Batwa community should be involved in climate change adaptation

Political marginalisation

Our analysis of the Batwa situation provides valuable insights for Ugandan policymakers, and other contexts where communities share similar experiences of inequality and systemic injustice. Indigenous communities – like the Batwa – are some of the most vulnerable to climate change and are in dire need of plans that address their hardships. Yet, in many places climate-affected communities have found themselves sidelined with the consequence that adaptation efforts often fail to meet needs on the ground.

Indigenous communities have been explicitly recognised within international climate policies. However, operationalisation of guidelines to recognise their rights and include them in the decision-making processes within national and sub-national adaptation policies still falls short in many countries.

First, it is necessary for the Ugandan government to respect, uphold and implement the provisions set out in international accords, such as the Paris Agreement. These recognise and provide some guidance on safeguarding the rights of Indigenous communities and vulnerable groups. This includes effective participation in all matters that concern them and engaging them in climate adaptation and development processes.

It would also be worthwhile to draw on best practices and lessons from similar cases. For example in Peru, the world’s first national indigenous climate platform has been launched. This aims to strengthen the role and recognition of Indigenous peoples in mitigating and adapting to climate change.

Second, adaptation responses must pay more specific attention to the issues of recognition, participation and deliberative processes – rather than the existing depoliticised approaches that focus on distribution, such as handouts.

Finally, more efforts are needed to end discrimination and domination against Indigenous communities and promote inclusive structures and processes through legal and policy reforms.

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The Conversation