KUMU FOUNDATION PRESENTATION 2010 version Anglaise · Compte bancaire : 79739 COOPEC-IMARA Ville de...

Fondation Kumu, 13 Avenue Kitona, Q.Mikeno, Commune de Goma, RDC, Tél. +243 810630945/ +243 994270860

E-mail : [email protected] , http://www.fondationkumu.onlc.fr

Compte bancaire : 79739 COOPEC-IMARA Ville de Goma, Nord-Kivu, République Démocratique du Congo.

KUMU FOUNDATION Kumu Foundation for wildlife conservation and sustainable

development around the Maiko National Park, RDC (A non-profit organization)

PRESENTATION 15th November 2010

by: BAHATI ELIBA Alfred: General Secretary

E-mail : [email protected], http://www.fondationkumu.onlc.fr

Tél : (+243) 810630945 / 813133923

Near Maïko National Park, RDC: Sound Environment and Rich in Natural Resources Photo FK, 2009




Foreword

What’s Kumu Foundation ?

• A Representative network for local communities living around Maïko National Park;

• An innovative approach in the Maïko area of different parties (native peoples,

indigenous communities, government and other actors), who formed a mutual

consultation center in order to work together, to discuss and to continually share

their experiences, ideas and knowledge on the challenges in the management of the

Maïko landscape, to achieve our commonvision : the good management of natural

resources for sustainable development;

• Well-founded on the Promotion of vulnerable native peoples living near the

protected areas (Maïko and Kahuzi-Biega parks), we are striving for political

participation and transparent management of natural resources ;

• Facilitating the voluntary Cooperation of solid partnerships between different actors

(Local communities, NGO, Government; National and international organization…) to

contribute to the sustainable use of the forestry ecosystems and biodiversities in the

Maïko landscape by integration of indigenous peoples.

• To promote environmental initiative about community conservation of protected

forest by native peoples in the Maiko landscape and in Congo Basin Forest areas, like

CACED (a youth organization for environmental service and development at Walikale

Territory) which was initiated through Kumu Foundation efforts.

Illustration 1: Native communities living around Maiko at USALA village/RGU ©Photo FK, 2009




General idea

The creation of the Kumu Foundation for wildlife conservation and sustainable development

around Maiko National Park (Kumu Foundation for short) at ONINGA-USALA village, 15th

December 2008 was initiated by ecologist Alfred BAHATI ELIBA, known as a direct

descendant of the native community family living around the Maiko area.

The main motivation of the local communities to found this platform was mainly due to the

lack of an institutional framework around the park which would allow the indigenous

people to discuss their problems with the management and development in the Maiko

landscape.

Other factors that fundamentally influence the

existence of the Kumu Foundation are related to direct

observation on the field work. That means: Any support

to rural local community dependent of the forest that

live in extreme poverty around the park about

development in order to satisfy their needs. Few

sensitization programs near the local community about

to protect environment, Any representative of native

people in the Maiko national park committee in the

system of participative land use planning, Lack of a land

use planning matrix established by local people around

the park which could respect the conservation law and

human rights or indigenous justice in order to promote

social benefit and to reduce the negative impact of

degradation ecosystem and threatened species in

dangers.

The situation of crisis lived the local vulnerable people around the Park since the creation in

1970 until today, mainly were caused by lack of an institutional strategy framework to

manage local community ecosystems, absence of adjustment planning for the participative

use of natural resources, insufficiency of competent human resource and development

projects in favor of local forestry people. All those problems have left negative marks and

absences of coherence between the different environmental actors in case to contribute

and to harmonize a participative management. Consequence, a decrease of confidence

between the government environmental services having the responsibility of natural

conservation for the air protection in Democratic Republic of Congo with local people near

the park. “In climate of tenure insecurity lack of confidence in state institutions and policies, and

after a long history of abuse of indigenous and community’s rights, peoples are searching for all

possible instrument to secure long-term access to natural resource. In certain situation they have

discovered that a protected area regime can offer them, visibility, political empowerment and

Illustration2: General Secretary (left) and Council Adm president of Kumu Foundation (right). ©Photo FK, 2009




livelihood option, example include indigenous peoples protected area in Australia (Michael Lockwood

and Graeme L.2003)

In National and International contexts

The law n°011/2002 of 29th August, 2002, of the Democratic Republic of Congo's Forestry

Code in accordance with the constitution and other Forestry Management Laws (see chapter

24), the government of Congo authorizes the environmental ministry to work wisely with

local and native communities, and local NGOs, in order to progressively involve them in the

participative system of natural resources use. In that case the state of Congo collaborate

directly with all actors concerned, through Kumu Foundation, with the representatives of

local communities living around Maiko National Park to manage the biodiversity.

According to RUSS MITTERMEIR, President of CI (Conservation International), conservation

activities cannot succeed without the participation of native and local communities; he

recognizes also the importance of the work of local environment NGOs. Hence CI encourages

the local communities to develop a strategy for the sustainable management of their natural

resources so that CI can contribute to the achievement of these goals. The NGOs can

contribute to protected areas or landscape through a variety of mechanism by including local

communities (Michael Langui, 2003)

The current global warming and climate change crisis poses an enormous threat to humanity

and demands many environmental initiatives in forest protection be done in order to

considerably reduce CO2 emissions (greenhouse effect) and other gases with a greenhouse

effect.

The International Bank of Development report in the operational politic 4.10 on Native

Peoples (GN-2296) in accordance with the VIIIth general increasing resources, recognize

specifically the relation between poverty and ethnicicity, and has recommended to include

the native people questions in Bank projects (AB-1704,par 2.27), and to avoid and to

compensate the negative impact of substructure projects in critical regions of native

communities; our local people around Maiko National Park, which is as a matter of fact the

key region of that critical area are lacking appropriate development and suffer from severe

poverty, as the average income is way below US$0.5 PER DAY PER HOUSEHOLD.

Over 1billion people, 18 per cent of the world’s populations live on less than US$1 a day,

and nearly the half the world’s population live on less than US$2 a day (UNDP, 2001). A high

proportion of that people living in extreme poverty are fromrural areas (IFAD, 2001). Thus

environmental degradation can increase poverty by reducing resource access; in turn,

poverty can cause ecological damage if the affected communities have to turn to desperate

survival and livelihood measures.

That’s the reason why the local community and native people living near the Maiko

landscape represented by four(4) local NGOs of community conservation for the protection




of gorillas and forest, have put together a new organizational structure named Kumu

Foundation for the wildlife conservation and sustainable development around Maiko

national Park, Kumu Foundation for short. It is a new program of environment protection

and sustainable development around Maiko national park. The vision of this network of a

non-profit-organization is to commit to integrate the local and native peoples around the

park in the good management of forest ecosystems, to integrate them into the policy of the

fight against climate change by properly considering the sustainability of developments and

interventions near the communities concerned.

The Fondation Kumu Objectives

1. To install a consistent consultation service (committee, club…) in view of putting in

place and training of mixed environmental monitoring teams around the Maiko and

Kahuzi-Biega national parks, so that the native and local peoples around the park

have a functionable institutional framework in which they can continually discuss

their issues about land use and land use planning (something which doesn’t exist

since the foundation of the Maiko national park).

2. To promote the progressive involvement of local and native communities in the

participative management of the park and their natural resources;

3. To promote sustainable alternatives for survival and hence contribute to the efforts

against poverty near the local communities living around the park;

4. To show the native communities' resources to the local, national and international

level by developing a Strategic Project about Okapi and Congolese peafowl

protection which are highly endagered species to the Maïko landscape via

monitoring;

5. To open up a dialogue between local and native peoples and other actors for

sustainable use land and development in order to avoid conflicts around the park

region.

6. To develop a strategy for including and caring off the EDOMITE native people in the

environmental management and to plan the good politic of natural resources

management against climate change in the Maiko landscape area.




Mission

The mission of Kumu Foundation and its members are:

1. To promote the rational management of natural resources around Kahuzi-Biega and

Maiko NP by meeting, consultation,, and workshops with the different actors;

2. To support and to reinforce the capacity of members and local communities in the

protected areas and to set up a corridor between the park and the communities'

forests;

3. To lobby for Sustainable development projects of the native peoples living around

the park;

4. Awareness-raising in native peoples (Edomite and Pygmies) and local communities

on the Forest Code, illegal practices, and the value of the wildlife, as well as

adaptation of measures to meet the climate change challenges.

Vision

1. The Fondation Kumu represents an influence center for helping forestry

communities living around the Maiko national and Kahuzi Biega parks to find the

Livelihoods and the way to reach sustainable development for the fight against

poverty from durable use of natural resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

2. It is also a model centre of junction, management and hyphen in view to ovoid

conflicts between different parties (Civil and government) in protection environment

around the Maiko landscape sector in the goal of sharing continually the ecological

date so that to take effective measures to the manage.

3. We consider being also the frame discussion on indigenous justice and model of

climate change solution for protection the huge and intact forest of local peoples,

which can easily include all native peoples and Edomite communities who have no

voice to defend their rights.

Members

Current members composition

There are three categories of members

1. The founding members,

2. Members who have joined later,

3. Supporting members.




In the philosophy of a platform, Kumu Foundation is composed of four (4) founding

members (members associations). These founder members are notably REGOUWA (Utunda

Wassa Gorillas Reserve), REGOLU (Lubutu Gorillas Reserve) RGPU (Punia Gorillas Reserve),

and RGU (Usala Gorillas Reserve), and two natural persons (see list below).

The Kumu Foundation has accepted a new member; an association is called COPRISHA (

Shabunda Primate Conservation) situated around Kahuzi-Biega national park in the south-

Kivu province.




Actual members of the Kumu Foundation network

N° Legal entity Natural person Origin Observation

1 Lubutu Gorilla’s Reserve (REGOLU) LUBUTU

(Maniema)

Founding member

2 Punia Gorilla’s Reserve (RGPU) PUNIA

(Maniema)

Founding member

3 Usala Gorilla’s Reserve (RGU) Walikale

(North-Kivu)

Founding member

4 Utunda-Wassa Gorillas Reserve

(REGOUWA)

Walikale

(North-Kivu)

Founding member

5 Shabunda Primate Conservation,

(COPRISHA)

SHABUNDA

(Sud-Kivu)

Joiner member

6 Chain of community action for the

protection environment and

sustainable Development(CACED)

Walikale

(North-Kivu)

Member in

negotiation

7 KIWANJA –CHA –BANENU Walikale

(North-Kivu)

Founding member

and land owner

9 BITAMBA ELIBA John-Peter Walikale

(North-Kivu)

Founding member

and King (Mwami)

of Usala group.

Remark: CACED is in negotiation with Kumu Foundation to become a full member.

Illustration 3: Sensitization of the land owners and traditional chiefs of the Lubutu areaduring the founding of Kumu Foundation ©Photo FK, 2009




Partnerships

Since the creation of Kumu Foundation in 2008 there is no supporting partner. That means

all activities of organization are being done only by Kumu Foundation members efforts

(membership fees and own funds). According to that situation there are many intended

activities which haven’t materialized.

In this critical situation, we appeal to all persons or organisations who would be reading

about us, e.g. trough this report, to have mercy and come in to help and support our work,

We are open to discuss membership conditions, so that we can all support Kumu Foundation

activities around Maiko Kahuzi-Biega landscapes, because the protection of the

environment is not the business of one person but the commitment of several actors.

Supporting this work is making a good contribution to humanity, to social justice mainly

indigenous peoples, and to environmental sustainability. If we could get some indigenous

people into the official delegation, those most affected by climate change, then we might

actually see some real progress in world. (Grassroots, in Cancun2010)

Reality of Edom native peoples (Edomu) like traditional ecologist around Maïko national

park.

What does EDOM community groups mean concretely?

The Edom native people are a community group united in the Christian Religion by the faith

of Isaiah African prophet. So their ecclesiastical precept and dogma make them to acquire

and to adopt some ecological traditional behaviors. They refrain from eating bush meat and

all anti ecological attitudes like to urine or to do the toilet in the river. These Edom peoples

prefer to live in the quite forest place with an ecological cleanness. For example: they

enclose their compound with plants which characterized the really traditional ecologist.

Unfortunately these Edom Native communities have not a good structure organization or a

political plan to conduct and to reinforce their ecological efforts; but they live in

discrimination on their own land without someone to support them.




Thousands of sacred sites across the world have been motive by culture values; strong

indigenous protected areas continue to have strong cultural motivation (Berbaum, 1999).

In other part, the native communities found directly adjacent to the Maiko landscape belong

to one unique traditional custom: the Kumu ethnic group only, consisting of approximately

80,694 habitants whom the Edom indigenous groups are in the majority and encompassed

more than 4O villages. In the Kahuzi-Biega sectors the rate of people is 28,350 habitants

specifically near COPRISHA and RGPU associations and there are not Edom community

groups.

So in that case, the Edom native peoples constitute a huge force for sensitization of other

people around the Maiko landscape in sense that their demographic rate is more superior to

other community group living around Maïko national park, and there are reasons to suppose

them, could easily learn other community level to understand gently the importance of

protecting the environment, especially as they are convinced with the power of their

religious dogma to respect the value of wildlife.

Worldviews, aspirations, values and attitudes are important factors that shape behaviors.

They influence the way in which we relate and to treat natural environments. They also affect

our capacity to work effectively towards finding and implement solutions to environmental

problems, so understanding people’s values and attitudes can inform the design of protected

areas plan and projects (Child and Lyman, 2005).

That’s the reason why on 15th June 2010 we entered into talks with their leaders and their

high Pastors religion church to negotiate only about the partnership for protecting the huge

Maïko landscape forest through Kumu Foundation. In the end, the promise of partnership

was cheered on in the coming meeting which will be done between Kumu Foundation and

Edom community peoples’ church.

Working in partnership with local communities is essential to successful protected area

management (Michael Lockwood and Graeme L.2003)

After making a compromise of partnership promised between those Edom church leaders

with Kumu Foundation staff on the participative management of their land in Maiko

landscape, a family photo has been taken during the separation of meeting. On right hand:

ecclesiastical delegate (KAPOLEMBA) and next the legal representative pastor (ABUDA

MASUDI) both Edom staff religion to the North Kivu province; on left: President and

Sensitization director of Kumu Foundation managers.




Illustration 5: The native Edom leaders with Kumu Foundation staff during exchange dialogue, at Goma. © Photo FK, 2009

Illustration 4: Poverty of forestry peoples where a poor woman draws non treated water and unsafe water to dring in Kamanga village, at Punia/RGPU © Photo FK, 2009




Means of Working

The structure of the Kumu Foundation is formed by four (4) organs:

1. The annual general meeting

2. The administrative council;

3. Control committee and

4. General Secretary

Organizational chart

: Hierarchical Relation

: Collaboration Relation

RN : Natural Resources

AI : Institutional support




Strategic action’s plan

Works areas

Figure 1 : Communities Reserves

Figure 2 : National Parks

Figure 3 : Kumu Foundation limite areas in DRC




b) Action area

The Kumu Foundation with its members established four (4) temporary work areas which

are framed like this:

List 10 : Temporary planing matrix

Work areas STRATEGY OBJECTIVES

Environmental monitoring

and research

To contribute in the ecosystem forestry and biodiversity management by developing a

good mechanism of plan use of natural resources to combat the climate change, like to

initiative community forest, REDD project, reforestation, to preserve native people

forests, environmental monitoring and so on.

To develop a Strategic Project about Okapi and Congolese peafowl protection which are

in high risk to the Maïko landscape via monitoring

To increase the values of local and native communities’ natural resources justified on

scientific research and ecotourism for sustainable development.

Research and monitoring can help to diagnose problems, prioritize and implement

solution, evaluate the results of management solution and forecast future condition.

(Michael L.2003)

Sensitization and education To develop a strategy for implication of Edom (Edomite) native communities in the

rational use of their earth around the park and to include them progressively in

participative management and adaptation for climate change in the Maïko landscape

forest.

The conservation of biodiversity can help to create a greater sense of community identity

and cohesiveness (Michael .L, 2003).

Sensitize the local communities around the park on the negative impacts of climate

change and the global worming by learning them on wildlife and forest important, the

forest code, avoid illegal practices against the conservation and protected environment.

To reverse the tendency of conflict between different actors environment (protected

areas manager) with native peoples living around the park by establishing different

exchange committees for training and information consultation in favor of local

community and Maiko Kahuzi-Biega landscape environment in general.

Sustainable development To promote the alternatives resources to local communities for sustainable

development in order to reduce the extreme poverty near the forestry people around

the park according to the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (SRSP).

Institutional manage To increase the institutional capacity of Kumu Foundation managers and its members on

management of NGO with an emphasis in climate change and forest use.

To mobilize funds at national and international level to support Kumu Foundation

activities planned.




c) An idea of a land use plan 2011-2015 of Kumu Foundation

In the vision of Kumu Foundation defined for the period of 2011-2015, the land use plan did

not materialize because of a lack of financial resources to organize a workshop on

establishing and adoption a land use plan by inviting other actors who could enrich the

content of the text in order to avoid to create a land use plan wíth which none of the

stakeholders is comfortable with.

In short, we are in the phase of researching funds to conduct a workshop to elaborate the

Kumu Foundation land use plan together with the local communities. Despite of lack

of this document, we are using temporarily the planning matrix produced together

with the members of the four work areas like defined above.

Summary

In short, the Kumu Foundation network is a new framework strategy to preserve community

forest and biodiversities by reassuring the native depend of forest justice and social

benefits of local community living around the Maïko landscape.

It aims to contribute to the sustainable management of natural resources like a direct

indigenous people’s representative.

At the same time, the Kumu Foundation forms a regular consultation center to discuss

community problems connected on ecosystem forestry management and sustainable

development in collaboration with all concerned actors. The Kumu Foundation network with

its members are also raising awareness about the climate change crisis and doing their part

to minimize carbon emissions about REDD project by preserving forest and to promote

Edomite native groups participation in climate change mitigation on adaptation.

The Kumu Foundation encourages also the initiative of the protection forest as community

forest reserve by managing those indigenous land owners and how they can organize

themselves on conservation action and capacity building, because Cutting down forests

contributes to 15% of carbon emissions and it’s a significant cause of climate change, but it’s

also presents a very easy solution if we simply preserve forests (Grassroots, in Cancun 2010)

We are hoping for some technical suggestions for the Kumu Foundation and would be happy

to talk with everyone who is reading this report, if he can have mercy to come to help us to

find donors and support us with capacity building with an emphasis on partnerships. We

apologize for our English style as you know we are not so strong in it.

KUMU FOUNDATION PRESENTATION 2010 version Anglaise · Compte bancaire : 79739 COOPEC-IMARA Ville de...

Documents

Transcript of KUMU FOUNDATION PRESENTATION 2010 version Anglaise · Compte bancaire : 79739 COOPEC-IMARA Ville de...