Dr Panta Kasoma presents on U-PCLG and the issue of minority groups in Uganda

1. Panta Kasoma
Jane Goodall Institute-Uganda
ARCUS PROJECT AND
MINORITY GROUPS

2. BACKGROUND
 The International Institute for Environment and
Development (IIED) was launched in 1971 by
renowned economist and policy advisor Barbara
Ward, making it one of the very first organizations
to link environment with development.
 It is an independent, non-profit organization
promoting sustainable patterns of world
development through collaborative research,
policy studies, networking and advocacy.
 IIED’s mission is to build a fairer, more
sustainable world, using evidence, action and
influence in partnership with others.

3. Poverty and Conservation Learning
Group (PCLG)
 The PCLG is an international network of conservation,
development and indigenous/local community rights
organisations concerned with the links between
conservation and poverty.
 Established by IIED in 2004.
 Latest phase (from 2008) funded by the Arcus
Foundation which led to its focus on great apes.
 Collects and disseminates information on
conservation-poverty linkages, undertakes or
supports research on specific themes and organises
targeted learning events
 Previously operated predominantly at the international
level but national chapters have been opened up in a
number of countries including Uganda, Cameroon

4. ARCUS GRANT TO PCLG: MAIN AIMS
 Further strengthen the capacity of
conservation organisations to address
poverty issues – both through the
national chapters and through the
international network.
 To move beyond a focus on how
conservation organisations tackle
poverty on the ground, to how they
make better links with development
organisations, private sector, policy
makers and other institutions that

5. Priorities for Uganda
 Documenting and mapping private sector
activities and their impact on Great Ape
conservation, as a step to engaging the
sector.
 Engaging with development partners/
private sector on conservation-poverty
issues to better understand their priorities
and to develop a “business case” for
biodiversity as a development asset.
 Developing outreach and communications
products for improved conservation-
development interventions in key great ape

6. Minority Groups and
conservation
 Discussion started around August 2015
focused on Batwa
 Numerous and varied contributions from
members
 Some suggestions that perhaps we need
to have a broader outlook rather than focus
on one ethnic group.
 Additional suggestions of how we need to
approach the issue of marginalized people
were made.
 As a group, perhaps it would be better to
handle one group, the Batwa; at least

7. The Batwa
Different opinions were exchanged including:
 Many organizations already working on the Batwa
issue and so U-PCLG intervention might be
redundant.
 A lot of resources have gone into supporting
Batwa with no visible impact.
 Too much focus on Batwa is alienating other
communities and exercabating marginalisation
 More research is needed to understand the
Batwa problem
 There is a misconception that nothing is
happeneing with Batwa yet some visible progress

8. Batwa Contd
Despite the differences in opinion, there is
general consensus that:
 There is a Batwa issue with strong origins
from conservation.
 This issue has a strong bearing on
governance as it relates to equity and
rights.
 There is need to discuss the issue so as to
agree on the most useful way forward to
address the issue.
 There is a broad spectrum of stakeholders
who need to participate in this discussion.

9. Batwa contd.
 U-PCLG feels a strong obligation to
initiate these discussions because of the
strong linkage of the Batwa issue with
conservation.
 The expectation is that this meeting will
be able to identify key stakeholders to
participate in the next meeting as well as
what the group would like as outcomes.

10. THANK YOU!