website: kaburo kobia
Organized by: OikoDiplomatique in collaboration with Minda Trust and Kwetu Training Centre
Venue: Sai Rock Hotel, Mombasa, Kenya
Date: September 11th - 12th, 2024
Report by Dr Alan Channer and Nkatha Kobia
REPORT: Faith in Mangrove Restoration
➾ Closing the knowledge gap amonst coastal communities:
- Inter-generational, inter-faith and inter-gender dialogues and participation of faith leaders in public discource on mangrove restoration and protection.
"‘If we involve faith-based leaders we’ll move faster to achieve mangrove restoration."
- Gladys Kasichana Kengah, Environment Officer for Kilifi County
"Faith-based leaders should be the first actors in protecting the environment, since stewardship is in the religious scriptures."
- Brendan Muli, Chair of Kilifi County Mangrove Management Committee & Director, Kwetu Training Centre
"Faith-based leaders can mobilise youth to restore mangroves"
- Rev Jane Jilani
"Carbon finance is hovering and we should prepare for it."
- Bosco Juma
Background
Mangrove forests are an important source of livelihood for many coastal communities in Kenya - providing fish, crabs, prawns, honey and, more notoriously, charcoal and timber. They provide protection against storm surges and coastal erosion, are hotspots of biodiversity and are huge carbon sinks.
Like natural forests the world over, mangroves are under threat. A major driver of mangrove destruction in Kenya is unsustainable cutting for charcoal production and timber.
Religious institutions and faith communities are widely recognised as having an important role in ecosystem restoration, especially in the Global South. The population of coastal Kenya is predominantly Muslim, with significant Christian minorities. Indigenous spiritual beliefs are also widespread among the Mijikenda, the predominant indigenous ethnic group.
As more and more people become aware of the damaging impacts of the environmental and climate crises, there is also more and more willingness for different sectors to learn from each other and to work together to bring sustainable solutions.
Conclusion
To achieve the recommendations arising from the presentations and discussions at the workshop, OikoDiplomatique will initiate talks between OikoDiplomatique and WWF (Values and Beliefs) and UNEP (Faith for Earth) as to how to further encourage faith-based restoration and protection of mangroves in Kenya.
Recommendations
The following areas of action were proposed:
➾ Networking :
- To be taken forward by local agencies facilitated primarily by Minda Trust and secodarily by OikoDiplomatique.
Outcome
The workshop built trust and understanding between key stakeholders involved in mangrove restoration and protection together with influential faith leaders concerned with mangrove degradation and climate change. Further, it built the capacity of faith leaders in issues of mangrove restoration and protection, and an understanding amongst government, civil society and local community leaders of the potential role of faith leaders in protecting and restoring mangroves.
Group work identified the following:
➾ Solutions for mangrove restoration and protection and the collaborative partnerships needed to implement them:
- importance of mangroves
- ecology, husbandry and practical mangrove restoration
- mangrove system livelihood options (eg honey, crabs)
- mangrove policies, governance, legislation and strategies
- structures including CFAs (Community Forest Associations)
- proposal writing and sourcing funding
- empowering bottom-up approaches
To be taken forward by Kwetu Training Centre and Big Ship with support by Minda Trust and OikoDiplomatique.
➾ Factors preventing the sustainable protection and restoration of mangrove forests:
- Limited knowledge of why mangroves are important and how and what needs to be done.
- Feeling of entitlement - mangroves have always been there, have been put there by God, belong to no one in particular and are available to be used.
- Limited knowledge of alternative sources of livelihood and energy sources.
- Limited knowledge of the ethics and spiritual value of environmental conservation.
- Poverty driving mangrove exploitation for livelihood needs.
- Lack of availability and dissemination of information to empower positive action.
- Lack of fora to increase awareness of mangrove importance.
- Weak enforcement of environmental laws.
- Corruption and lack of protection leading to uncontrolled tree cutting.
- An outdated judicial system, consisting of the same laws used during colonial rule.
- Lack of financial models for positive environmental initiatives
- Duplication of legislation between different government departments - Kenya Forest Service, Kenya Fisheries Service, Kenya Wildlife Service and County Government - with respect to sustainable mangrove management.
- Inter-generational knowledge and mindset differences between the youth and the elderly
- Lack of advocacy on mangrove restoration and protection
- Fear of vested interests in mangrove exploitation
- Lack of planting to replace cut trees.
- Government projects passing through the mangrove trees.
- Sea level rise.
- Encroachment by private developers and settlements.
- Limited alignment of existing structures to actual needs.
➾ Solutions for mangrove restoration and protection and the collaborative partnerships needed to implement them:
- Educate, train, and sensitize different stakeholders involved in mangrove conservation.
- Awareness creation and advocacy with coastal population on the benefits of mangroves.
- Design livelihood programs targeting communities that have a high impact on mangroves.
- Explore alternatives for different energy sources, eg biogas.
- Force companies to abide by existing laws governing gazette forest lands.
- Educate and publicize communities and other stakeholders working in the mangrove sector on the need to align their work with the existing legal structures.
- Review and synchronize legislations.
- Integrate Indigenous/traditional knowledge in restoration efforts, eg through intergenerational, intergender, and interfaith dialogues.
- Build the capacity of faith advocates and establish interfaith networks for mangrove restoration and protection.
- Train religious leaders to disseminate information and advice about mangroves clearly to their congregations .
- Allocate adequate funds for protection of mangrove resources.
- Upscale security to discourage illegal logging.
- Train the communities on the existing policies and legal frameworks.
- Encourage private investors to invest in environmental conservation initiatives.
- Building a roadmap for the engagement of faith communities in mangrove restoration and protection in coastal Kenya.
Key Quotes
Objective
The objective of this workshop was to help safeguard the mangrove forests of coastal Kenya, in particular Kilifi County, by strengthening the active engagement of local faith institutions and communities in their restoration and protection.