SUBMISSION: CULTURAL RIGHTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE

The document details how climate change threatens the bio-cultural resources and traditional knowledge of African indigenous peoples, specifically within Indigenous peoples' and local communities' conserved territories and areas (ICCAs) and pastoralist communities. It highlights the use of traditional knowledge and 'Community Protocols' as essential tools for climate adaptation and the protection of customary laws. Finally, it outlines the severe risks faced by cultural rights defenders in Africa, including land grabbing, physical violence, and criminalization, while recommending the establishment of defender funds and coordinated monitoring to protect these activists.

• Climate change threatens the cultural identity and traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples and local communities in Africa, particularly those managing Indigenous peoples' and local communities' conserved territories and areas (ICCAs). These areas often include sacred natural sites with spiritual significance where customary rules govern resource use to prevent degradation.
• Pastoralist communities in sub-Saharan Africa are uniquely vulnerable to climate-driven rainfall variability and extreme weather. In Kenya, the loss of traditional grazing lands to government development projects, combined with drought and flood cycles, has forced many to abandon their traditional way of life, leading to extreme poverty and migration, as seen during the 1992 Somalia drought.
• Traditional knowledge and customary rules are being used as adaptation strategies. In Analavory, Madagascar, farmers use 'Dina' (unwritten customary rules) to combat bushfires and maintain a community seed bank to preserve traditional rice varieties, such as Rojo Mena, which are central to their cultural identity.
• Community Protocols serve as legal and cultural tools for indigenous groups to communicate their values, protect traditional knowledge, and negotiate with external actors. In South Africa's Cederberg region, Khoikhoi and San farmers used a community protocol to establish free prior informed consent regarding the use of rooibos, treating it as a customary resource rather than just a commodity.
• Cultural and environmental rights defenders in Africa face systemic threats, including massive land grabbing of ancestral lands, physical violence, and extrajudicial killings. In Kenya, the Sengwer indigenous group has faced forced evictions from the Embobout Forest, and the Ogiek people have faced death threats despite a positive judgment from the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
• Governments are increasingly using 'draconian laws' to criminalize activism. In Kenya, amendments to land laws allow the state to take possession of land before compensation based on market value, ignoring cultural and traditional values. Additionally, the Public Order Act is often misused to arrest protestors or hold organizers strictly liable for violence during demonstrations.

APA

Natural Justice (2020). SUBMISSION: CULTURAL RIGHTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Natural-Justice-Submission-Climate-Change-and-Cultural-Rights-1-May-2020.pdf

Chicago

Natural Justice. SUBMISSION: CULTURAL RIGHTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE. 2020. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Natural-Justice-Submission-Climate-Change-and-Cultural-Rights-1-May-2020.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Natural Justice |title=SUBMISSION: CULTURAL RIGHTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE |date=1 May 2020 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Natural-Justice-Submission-Climate-Change-and-Cultural-Rights-1-May-2020.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{naturaljustice2020submission, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{SUBMISSION: CULTURAL RIGHTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE}}, publisher = {Natural Justice}, year = {2020}, month = may, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Natural-Justice-Submission-Climate-Change-and-Cultural-Rights-1-May-2020.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }