A key political challenge for WAMIP during the Global Pastoralists Conference in Mongolia was ensuring meaningful influence and decision-making power for pastoralists in the aim of producing a Global Pastoralists Declaration.
Three members of WAMIP’s Steering Committee, Bhavana Desaj (WAMIP South Asia), Maamankhuu Sodnom (WAMIP Central Asia) and Fernando García (WAMIP Europe), are part of the Drafting Committee of the Declaration, working alongside other pastoralist leaders.
While the process remains difficult and shaped by external political conditions -with pastoralist voices not adequately represented-, we consider the Declaration a valuable living document, and we hope it will continue to be strengthened through the direct contributions of grassroots pastoralists and become a truly inclusive political process, one that turns pastoralists’ demands into commitments and a concrete action plan.
The Declaration will feed into COP17, creating an important opportunity to bring pastoralists’ political demands and priorities into international climate negotiations.
We will continue pushing for a process that is genuinely inclusive and accountable to pastoralist communities, and for a Declaration that moves beyond statements to concrete political commitments that defend pastoralists’ rights, territories and livelihoods ✊🐐
Stay tuned for more updates!