Coalition of Pastoralists Civil Soc

The Coalition of Pastoralist Civil Society Organizations (COPACSO) was formed in 2005 as a loose coalition of civil society organizations working for the advancement of pastoralists in Uganda. It currently has over 20 member organizations spread across the cattlecorridor of Uganda. The Coalition was interested in ensuring that pastoralist interests got reflected in the Poverty Alleviation Action Plan (PEAP) which was then being formulated. The group was able to mobilise members of Parliament and later on organised the inaugural Uganda Pastoralist Week. The group also get actively involved in the development of the National Development Plan. In 2012, COPACSO was registered as a fully fledged NGO. Since its inception COPACSO has been gender sensitive with among others two out of its three members of staff are been women. Achievements achieved include participation as a non state actor representative on the National Task Force formulating the National Rangelands Management and Pastoralism Policy, participation in national climate change forums, participation in the national Day to Combat Desertification in which we always bring t the forefront issues of pastoralists. COPACSO is now widely recognized as a credible umbrella organisation that is a representative of the voiceless pastoralist communities and its members. COPACSO has actively participated in policy influencing processes at local, national, regional and international levels like the draft Rangeland Management and Pastoralism Policy, the East Africa Livestock Policy, the draft IGAD Transhumance Protocol and the implementation framework of the African Union Policy Framework for Pastoralism in Africa. COPACSO partners with regionaland international networks and institutions like the East Africa Community, the African Union, and Coalition of European Lobbies for Eastern Africa Pastoralism, the Pastoralism Knowledge Hub of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Alliance of Mobile and Indigenous Peoples. COPACSO has widely published on various issues affecting pastoralists including a media handbook for journalists which received wide acclaim for helping shape the attitude of the media. COPACSO has also translated and disseminated various policy documents into local languages like the African Union Policy Framework for Pastoralism as well as the National Land Policy issues related to the pastoralists. In 2015, we made a submission to the African Union Commission of Human and Peoples Rights on the situation of unfair government appropriation of pastoralist land. Lastly, the Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development has included COPACSO as a non state actor in the implementation of the National Land Policy and thus will act as a platform to entrench the interests of pastoralist men, women and youths in the upcoming agenda for land related activities.

Ministerie van Econ Zaken, Landbouw, etc

Oxfam Novib

Oxfam Novib