Working with communities on the Rights of Wetlands in Kenya

Working with Indigenous people and local communities to understand how their beliefs, knowledge and practices align with the rights of nature is a key activity in this second year of our Darwin Initiative project on the Rights of Wetlands (RoW). To kick off, we’ve been working with community members from Tana and Lamu Counties in Kenya, along with Wetlands International Kenya, government and NGO representatives.

What has worked really well has been combining Community Owned Solutions (COS) with Rights of Wetlands and using an assessment approach where communities can review their practices and solutions and see how they support COS and whether they fit within the Rights of Wetlands. This has stimulated great discussions on how wetland rights and community rights can holistically fit together as well as highlighting the longer-term impacts of some solutions, particularly if they have a negative impact on the environment.

Going forward the communities will be using participatory video to record and share their chosen COS or initiatives that fit a Rights of Wetlands approach. We’re looking forward to supporting them in their participatory video journey!