Indigeneity ecospiritual practices and biocultural conservation of sacred forests and spiritual landscapes in African contexts.
This hybrid symposium, held at CIFOR-ICRAF Nairobi and online, brings together scholars, CIFOR-ICRAF researchers, Indigenous peoples, and local community members to engage in a transdisciplinary analysis of forest conservation policies and practices across African regions. By bridging scientific, traditional, and policy-oriented knowledge systems, the seminar will explore how legal and institutional frameworks shape – and are shaped by – cultural and socio-ecological power dynamics.
Speakers are invited to analyze the interplay of broader structural forces – such as colonial legacies, armed conflict, expanding commodity frontiers (including mining, timber, charcoal, and agriculture), demographic change, conservation policies, and climate change – and how these forces influence the stewardship of spiritual landscapes.
A central theme of the seminar explores the context dependent concept of indigeneity as a decolonial approach that overcomes the rigid top-down definition of who are Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IP&LCs) and how they relate to forests in everyday heritage and livelihood practices.
Contributors will critically examine how power dynamics impact on Indigenous worldviews, ecospiritual practices, and forest governance systems. By highlighting the complex interactions among knowledge, belief, and practice across diverse socio-ecological settings, the symposium aims to deepen understanding of custodianship and its implications for heritage-sensitive policies in African contexts. It advances an adaptive, relational governance perspective in which sacred sites, forests, groves, and trees are understood as active agents influencing power relations.
Through collaborative dialogue and shared reflection, the symposium will surface best practices, contribute to bottom-up heritage sensitive policy design across African regions and foster new collaborations.
The momentum will be created to discuss with authors and indigenous scholars the contents of the forthcoming book “Ecospiritual practices in African contexts”, enriching the conclusions and discussion with multivocal perspectives from practitioners, indigenous and area-based scholars.
I. SYMPOSIUM PROSPECTUS
Title: Heritage-Sensitive Forest Governance in African Contexts.
Indigeneity, Ecospiritual Practices, and Biocultural Conservation of Spiritual Landscapes.
Date: 28th of January, 2026 | 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM (EAT)
Venue: CIFOR-ICRAF Nairobi & Online (Hybrid)
EVENTBRITE ONLINE REGISTRATION LINK Recommended for online participation
Organizers: Dr. Alessandra Manzini, PLACES Lab; CY University SPIRAL funded by the EUTOPIA SIF alliance (Grant Agreement : 945380), in collaboration with CIFOR-ICRAF (Dr. Phosiso Sola , Prof. Anne Larson, Dr. Richard Sufo) and RESSAC project (funded by EU).
Keynote: Aster Gebrekirstos CIFOR-ICRAF (tbc)
Keynote: Lucie Temgoua, ERAIFT
Keynote: Prof. Kokou Kouami, University of Lomé
Concept Note
This symposium brings together a transdisciplinary cohort of scholars, CIFOR-ICRAF researchers, Indigenous peoples, and local community members to analyze forest conservation policies across African ecoregions. By bridging scientific, traditional, and policy-oriented knowledge systems, we explore how legal and institutional frameworks shape – and are shaped by – community-led forest governance and non-explicit conservation ecospiritual practices.
II. Provisional Agenda
Format: 10-minute presentation + 5-minute Q&A per speaker
10:00–10:30 | Welcome
- Phosiso Sola (CIFOR-ICRAF)
- Richard Sufo (RESSAC)
- Alessandra Manzini (SPIRAL)
10:30–10:40 | Book Launch
Ecospiritual Practices in African Contexts
Multivocal perspectives from practitioners and scholars
- Alessandra Manzini, CY Cergy Paris, EUTOPIA SIF
- Paula Uimonen, Stockholm University
- Houria Djoudi, FAO
10:40–11:00 | Keynote
- Aster Gebrekirstos (CIFOR-ICRAF, Ethiopia)
11:00–12:30 | Panel 1 – East Africa
- Nelly Masayi (Kibabii University, Kenya)
The Role of Eco-spiritual Approaches in the Sustainable Conservation and Management of the Mt. Elgon Forest Ecosystem, Kenya - Runyambo Irakiza (UNILAK–GER, Rwanda)
Conservation of Biodiversity: The Case of Buhanga Sacred Forest, Northern Rwanda - Augustina Alvarez (Tanzania)
Sacred Forests and Ecospiritual Governance: Enduring Elements of the Pare Worldview in the Kilimanjaro Region - Rebecca Campbell (KU Leuven) & Paula Uimonen (University of Stockholm) (confirmed)
Mangrove Worldings: Ecospiritual Practices and Climate Change Adaptation in Coastal Tanzania
Dialogue & Q&A
12:30–13:30 | Lunch
13:30–13:50 | Keynote
- Lucie Temgoua (ERAIFT) Sacralisation, desacralisation and conservation of sacred forests in Central Africa
13:50–15:00 | Panel 2 – Central Africa
Moderator: Richard Sufo RESSAC
- Vitalis Pemunta (University of Gothenburg; DR Congo)
Indigenous Voices in Sacred Forests: Ecospiritual Practices of the Batwa and Mbuti in Central Africa - Chapgang Noubactep, Richard Sufo, Tchékoté Hervé (CIFOR-ICRAF Cameroon)
Are Sacred Forests Still Sacred? - Sandrine Uwasere (Rwanda National Herbarium) The Role of the National Herbarium of Rwanda in Documenting and Conserving Sacred Forests
Dialogue & Q&A
15:00–15:15 | Coffee Break
15:20–15:40 | Keynote – West Africa
- Kokou Kouami (University of Lomé, Benin)
Pratiques écospirituelles et gouvernance bioculturelle des forêts sacrées en Afrique de l’Ouest
15:45–17:45 | Panel 3 – West Africa
- Fodé Soumah (CREDEB, Guinea)
Sacralization of Natural Ecosystems: Endogenous Governance of Biodiversity Conservation in Guinea - Alison Ormsby, PhD (Forest Specialist, Adventure Scientists) (confirmed)
A Comparison of Sacred Groves of Sierra Leone and Ghana - Sambou Clement (Sacred Forest Specialist, Senegal) & Alessandra Manzini (CY Cergy Paris)
Gnei-gnei Law and Forest Relational Governance in Diola Cosmoecology - Oyetayo Oyelowo (Forest Institute of Nigeria) Spirituality, Beliefs and Biodiversity Conservation: Lessons from South-western Nigerian Sacred Groves.
- Kossi Hounkpati (University of Lomé, Benin) (confirmed)
Dialogue & Q&A
18:00–18:20 | Wrap-up
Lessons learned and reflections toward improved policy design, relational governance, and book discussion
18:30–19:00 | Nibbles & Networking
III. The Book Project
Title: Ecospiritual Practices in African Contexts: Power Dynamics, Biocultural Change, and Integrated Landscapes Management
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Editors: Alessandra Manzini, Paula Uimonen, Houria Djoudi
This symposium serves as a critical momentum-builder for the forthcoming volume. The final session will synthesize insights from the day to enrich the book’s conclusions, ensuring it reflects multivocal perspectives from practitioners and Indigenous scholars.