The community conserved landscape of the Borana Oromo, Ethiopia

Abstract

PurposeThis paper seeks to describe an attempt to assess at the local level the progress that has been internationally achieved in recognition of community and indigenous rights, and of indigenous and community conserved areas. An action‐research exercise was implemented in Ethiopia with a mobile indigenous people of evaluating customary as well as government‐led governance of the environment, with the objective of strengthening the capacity of the Borana‐Oromo to conserve their landscape.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is based on collaborative research implemented by the authors in 2002 while SOS Sahel Ethiopia was introducing collaborative forest management, and on a 2007 action research project specifically designed to broaden the scope of the involvement of the customary leadership in sustainable landscape management.FindingsThe research demonstrates the high degree of articulation and efficacy of customary governance as opposed to the failure of State‐centric attempts to protect specific areas within the broader landscape. Customary institutions, however, are increasingly delegitimised and incapable of coping with new challenges such as massive immigration, political marginalisation and de facto land privatisation.Research limitations/implicationsThe action‐research was insufficient to achieve the goal due to limitations in the national legislation, inefficiency by the government in implementing the existing policies, and the persisting practice of imposing development with insufficient prior consultation.Practical implicationsBased on an informed review of the international and national legislation and policies, the customary leaders of the Borana have released a public statement asking for support in addressing the gaps and problems they have identified, particularly achieving legal recognition of the customary institutions and customary laws in relation to biodiversity conservation. At national level it was recommended to organize a workshop on community conservation of biodiversity and community rights, with the objective of disseminating awareness about the latest instruments and Resolutions in the context of IUCN and the CBD.Originality/valueThe customary governance of the Borana is based on the gadaa generation class system, highly articulated in terms of norms and procedures. The territory is vast and it includes government‐protected areas due to the importance of the biodiversity. The case contributes to raising awareness about the relevance of legislation and enhancement of rights at national level.

Pastoralism and Development in Africa

“…The main concern is that this previously shared resource finds its way into the market as a commercial commodity. This runs counter to the resource sharing tradition -based on accommodation, reciprocity and symbiosiswithin and between pastoralist communities, the very basis of the social fabric that constitutes pastoral production in Borana (Legesse, 1973;Tache, 2000;Bassi, 2005;Bassi and Tache, 2011). It is therefore no surprise that the enclosure of these key resources has caused conflicts between and within pastoralist communities.…”

Rural Land Registration in Ethiopia: Myths and Realities

“…Hoben () reported, for instance, that the local custom of “ rest ,” a traditional system of land tenure in the highland regions of the Amhara people, promoted distributive equity and gender equality within the community. Other research documents local customs and practices that advance efficiency and environmental sustainability (Bassi and Tache ).…”

Managing Resource Use and Development

“…Sustainable resource use is often a key objective and pillar of protected areas and other conservation sites governed by non-governmental actors, including ICCAs and PPAs (see Chapter 7). It is the basis, for instance, of thousands of community forests in South Asia, hundreds of locally managed marine areas in the South Pacific, South-East Asia and some African countries, vast territories of mobile peoples in Central Asia and the Horn of Africa, and many other ICCAs (Borrini-Feyerabend et al 2010;Bassi and Tache 2011;Kothari et al 2012;Naqizadeh et al 2012; see also Chapters 7, 20 and 21). It is also a key motivation for PPAs such as those conserving large mammals (and associated wildlife) in several African countries (see elsewhere in this chapter).…”