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Introduction
The Dana Declaration on Mobile Peoples and Conservation calls for a new approach to conservation: one which recognises the rights and interests of ‘mobile’ peoples.
The term mobile peoples covers indigenous and traditional peoples whose livelihoods depend on extensive common property use of natural resources, and who use mobility as a management strategy and as a significant element of cultural identity.
The Dana Declaration Standing Committee fully endorses the rights of indigenous peoples as set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
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Background
The Declaration is the outcome of the Dana Conference, an international meeting of social and natural scientists and representatives of international non-government organisations that took place in Wadi Dana Nature Reserve in Jordan in early April 2002.
This was followed by a Dana +10 meeting, which resulted in a new call to respect the rights of mobile indigenous peoples, presented at the Rio +20 Earth Summit.
In 2022, the Dana +20 Manifesto was issued at Wadi Dana by representatives of Mobile Indigenous Peoples. It extended their concerns to extractive industries (petroleum and mining) and climate change.
In 2024, the Dana +20 Manifesto was instrumental in the crafting of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples’ annual report to the General Assembly, which focused on the rights of Mobile Indigenous Peoples
The Dana Declaration Standing Committee recognises that these are only the first steps. The principles set out in the Declaration need to be continuously considered and developed further in dialogue with mobile indigenous peoples and other interested groups and organisations.
Standing Committee
The participants to the conference on Mobile Peoples and Conservation requested that the steering Committee for the conference remain in post as a Standing Committee for the Dana Declaration. Several conference members were appointed to join the committee.
Members
Professor Dawn Chatty
Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford
United Kingdom
Dr. Ariell Ahearn
Departmental Lecturer in Human Geography at School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford
United Kingdom
Helen Newing
Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent at Canterbury, UK
United Kingdom
Gonzalo Oviedo
International Consultant on People and Conservation
Switzerland
Marcus Colchester
Senior Policy Advisor, Forest Peoples Programme
United Kingdom
Michel Pimbert
Principal Researcher, Natural Resources Group, IIED
United Kingdom
Responsibilities
The Standing Committee is charged, among other responsibilities, with providing overall coordination of the strategy for publicising and advancing the Dana Declaration. It is expected to review quarterly the plan of action adopted by the conference, including:
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Setting up and managing a website
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Providing publicity for the Declaration in several languages
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Securing the support of various bodies, including the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA)
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Presenting the Declaration to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) and the World Parks Congress.
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Promoting information exchange on mobile peoples and conservation through setting up an email list server
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Working towards the development of a documentary film series featuring the cases discussed in the conference
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