By Hon. Prof. Kariuki Muigua, OGW, PhD, C.Arb, FCIArb is a Professor of Environmental Law and Dispute Resolution at the University of Nairobi, Member of Permanent Court of Arbitration, Leading Environmental Law Scholar, Respected Sustainable Development Policy Advisor, Top Natural Resources Lawyer, Highly-Regarded Dispute Resolution Expert and Awardee of the Order of Grand Warrior (OGW) of Kenya by H.E. the President of Republic of Kenya. He is The African ADR Practitioner of the Year 2022, The African Arbitrator of the Year 2022, ADR Practitioner of the Year in Kenya 2021, CIArb (Kenya) Lifetime Achievement Award 2021 and ADR Publisher of the Year 2021 and Author of the Kenya’s First ESG Book: Embracing Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) tenets for Sustainable Development” (Glenwood, Nairobi, July 2023) and Kenya’s First Two Climate Change Law Book: Combating Climate Change for Sustainability (Glenwood, Nairobi, October 2023), Achieving Climate Justice for Development (Glenwood, Nairobi, October 2023) and Promoting Rule of Law for Sustainable Development (Glenwood, Nairobi, January 2024)*
Traditional knowledge may contribute to improved development strategies in several ways such as by helping identify cost-effective and sustainable mechanisms for poverty alleviation that are locally manageable and locally meaningful; by a better understanding of the complexities of sustainable development in its ecological and social diversity, and helping to identify innovative pathways to sustainable human developmental that enhance local communities and their environment. The 1994 Draft Declaration on Human Rights and Environment describes the procedural rights, such as the right to participation, necessary for realization of the substantive rights.
Article 1 of the Aarhus Convention states that “in order to contribute to the protection of the right of every person of present and future generations to live in an environment adequate to his or her health and wellbeing, each Party should guarantee the rights of access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters in accordance with the provisions of this Convention.” It is believed that environmental procedural rights such as the access to information, public participation and access to justice may be one of the ways and means to a realistic way for attaining the sustainable development.
Recognition and active utilisation of communities’ traditional environmental knowledge can create a viable channel for communities to appreciate government’s efforts in effective environmental governance through promoting sustainable use of the environment and its resources. Traditional knowledge, coupled with other forms of knowledge can enhance predicting and preventing the potential environmental impacts of development, as well as informing wise land-use and resource management especially within the local community setups. Proponents of traditional knowledge maintain that it can offer contributions to environmental decision making from a broader scope of environmental values, practices, and knowledge. Traditional knowledge can be used at the local level by communities as the basis for making decisions pertaining to food security, human and animal health, education, natural resource management and other vital activities.
Exploring the community’s knowledge and knowledge of people dealing with agriculture, is crucial to determine their norms, values, and belief in regards to their activities, particularly in the area of water and land management. The way people develop such knowledge by understanding their environment through observation and experiences determines the specific group of people’s knowledge. Incorporating provisions recognising traditional environmental knowledge in national environmental laws is commendable but just marks the first step towards mainstreaming such knowledge into effective environmental governance. There is need for actively and meaningfully involving communities in utilising traditional environmental knowledge to practice sustainable production methods. There is need to cultivate a culture of respect for environment by all.
Environmental ethics and consciousness can go a long way in promoting participatory approaches to conservation and management of environment and its resources. Dissemination of information and knowledge in meaningful forms can also enhance participation in decision-making and enhance appreciation of the best ways of protecting and conserving the environment. The objects of the devolution of government are, inter alia— to give powers of self-governance to the people and enhance the participation of the people in the exercise of the powers of the State and in making decisions affecting them; to recognise the right of communities to manage their own affairs and to further their development; and to protect and promote the interests and rights of minorities and marginalised communities.
Encouraging and mainstreaming the use of traditional environmental knowledge by communities can go a long way in facilitating participation. Fostering use of traditional knowledge in conservation and production to active and meaningful participation in decision-making can enable the citizenry appreciate that achieving the sustainable development agenda is not just a State’s responsibility but one that requires cooperation between the State actors and the individuals, as envisaged under Article 69(2) of the Constitution. There is need to empower communities so as to actualise these constitutional provisions. Where they do not perceive a danger to their livelihoods, these communities are likely to embrace development projects and are also not likely to turn to unconventional ways of protecting their livelihoods.
Essentially, one way of protecting and enhancing the use of traditional environmental knowledge in environmental management, while ensuring meaningful inclusion and participation of local communities, is integrating it into the environmental governance framework as this will help achieve sustainable development as contemplated in the sustainable development agenda. Combining western scientific knowledge which forms the bulk of formal laws, policies and programmes with traditional environmental knowledge for the purpose of improving natural resources and environmental management is important for inclusive and participatory approaches to environmental management.
With the communities empowered through recognition and utilisation of traditional environmental knowledge in environmental management, then it is possible to hold to account those who flout environmental laws and agreed norms, be they entities or individuals. It is easier to engage a community that feels a sense of belonging than one that feels sidelined by the state actors. There is a need to create conducive environment for promoting mutual respect for both formal and informal sources of knowledge. The implication would be that environmental scientists and policy professionals, indigenous and non-indigenous, should focus more on creating long term processes that allow for the implications of different approaches to knowledge in relation to stewardship and management priorities to be responsibly thought through. Diverse forms of knowledge including traditional environmental knowledge should be utilised in a bid to address environmental problems in Kenya.
The sustainable development agenda calls for an integrated approach to natural resources governance and management to ensure that all groups and stakeholders are brought on board. Traditional environmental knowledge should thus be mainstreamed into the national environmental laws, polices, plans and other efforts geared towards achieving the sustainable development agenda. This will improve cooperative environmental and natural resources stewardship and management between indigenous and non-indigenous institutions. Mainstreaming Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Kenya is a critical step that needs to be taken to enable the country achieve the sustainable development goals.
*This article is an extract from the Article: Mainstreaming Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Kenya for Sustainable Development, (2020) Journal of Conflict Management and Sustainable Development Volume 4(1), p. 1. by Hon. Prof. Kariuki Muigua, OGW, PhD, Professor of Environmental Law and Dispute Resolution, Senior Advocate of Kenya, Chartered Arbitrator, Kenya’s ADR Practitioner of the Year 2021 (Nairobi Legal Awards), ADR Lifetime Achievement Award 2021 (CIArb Kenya), African Arbitrator of the Year 2022, Africa ADR Practitioner of the Year 2022, Member of National Environment Tribunal (NET) Emeritus (2017 to 2023) and Member of Permanent Court of Arbitration nominated by Republic of Kenya. Prof. Kariuki Muigua is a foremost Environmental Law and Natural Resources Lawyer and Scholar, Sustainable Development Advocate and Conflict Management Expert in Kenya. Prof. Kariuki Muigua teaches Environmental Law and Dispute resolution at the University of Nairobi School of Law, The Center for Advanced Studies in Environmental Law and Policy (CASELAP) and Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace and Environmental Studies. He has published numerous books and articles on Environmental Law, Environmental Justice Conflict Management, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Sustainable Development. Prof. Muigua is also a Chartered Arbitrator, an Accredited Mediator, the Managing Partner of Kariuki Muigua & Co. Advocates and Africa Trustee Emeritus of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators 2019-2022. Prof. Muigua is a 2023 recipient of President of the Republic of Kenya Order of Grand Warrior (OGW) Award for his service to the Nation as a Distinguished Expert, Academic and Scholar in Dispute Resolution and recognized among the top 5 leading lawyers and dispute resolution experts in Band 1 in Kenya by the Chambers Global Guide 2024 and was listed in the Inaugural THE LAWYER AFRICA Litigation Hall of Fame 2023 as one of the Top 50 Most Distinguished Litigation Lawyers in Kenya and the Top Arbitrator in Kenya in 2023.
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