The Process of developing the Biocultural Community Protocol of the OvaHerero of the Kaokoland in Namibia and Angola

The OvaHerero people of Kaokoland, semi-nomadic pastoralists in Namibia and Angola, developed a Biocultural Community Protocol (BCP) between March 2022 and June 2024. Supported by Natural Justice and International Rivers, the process involved six phases: securing community buy-in, capacity building, research across 34 villages and four museums, iterative community validation, translation into the OtjiHerero language, and official launch. The BCP serves as a tool to safeguard traditional knowledge against threats from climate change and infrastructure development, and to ensure free, prior, and informed consent for external parties engaging in research, tourism, or development on their territories.

• The OvaHerero people sought to create a Biocultural Community Protocol (BCP) because their traditional knowledge, cultural practices, and way of life are threatened by climate change, modernisation, and infrastructure developments.
• The development of the BCP was a two-year participatory process (excluding initial consultations) that involved research across 26 villages and four Living Museums in Namibia, as well as four villages in Angola.
• The BCP process included the creation of a biodiversity register, a map of natural and cultural resources (including sacred sites and rivers), and an inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage to protect knowledge transmitted across generations.
• The final BCP is intended to function as a mandatory starting point for external parties to understand the community and to outline the requirements for obtaining free, prior, and informed consent for activities such as development, tourism, and research.

APA

Prince, N. (2024). The Process of developing the Biocultural Community Protocol of the OvaHerero of the Kaokoland in Namibia and Angola. Natural Justice. https://naturaljustice.org/biocultural-community-protocols-a-powerful-tool-to-affirm-and-protect-indigenous-peoples-rights/

Chicago

Prince, Natasha. The Process of developing the Biocultural Community Protocol of the OvaHerero of the Kaokoland in Namibia and Angola. Natural Justice, 2024. https://naturaljustice.org/biocultural-community-protocols-a-powerful-tool-to-affirm-and-protect-indigenous-peoples-rights/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Prince |first1=Natasha |title=The Process of developing the Biocultural Community Protocol of the OvaHerero of the Kaokoland in Namibia and Angola |publisher=Natural Justice |date=23 July 2024 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/biocultural-community-protocols-a-powerful-tool-to-affirm-and-protect-indigenous-peoples-rights/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{prince2024process, author = {Prince, Natasha}, title = {{The Process of developing the Biocultural Community Protocol of the OvaHerero of the Kaokoland in Namibia and Angola}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, year = {2024}, month = jul, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/biocultural-community-protocols-a-powerful-tool-to-affirm-and-protect-indigenous-peoples-rights/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }