This workshop is a capstone activity organized by Intercooperation" following up on a study of local conventions carried out at four different sites in Southern Mali. The workshop will serve as a platform for sharing different experiences of local conventions" to draw lessons from them and craft arguments to demonstrate that communities are capable of managing their land.  Additionally" the workshop will result in a strategy for advocacy to accelerate the transfer of natural resource management capacity and knowledge to local communities. The workshop's content will be aimed at achieving:

• A review of the studies and experiences of local conventions in the regions of Sikasso" Ségou and Mopti. These pertain to villages and towns organizing to implement regulations for natural resource management (forests" pastures" rivers" fields" wildlife" etc.). These regulations are recorded in documents valdiated by local government" and submitted for approval to the territorial trusteeship.

• The presentation and discussion of the legal dimensions of local conventions. This includes the recognition of the value of these conventions" and of the importance of their acknowledgement and integration into the institutional architecture of Mali. It is equally important to recognize the rights conferred by these conventions in the interest of their creators.

• The reflection and sharing of perspectives to accelerate capacity-building with regard to natural resource management. The State has political will to support capactiy-building and the application of the Law 96-050 to devolve management of state-held forests to local government" although concrete application of the law has not yet materialized.

Expected outcomes of the workshop:

• Resource users" stakeholders and technical service providers have a nuanced and clear understanding of the resource rights of village communities

• Local communities fully understand the key issues regarding local conventions in order to defend their interests during the transfer of management
  

• Rural communities and  inter-municipal cooperatives call for the recognition of their conventions and their management rights over pertinent spaces

• Stakeholders in the Sahelian sub-region share the experiences drawn from local conventions and promote local conventions in each Sahelian nation

Resources

Termes de référence pour l'atelier sur les conventions locales  (in French)