Background on CCAs and SGP support to them

Iran, like many other countries, has innumerable CCAs that are increasingly being understood, recognized and supported. The lack of such understanding in the past has meant that tribal communities have been facing many problems that threaten the ecological and social integrity of their territory-based CCAs and livelihoods. In recent years, following the national and international efforts for the recognition of CCAs and community rights, as well as the formation of tribal community investment funds and their federations and unions?particularly the pioneering role played by the SGP? conservation cum livelihoods projects have brought about some hopeful results.

The livelihoods of Iranian tribal communities have always depended on the conservation of nature throughout their territories? including its preservation, sustainable use and restoration. In the decades since the Nationalization Decree of 1963 and the resulting encroachment into their territory and irreparable mistakes of externally-imposed management systems have tended to weaken and erode the customary governance of natural resources and indigenous knowledge. One direct result of this intrusion and lack of respect for traditional systems has been environmental degradation that has become a big challenge.

The Council of Elders of some Tribal communities have discussed the problems they are facing, and have empowered representatives to discuss solutions with CENESTA and the UNDP/ GEF/ SGP. Three proposals have been prepared by the tribal units involved for two of the largest tribal confederacies of the country (Qashqai and Shahsavan tribal confederacies) for the ecological restoration of their CCAs, strengthening customary institutions for natural resource management and reclaiming good governance of their territories.

These three projects have been elaborated following the participatory training session on project writing co-sponsored by UNDP/GEF/SGP for indigenous nomadic tribes which was held in conjunction with the Second Workshop on Community Biodiversity Registers/ Community Bio-cultural Diversity Protocols, held in Shibidzar which is a part of the summering grounds on 15 September 2010. The Session was geared to making use of the fact that SGP, in its current fifth four-year cycle, is emphasizing CCAs and intends to devote a significant portion of its resources to projects that strengthen nomadic CCAs and sustainable management of their natural resources based on indigenous knowledge and customary institutions of environmental governance.

Project activities:

Takle, one of the 32 tribes of the Shahsavan tribal confederacy in Iranian Azerbaijan covers a territory of about 12,000 hectares and extends from Mount Savalán as summering grounds to Moghan Plain as wintering grounds. The social structure of this tribal community includes 5 sub-tribes, 12 clans and 57 nomadic camps. Takle has a re-habilitated Council of Elders and is registered in its own name together with the associated community sustainable livelihood and reinvestment fund.

Using the above-mentioned Decree, parts of the ancestral tribal territory are being allocated to outsiders and government or private projects such as road construction, urban extensions, private agriculture, military bases, refineries and factories. Even parts of the tribal migratory routes have been completely occupied making it nearly impossible for seasonal migration?despite a strong law which ?strictly? prohibits any change of land use in the migration territory of nomadic tribes. This has forced parts of the tribe to adopt mechanised transportation for their flocks in place of the much healthier migration on foot, and for their belongings in place of using the uniquely well-adapted endemic Bactrian camels.

On the other hand invasion of outsiders into the territory with no sense of belonging accelerates the degradation of nature and its resources. They collect, use and destroy the rangeland plants with no care and have been driving many of the endemic plants of the territory into extinction. One specific consequence of this degradation of the environment took place 5 years ago when disastrous floods were unleashed which destroyed the main riverbed and the rainbow trout which is the main native fish species. Following the disappearance of the trout the brown bear lost its main food source and left the area to find food elsewhere. This fish was also a main source of livelihood for the indigenous community.
The project aims to conserve and restore the Takle CCA and improve sustainable livelihoods in their ancestral territory. This will entail the restoration and rehabilitation of key elements of the ecosystem including rainbow trout, brown bear, Bactrian camel, as well as important endangered medicinal plants and rangeland species such as an indigenous variety of camomile. A return to customary management practices, revival of traditional knowledge and their enforcement is intended to restore the balance of the ecosystems of the tribal territory so that endangered species are restored and the risk of environmental disasters such as uncontrolled floods are averted.