By Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD (Leading Environmental Law Scholar, Policy Advisor, Natural Resources Lawyer and Dispute Resolution Expert from Kenya), Winner of Kenya’s ADR Practitioner of the Year 2021, ADR Publisher of the Year 2021 and CIArb (Kenya) Lifetime Achievement Award 2021*
The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals seeks to not only achieve sustainability under the various aspects of development but also aims at an inclusive society where all voices are heard and considered in the development agenda. As rightly pointed out, everyone is needed to reach these ambitious targets. This is to be achieved through such aspects as public participation in decision making, and the integration of all forms of knowledge, including scientific and traditional forms of knowledge. The process of sustainable development binds in a relationship of interdependence, the protection and enhancement of natural resources to the economic, social, in order to meet the needs of the present generation, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It also follows that it would be incompatible with any practice either by private persons or the government that contributes to the degradation of heritage and natural resources, as well as the violation of human dignity and human freedom, poverty and economic decline, and the lack of recognition of the rights and equal opportunities.
The social aspect of sustainable development agenda requires that ‘a socially sustainable system must achieve distributional equity, adequate provision of social services including health and education, gender equity, and political accountability and participation.’ Notably, in many African societies, culture and traditions have been at the centre of affairs of rural communities, especially in the conservation of natural sites earmarked as sacred. However, in reality, cultural and traditional forms of knowledge have not received as much attention in the sustainable development debates as the scientific or western forms of knowledge, especially in relation to environmental and natural resources governance and management. As things stand currently in Kenya and many parts of the world, communities seem sidelined in the efforts sustainable development agenda in the country, with the state organs leading the same and communities together with their cultural and traditional expertise especially on environmental matters getting directions on what to do without any meaningful participation or contribution. The frequent evictions from forest areas is one such example.
Principle 22 of the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development states that indigenous people and their communities and other local communities have a vital role in environmental management and development because of their knowledge and traditional practices. In light of this, States should recognize and duly support their identity, culture and interests and enable their effective participation in the achievement of sustainable development. It has been argued that many, if not all of the planet’s environmental problems and certainly all of its social and economic problems, have cultural activity and decisions – people and human actions – at their roots. As such, solutions are likely to be also culturally-based, and the existing models of sustainable development forged from economic or environmental concern are unlikely to be successful without cultural considerations.
Culture in this context, has been defined as: culture as the general process of intellectual, spiritual or aesthetic development; culture as a particular way of life, whether of people, period or group; and culture as works and intellectual artistic activity. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) asserts that ‘culture is who we are and what shapes our identity. No development can be sustainable without including culture.’ The Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development captures the states’ pledge to foster intercultural understanding, tolerance, mutual respect and an ethic of global citizenship and shared responsibility, and their acknowledgement of the natural and cultural diversity of the world and recognition that all cultures and civilizations can contribute to, and are crucial enablers of, sustainable development.
African States and other stakeholders, in the Ngorongoro Declaration have acknowledged that Sustainable development can ensure that appropriate efforts are deployed to protect and conserve the cultural and natural resources of a region faced with the challenges of climate change, natural and humanmade disasters, population growth, rapid urbanization, destruction of heritage, and environmental degradation for present and future generations. As such, they declared that on the one hand, African heritage is central to preserving and promoting African cultures thereby uplifting identity and dignity for present and future generations in an increasingly globalised world, and on the other hand, heritage, including World Heritage properties, is a driver of sustainable development and critical for achieving regional socio-economic benefits, environmental protection, sustainable urbanization, social cohesion and peace.
Cultural expressions, services, goods and heritage sites can contribute to inclusive and sustainable economic development, thus making a vital contribution to eradication of poverty as envisaged under sustainable development goal 1 of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development Goals. This is because the natural and environmental resources form the basis of the 2030 SDGs Agenda for provision of the resources required for eradication of poverty. These resources however require conservation for the sake of the current and future generations. It is also true that conservation principles and practices evolve and adapt to the cultural, political, social and economic environments in which they take place. It is for this reason that cultural practices of communities become critical in giving communities a chance to participate in sustainable development discourse. It has been observed that conservation practices are intimately linked to codes of ethics dictated by local and/or international systems of values. In turn, these values are inscribed in legal frameworks or they comply with legal texts.
*This article is an extract from the Article: “Integrating Community Practices and Cultural Voices into the Sustainable Development Discourse,” (2021) Journal of Conflict Management and Sustainable Development Volume 6(2), p. 45 by Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD, Kenya’s ADR Practitioner of the Year 2021 (Nairobi Legal Awards), ADR Publisher of the Year 2021 and ADR Lifetime Achievement Award 2021 (CIArb Kenya). Dr. Kariuki Muigua is a foremost Environmental Law and Natural Resources Lawyer and Scholar, Sustainable Development Advocate and Conflict Management Expert in Kenya. Dr. Kariuki Muigua is a Senior Lecturer of Environmental Law and Dispute resolution at the University of Nairobi School of Law and The Center for Advanced Studies in Environmental Law and Policy (CASELAP). He has published numerous books and articles on Environmental Law, Environmental Justice Conflict Management, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Sustainable Development. Dr. Muigua is also a Chartered Arbitrator, an Accredited Mediator, the Africa Trustee of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Managing Partner of Kariuki Muigua & Co. Advocates. Dr. Muigua is recognized among the top 5 leading lawyers and dispute resolution experts in Kenya by the Chambers Global Guide 2022.
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