Opportunities and challenges of the green transition for pastoralism and indigenous people in Africa : workshop

The green transition aims at creating a sustainable and carbon-neutral economic system. Key to this transition is the change from fossil fuel based energy production and mobility to carbon emission free technologies. The transition also entails a switch to more sustainable land-use practices, including sustainable agriculture. The EU has committed itself to the green transition and is supporting its partners in their paths to sustainable economies through development cooperation. However, large renewable energy projects as well as new land-use plans that are considered and labelled as part of the green transition, may be at odds with traditional forms of land-use. Pastoralist people have traditionally grazed their herds on more than half of Africa's land and have already lost access to some of these lands through green energy, new sustainable land-use plans and tourism projects. The workshop provided an overview of the challenges and opportunities pastoralists face through green transition projects in Africa. Based on the analysis of cases from Kenya and Tanzania, the workshop was an opportunity to discuss how the EU can ensure that green transition projects under its purview create more opportunities than challenges for pastoralists and other indigenous people in Africa.