Calls to treat indigenous communities as experts in conservation

Wanjiku Kinuthia, the Deputy Director for Partner Communications at Maliasili, calls for recognition of indigenous people as knowledge holders and partners in environmental conservation. [Courtesy]

Indigenous peoples have deep, generational knowledge of the ecosystems they have lived in and protected, making them more experts in telling nature stories rather than mere beneficiaries of conservation initiatives.

Wanjiku Kinuthia, the Deputy Director for Partner Communications at Maliasili, said journalists and conservation organisations have for years largely refused to recognise the indigenous people as key knowledge holders and partners in environmental stewardship.