Traditional Practices of Adaptation to Climate Change

and Variability IUCN World Conservation Congress Alliance Workshop # 636

Barcelona, Spain Monday, 6 October 2008 14:30-16:00, CCIB Room 125 Organizers: • Gonzalo Oviedo and Annelie Fincke, IUCN Social Policy • Elizabeth Reichel-Dolmatoff, CEESP • Agni Boedhihartono, IUCN Forest Programme

The Issues This workshop will address the challenges and opportunities of applying traditional climate-related knowledge and practices existing across different cultures worldwide, to adapt to climate change impacts, enhance community resilience and conserve biological and cultural diversity. Presentation of cases will highlight approaches and lessons from adaptation practices of traditional peoples from South America, Africa, Asia/Pacific and the Middle East. The panelists will also describe how traditional knowledge on climate is an important component of indigenous and traditional peoples' cultures and local communities since knowledge, observations and monitoring of climate, meteorology, astronomical events, cloud patterns, precipitation, temperature have for millennia been correlated to the conditions of ecosystems in order to monitor and adapt human activities affecting these or being affected by these. The applications and implications of such knowledge and practices will be considered for the short, mid and long term conservation and community resilience. Panelists’ presentation could be contextualized with references to: geoclimatic localization; biocultural synergies; cultural, linguistic and ethnic identities; location within or by protected areas; relations with governments and non-governmental and other

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organizations etc; severity and cultural significance of climate change impacts on people and ecosystems; urgency of action, emergency response, disaster preparedness; long, mid or short term adaptive practices used for specific cases of impacts of climate and weather on livelihoods, food security, shelter, health and nutrition, transportation, communication, changes in ecosystems, hydrological systems, etc. Presentations can include traditional practices for adaptation to climate change of the traditional hunting-gathering, forest-based communities, shifting cultivators, agriculturalists, pastoralists and herders, fishers and users of aquatic resources; as well as of communities engaged in mixed economies, but focusing on the relation between traditional practices and traditional knowledge on climate change (traditional observation, monitoring, communication, decision-making, adaptive management, etc related to climate change impacts). Examples will be given of adaptive practices or adaptations to enhance human wellbeing and sustainably managing ecosystems for shelter, livelihoods, food, medicine, transportation, recreation, and to maintain ecosystem services. Other examples include practices used for sustainable forestry; sustainable use of watersheds, groundwater and rainwater; conserving soil fertility; adaptive water management, irrigation and drainage; conserving traditional crops, landraces, animal breeds and wild relatives; adaptive storage and transportation for food and other vital resources; adaptive conservation, exchange and use of traditional seeds, tubers and other plant reproductive material; conserving agrobiodiversity, fish stocks, livestock and wild species and habitats; adaptive strategies for disaster preparedness, emergencies and risk management and reduction; traditional communication systems linked to early warning systems and to management prior, during and after disasters and emergencies; relevance of shadow networks and actors for socio-ecological resilience, crisis management and transition management; roles of cultural and spiritual practices, worldviews and cosmologies; interfacing traditional and OF modern practices, technologies and knowledge for climate change adaptation, etc. Traditional practices may also refer to adaptive landscape/seascape governance; adaptive management of cultural landscapes; adaptive community and household resilience and safety nets; gender-based traditional practices and other specializations among and between communities; adaptive settlement and residence patterns; adaptive nutrition and health; adaptive management of forests, fisheries, coastal, mountain, drylands, agroecosystems, etc; adaptive safeguarding of cultural heritage and genetic diversity for socio-ecological resilience; and combating loss of life, poverty, hunger, discrimination, vulnerability, displacement, ecosystem and biodiversity loss, pandemics, and epidemics, pests and diseases; as well as attending security issues related to civil unrest and to violence and conflicts arising from social and environmental impacts of climate change and variability and of extreme weather events. Some of the key questions that the workshop will address are: Which traditional practices related to natural and to anthropogenically caused climate change can be applied to adapt to impacts of climate change? Who, how, why, where, when, for example, is applying them and how can they be scaled-up in situ and in other contexts? What are the limits and

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opportunities of applying traditional practices on adaptation to climate change and variability? How far can traditional practices be flexible and adaptable and still remain ‘traditional’ and who determines this among-with indigenous and local communities? Do we need IUCN to create a list indicating threats and risks related to peoples and sites to attend in short, mid and long term responses to climate change impacts among indigenous and local communities engaged in conservation with IUCN, and also to contribute to disseminate adaptive practices to other indigenous and local communities? How can IUCN and workshop attendants create networks and alliances and other dynamics to advance this endeavour? What are the time frameworks for action - e.g. the IUCN Intersessional Programme 2009/2012, or decades, or throughout the 21st century and beyond? How can IUCN Secretariat, regional offices, Commissions, indigenous and local organizations, governments and non-governmental organizations, the UN, and others, collaborate in this endeavour? How else can IUCN be relevant in promoting traditional practices of adaptation to climate change and variability to ensure healthy ecosystems and peoples in the short, mid and long term? Workshop Programme Chair: Elizabeth Reichel-Dolmatoff, CEESP Facilitator: Aisha Mosaheb-Allee, LEAD Panel of Speakers: • Mr Johnson Cerda, Ecuador, International Indigenous Biodiversity

Forum • Ms Buthaina Mizyed, Palestine, IUCN REWARD Programme, and Mr

Mufleh Abadi, IUCN West Asia/Middle East Regional Office, Jordan: "Traditional water management in arid lands - an experience from Palestine and Jordan".

• Mr Mtangala Lumpu, Democratic Republic of Congo, AFED • Mr Warren Canendo, Australia - Ngadjon Traditional Owner • Mr Kanyike Sena, Kenya, IPACC • Ms Patricia Mary Mukhim, India, Indigenous Women's Resource Centre • Mr Yohanis Goram, Papua, Indonesia, Yayasan Nazaret Papua

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World Conservation Congress, Monday, 6 October 2008, 14:30-16:00, CCIB Room 125 #636 Traditional Knowledge and Adaptation to Climate Change Time

Event

Content

Chair/ facilitator

14:30 Session 1* Panel Title – Introducing the Topic (CCIB Room 125)

• Welcoming Remarks, Gonzalo Oviedo, IUCN Senior Advisor on Social Policy (5 min)

• Introduction to the Panel Theme, outline of key issues and workshop dynamics. Presentation of panelists. Elizabeth Reichel-Dolmatoff and Agni Boedhihartono (10 min)

• Panel discussion topic: What are some of the best examples of traditional practices of adaptation, and their contribution to adaptation to climate change and climate variability? Experiences from the South.

• Panel of speakers presenting their experiences (5 minutes each).

Elizabeth Reichel-Dolmatoff

15:25 Session 2 Discussion and Recommendations (CCIB Room 125)

• Questions for clarification to the panel of speakers and workshop chair. Facilitator takes a few questions from the group to the panelists and chair. (15 min)

• Generating recommendations regarding policies, projects or practices to be scaled-up for the promotion of traditional practices of indigenous and local communities that enhance adaptation to impacts of climate change and climate variability. Ideas in the room – cards passed around for all workshop participants to write one or two recommendations on the topic – all voices in the room to generate some recommendations. (5 min)

• Facilitator takes some of these recommendations in plenary. (15 min)

• At the end, people are asked to pass in their cards and they will be collected at the end of the rows.

Aisha Mosaheb-Allee

15:55 Session 3 Closing (CCIB Room 125)

• Closing remarks, Elizabeth Reichel-Dolmatoff (5 min)

Elizabeth Reichel-Dolmatoff

16:00 End of Session

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