plumptre

Restoring ecosystems by restoring livelihoods

“I’m tired of seeing the conflicts, I’m tired of seeing the communities around the park being arrested, jailed and pay fines. I’m tired of seeing the poverty among communities which surround the Kahuzi-Biega National Park.” – John Kahekwa

When Kahuzi-Biega National Park was expanded from 60,000 hectares to 600,000 hectares, the new protected area included the home of the eastern lowland gorilla, but also thousands of Indigenous people who were relocated with no compensation. The result was widespread poaching in the park.

Recognizing that this threat to wildlife originated from the unjust displacement of Indigenous peoples who once lived sustainably off the land, POPOF was founded on the principle that no conservation initiative can be sustained without the full involvement of Indigenous peoples. By putting community development and education first, POPOF improved community confidence in the management of the park, substantially reduced poaching activities and improved the well-being of people living around Kahuzi-Biega National Park.

Protecting Indigenous rights and wildlife

“It gives me a sense of security to know we have people out there on the land that are from the community and they are protecting the water, the land, the animals, the fish. They are watching who comes to Thaidene Nëné.” –Prairie Desjarlais, Ni Hat'ni Dene Coordinator, Thaidene Nëné Management Department, Łutsël K’é Dene First Nation

Working from the same principle that conservation initiatives must actively involve Indigenous peoples throughout, the LKDFN council refused to consent to a national park when proposed by the Canadian Government in the 1970s. LKDFN knew that as Indigenous people, they would be forced off their land.

Victoria Sanderson, an indigenous Elder, goes out during the long winters in Łutsël K’é, Canada. Photo: LKDFN/Pat Kane

“Over the years, the community talked about it. They said maybe we should go with the idea of having a national park. They didn’t like the idea at first. But as development started to happen with the diamond mines, people got concerned because wildlife got impacted,” says Adeline Jonasson.

However, when industrial interests put increased pressure on their land, LKDFN set out to create a new protected area framework that would recognize Indigenous peoples as the leaders and partners in land management that they are. These advocacy efforts resulted in the establishment of Thaidene Nëné. Through the agreement, LKDFN owns the financial resources to fund the protected area through the Thaidene Nëné Trust. LKDFN manages conservation activities and eco-tourism through the Ni Hat’ni Dene programme, and they maintain their right to live sustainably alongside the region’s wildlife.

“The Establishment Agreements use language recognizing the historic guardianship of land, water, air and wildlife that has been integral within Łutsël K’é Dene law, culture, and economies.” –Łutsël K’e Dene First Nation, UNDP Equator Prize Case Study Manuscript

Lessons for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration on the importance of local action

The success stories of these Equator Prize winners warn that wildlife conservation projects that do not see the full and meaningful involvement of Indigenous peoples and local communities are less effective, if not counter-productive. They also underscore how local action is pivotal in promoting sustainable development and addressing our planetary crises. In this UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, protecting individual species and reviving ecosystems must go hand-in-hand with the inclusion of Indigenous peoples.

To learn more about the work of Equator Prize winners protecting key species for ecosystem restoration, tune in to the World Wildlife Day celebration on 3 March. The event will feature local actors such as Adeline Jonasson, John Kahekwa and Dhan Bahadur Chaudhary, as speakers. Mr. Chaudhary’s work conserving vultures in Nepal has been supported by the Small Grants Programme, a corporate programme of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) that is implemented by UNDP.

Since 1992, SGP has been providing financial and technical support to civil society and community-driven initiatives that address global environmental issues while improving local livelihoods. Both SGP and the Equator Initiative are key pillars of a broad UNDP portfolio that supports local action at the community level to promote sustainable development and address global environmental issues, especially among the poor and most vulnerable.

Follow the work of UNDP’s Equator Initiative portfolio on local action here: website | social media

Read more about SGP’s portfolio on local action here.

Footnotes

Written by Joseph Conway and Anna Giulia Medri

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FootNotes

Written by Joseph Conway and Anna Giulia Medri

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Local communities are key for conservation

Equator Prize winners show the power of local action to restore ecosystems, protect wildlife and reduce poverty

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