{"id":13701,"date":"2020-12-21T14:18:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-21T13:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.gstic.org\/?post_type=story&p=13701"},"modified":"2022-03-18T10:41:48","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T09:41:48","slug":"advocating-indigenous-peoples-knowledge-in-fighting-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.gstic.org\/expert-story\/advocating-indigenous-peoples-knowledge-in-fighting-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Advocating indigenous peoples\u2019 knowledge in fighting climate change"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
For the pastoralist Mbororo people in Chad to which I belong, climate change is not merely a series of warnings in a report. It has a profound economic impact, not just on our community but on the entire Sahel region where 80% of the population live in rural areas and rely on agriculture for their daily needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Chad today, climate change results in more extreme heat waves that kill our cattle and destroy our crops, dramatically decreasing agriculture productivity. The brutal changes that climate change brings to the rhythm of the seasons, with severe drought followed by heavy rains and sometimes floods, makes the life of farmers extremely difficult. In addition, climate change fuels poverty and food insecurity with the fast advancement of desertification becoming the new reality and leading to migration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As natural resources shrink due to climate disruption and people are increasingly tempted to fight for scarce water resources or fertile land, tensions and conflicts between farmers, cattle herders and fishers grow, sometimes even turning deadly. That is especially true for my indigenous nomadic community. We don\u2019t use supermarkets, we don\u2019t have jobs in offices, we don\u2019t have a salary. We depend entirely on nature and on what nature gives us: food, water, medicine, and fibres for clothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Protecting and sustainably managing ecosystems is part of my culture and way of life as an indigenous woman. My community is a people of nomadic cattle herders that have learned from centuries of living in harmony with nature: to invest in the protection of nature is to invest in our children\u2019s future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My people have proven strategies of cooperation with the farmers that we meet during our great yearly transhumance across the Sahel. Our cows contribute to fertilising the soil for the farmers, who, in return, share cereal and other agriculture products with us. And what is true for us, holds for many regions of the world: indigenous peoples are protectors of the planet, and also guardians of peace and stability with nature and people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In my nomadic community, there are no schools. But thanks to my mom, I was educated and I created, at the age of 16, the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad<\/a> (AFPAT) to promote indigenous peoples\u2019 rights. I have dedicated my life to advocating the integration of indigenous peoples\u2019 knowledge and science as complementary in the fight against climate change, along with sustainable ecosystems management and nature-based solutions for climate adaptation and mitigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Climate change and resource scarcity are provoking conflict all across the Sahel region. My non-profit organisation AFPAT has therefore developed innovative tools such as 3D participatory mapping and dialogues to combine indigenous peoples\u2019 traditional knowledge and sustainable management of ecosystems for nature-based resource conflict prevention at the local level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n3D participatory mapping brings together technology, science and indigenous peoples\u2019 traditional knowledge<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n