Land Rights and the Forest Peoples of Africa
Land Rights and the Forest Peoples of Africa
Land Rights and the Forest Peoples of Africa
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<strong>L<strong>and</strong></strong> rights <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> forest peoples <strong>of</strong> <strong>Africa</strong> – Part I<br />
adversely affected by conservation developments <strong>and</strong> regulations, resettlement <strong>and</strong><br />
integration plans, insufficient representation in community l<strong>and</strong> claims <strong>and</strong> a lack <strong>of</strong><br />
sufficient funding <strong>and</strong> support for indigenous organisations.<br />
B<br />
<strong>Forest</strong> peoples marginalised from <strong>the</strong> forest<br />
Of <strong>the</strong> estimated 70–87,000 Batwa in <strong>the</strong> Great Lakes region, probably less than 7,000 have<br />
direct, regular access to forest today. <strong>Forest</strong>-based Batwa refer to <strong>the</strong>mselves as Impunyu. A<br />
smaller second group <strong>of</strong> Batwa in <strong>the</strong> region are <strong>the</strong> fisherfolk who live mostly on <strong>the</strong> shores<br />
<strong>of</strong> Lake Kivu. The third <strong>and</strong> largest group – <strong>of</strong> 60–76,000 Batwa – are referred to as ‘potters’;<br />
for this latter group <strong>the</strong> forest has long since been destroyed <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir sense <strong>of</strong> identity is<br />
focused on <strong>the</strong>ir occupation as potters ra<strong>the</strong>r than on <strong>the</strong>ir identification as forest peoples. In<br />
addition to <strong>the</strong>se 60–76, 000 Batwa in <strong>the</strong> Great Lakes region, <strong>the</strong>re are up to 100,000 Batwa<br />
(or Batua) fur<strong>the</strong>r west, mostly in DRC, whose forest has been destroyed <strong>and</strong> who are now<br />
almost entirely dependent on <strong>the</strong>ir neighbours for <strong>the</strong>ir meagre livelihoods.<br />
<strong>Forest</strong>-based Batwa in Rw<strong>and</strong>a<br />
Many who no longer have access to forest remain on <strong>the</strong> farms that have taken over <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
traditional l<strong>and</strong>, where <strong>the</strong>y are <strong>of</strong>ten described as squatters despite <strong>the</strong> fact that <strong>the</strong> l<strong>and</strong> has<br />
always been <strong>the</strong>irs. O<strong>the</strong>r areas formerly inhabited by <strong>the</strong>m have been taken over by<br />
conservation projects, <strong>and</strong> forest administrators <strong>of</strong>ten see Batwa access to <strong>the</strong> forest as illegal,<br />
despite <strong>the</strong> fact that <strong>the</strong>y have lived in <strong>and</strong> relied on <strong>the</strong>se forests since long before<br />
agriculturalist <strong>and</strong> pastoralist peoples, <strong>and</strong> conservation programmes, arrived in <strong>the</strong> area. As<br />
a result, more now ‘live on <strong>the</strong> borders <strong>of</strong> forest <strong>and</strong> agricultural areas but use <strong>the</strong> forest on a<br />
daily basis’. 64 In Rw<strong>and</strong>a this is primarily in <strong>the</strong> north, in <strong>the</strong> areas bordering on Gishwati<br />
forest <strong>and</strong> near <strong>the</strong> Parc des Volcans, <strong>and</strong> in Nyungwe forest in <strong>the</strong> south. There has been no<br />
effective consideration <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> needs <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Batwa in <strong>the</strong> creation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se parks <strong>and</strong> forest<br />
reserve areas.<br />
<strong>Forest</strong>-based Batwa in Kivu, DR Congo<br />
<strong>Forest</strong> Batwa live in many areas <strong>of</strong> Kivu province, DRC, especially around <strong>the</strong> Kahuzi–Biega<br />
National Park. Between <strong>the</strong> late 1960s <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> mid-1970s, <strong>the</strong> roughly 3,000 Batwa living<br />
inside <strong>the</strong> Kahuzi–Biega National Park in Kivu were expelled <strong>and</strong> have subsequently received<br />
brutal treatment when found hunting in <strong>the</strong> park. As a consequence <strong>the</strong>ir way <strong>of</strong> life <strong>and</strong><br />
livelihoods were destroyed, <strong>and</strong> no provision was made to help <strong>the</strong>m. 65<br />
As in Rw<strong>and</strong>a <strong>and</strong> Burundi, <strong>the</strong> Batwa in Kivu, DRC, are particularly vulnerable in times <strong>of</strong><br />
violence because <strong>the</strong>y live in <strong>the</strong> remote areas where armed groups hide out. Most Batwa here<br />
have fled <strong>the</strong>ir villages, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>y are caught helplessly between different armed groups, <strong>of</strong>ten<br />
being forced to act as guides <strong>and</strong> trackers for one group <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>n having revenge wreaked<br />
upon <strong>the</strong>m by ano<strong>the</strong>r for doing so. 66<br />
64 J Lewis (2000) The Batwa <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Great Lakes Region, p 13.<br />
65 A K Barume (2000) Heading towards extinction Indigenous rights in <strong>Africa</strong>: <strong>the</strong> case <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Twa <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
Kahuzi–Biega National Park, Democratic Republic <strong>of</strong> Congo, IWGIA, Copenhagen.<br />
66 Réseau des Associations Autochtones Pygmées (2004) Erasing <strong>the</strong> board, Minority <strong>Rights</strong> Group, London.<br />
Kidd & Kenrick 22<br />
March 2009