Brussels, 12 May 2020/ACP: During a webinar on 29 April 2020, 50 participants including high-level representatives of international organisations working in the area of Local and Indigenous Knowledge (LIK) and Climate Change agreed to collaborate to further exchanges and joint learning on indigenous people and local knowledge in the context of climate change. In so doing, they also underscored the key role of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) in this regard.

The webinar was an initiative of the OACPS and the Intra-ACP Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (Intra-ACP GCCA+) on the basis of a policy paper published by the Intra-ACP GCCA+ Programme entitled Can Local and Indigenous Knowledge strengthen adaptation and mitigation actions in ACP countries?”.

Participants at the webinar reflected on how best to promote dialogue and raise awareness on the use of LIK for climate change adaptation and mitigation; identify success stories and research findings on the use of LIK for climate change adaptation and mitigation in ACP countries and regions; and share knowledge and foster representation of LIK holders/experts from ACP countries in international debates.

The issues raised during the webinar included:

  • The impact of traditional knowledge and language on the entire food system;
  • The incorporation of traditional knowledge at the policy level and in this context, the need to encompass the local, regional and international levels;
  • The importance of the OACPS to advance LIK through North-South-South cooperation partnerships and complementarity with science;
  • The fact that knowledge is not static and the need for constant synergy between science and indigenous knowledge;
  • The need to establish regional platforms to enable representatives of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP) Facilitative Working Group to exchange information between regions and international community;
  • The need to address current challenges such as literacy levels, financial capabilities to deliver climate services to communities and limited infrastructures;
  • The importance of indigenous and local communities in the context of forest management.

Presentations were made by representatives from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC), The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC), the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the University of the South Pacific (USP) and the organisation FERN.

The Intra-ACP GCCA+ Programme is an initiative of the OACPS funded by the 11th European Development Fund (EDF), in the context of the wider Global Climate Change Alliance+ (GCCA+) flagship Programme. The Programme, managed by the OACPS in Brussels, has two components: (i) regional Programmes; and (ii) a service contract providing institutional support to the OACPS and demand-driven technical assistance services. The Programme’s overall objective is to increase the resilience of ACP regions and countries to climate change and achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular the Goal 13 “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts”, in order to alleviate poverty and promote sustainable development

For more information on the topic, contact Dr. Pendo Maro, Team Leader, Intra-ACP GCCA+ Programme, email: pendomaro@acp.int

Click HERE to see the consolidated Webinar Presentation