In this mini-documentary, Hindou Oumaru Ibrahim shares her experience growing up among the nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples of Lake Chad and how she raised her voice on world stage to defend the rights of indigenous peoples threatened by climate change.
"Hindou - Born indigenous, ever an activist"
Born in 1984 in Chad, Hindou Oumaru Ibrahim lived between two worlds: thanks to her mother, she was able to receive formal education in the country's capital N'Djaména, while always coming back to her village by Lake Chad, where her people, the Mbororos inhabit from time immemorial.
By witnessing the impact of climate change upon her people, particularly women, she created the Indigenous Women Association of Lake Chad.
The project provides training on agro-ecological agriculture, sustainable management and protection of the environment.
We cannot speak of human rights without speaking of rights to the environment.
Soon she understood that her local actions needed to be underpinned by a more global framework. After working with national authorities to adapt rules and regulations at a national level, she raised the voice of indigenous peoples in international forums, most notably the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21). Together with other indigenous leaders, her activism ensured the Paris Agreement recognized for the first time traditional knowledge and created a knowledge exchange platform.
Since 2018, Ibrahim is a member of the Scientific and Technical Committee of UNESCO's project BIOsphere and Heritage of Lake Chad (BIOPALT). The project includes a wide range of activities from setting up an early warning system for droughts and floods to restoring degraded ecosystems such as spawning grounds or sand dunes. Particular attention is also paid to income-generating activities through the promotion of green economy and the valorization of the basin's natural resources linked notably to the production of spirulina and the farming of Kouri cow (Bos taurus longifrons) - an endemic species that plays an important role in social cohesion.
In the celebrations of its 50th anniversary, UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme will be releasing a series of mini-documentaries featuring the lives of people in their struggle for a more harmonious living with nature. As the motto of the celebration states: it's about life!
More information:
Acknowledgments:
This mini documentary was made with images from Ripple Effects.