In Congo Brazzaville, the Baka strengthen their leadership for traditional nature conservation

The Baka from villages in the Sémbé, Souanké and Ngbala districts came together at a workshop held from 21 to 25 August 2024 in the town of Sémbé to build their capacity for community governance, which is essential if they are to continue their traditional conservation activities.

During the workshop, participants Girbert POUPE and Gérôme EMBASSA said:

 

‘We Baka have conserved the forest for centuries. The forest is our identity. We were all initiated into the forest. We use it rationally; it's our larder. However, policies of fortress conservation of nature and restrictive exploitation of natural resources are contributing to the disappearance of our know-how, resulting in the weakening of the Baka leadership. We are no longer free in our own forest, which we have conserved. This workshop is our wake-up call’.

 

It was with this in mind that Forest Peoples Programme and its Congo Brazzaville partner at the time, in particular the Association pour la Protection des Ecosystèmes Tropicaux et le Développement de la Sangha (APETDS), facilitated the awakening of the Baka leadership so that they could continue their actions to conserve their know-how and cultural heritage.

As usual, the workshop, which received financial support from the Rainforest Fund, featured a number of highlights.

The Baka identify the challenges that weaken their leadership

In an atmosphere of dance and storytelling, the challenges identified were as follows:

• Modernism is disorientating our younger generations of Baka, leading them to lose interest in their know-how and to develop an inferiority complex in relation to the Bantus;

• The system of exploitation and conservation, which is a fortress of nature, limits our access to our sacred sites and the place where our know-how is passed on, has been limited since the arrival of the exploiters and conservers;

• The national land tenure system facilitates the expropriation of our forests and does not recognise our pre-existing customary land rights;

• Poaching and illegal logging are draining our capacity to monitor our forests;

• The scarcity of Koukouma or holders of traditional know-how accentuates the weakening of our leadership by limiting the transmission of cultural heritage through dance, stories and rites;

• The low representation of Baka in decision-making bodies limits our involvement and our role in forest management.

Practical case studies to strengthen their leadership

Faced with all these challenges, the Baka participants engaged in role-playing and media discoveries about the experiences of other peoples. They also reviewed legislation guaranteeing leadership and community conservation, and explored the opportunities offered by the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.

Recommendations to overcome the challenges identified

The Baka focus groups on barriers to decision-making and the role of the Baka in forest management came up with the following recommendations:

 

‘We Baka must remain united and organise ourselves to protect our forests and defend our rights;

We call on the government to guarantee compensation for the destruction of our crops by animals and to ensure that the free, informed and prior consent of the Baka is obtained before any project is launched.

We are asking for financial and technical support for community surveillance of our forests and for actions to promote our traditional know-how’.

 

Ultimately, as part of the ongoing process of awakening Baka leadership, Forest Peoples programme and its new partner in Congo Brazzaville, the Cercle d'Encadrement Communautaire pour le Développement, intend to organise a sub-regional workshop in March 2025, bringing together indigenous peoples from several Central African countries to exchange experiences and build capacity.