East African Indigenous Peoples’ Land Summit 2022
Community
land summit.
land summit.
Protecting the Commons for a Shared Future.
ABOUT
The Community Land Summit (CLS) is an annual gathering that brings together Indigenous and pastoralist communities, government agencies, and civil society to advance the recognition, protection, and registration of communal land in Kenya and, increasingly, across East Africa. It was convened in response to Kenya’s Community Land Act (CLA) 2016, which provides a legal framework for recognizing and registering customary land rights and addressing longstanding historical land and natural resource injustices.
The Summit brings together the voices of communities from the communities with undissolved communal lands as identified by Kenya’s Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning, and is convened by IMPACT Kenya, and other key actors involved in implementing the Community Land Act, 2016. Each edition creates a direct platform for community leaders — including chairs of former Group Ranches and Trust Lands, forest dwellers, hunters and gatherers, women, youth, and persons with disabilities — to engage face-to-face with national and county government officials on the progress, gaps, and lived realities of land registration.
Since its first edition in Nanyuki in November 2021, the Summit has grown into a trusted annual convening point, producing communiqués and declarations that channel community recommendations directly to duty-bearers, and tracking the country’s progress toward securing customary land tenure county by county.
Past Editions:
1st Edition — Nanyuki, 22–23 November 2021
2nd Edition — East African Indigenous Peoples’ Land Summit, 21–25 November 2022
3rd Edition — 14–17 November 2023
4th Edition — 13–16 November 2024
5th Edition — 24–27 November 2025
In 2026—the UN International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP 2026)—this momentum is feeding into a broader African Indigenous Pastoralists Gathering, weaving together resolutions from the Camel Caravan, the Pastoralist Women’s Forum, the East Africa Youth Pastoralist Gathering, and the Community Land Summit itself into a shared Common African Pastoralist Agenda—ensuring that global rangeland and land policy is written with pastoralist communities, not for them.
The African Indigenous Pastoralists Gathering represented a milestone within the momentum built through a series of grassroots dialogues. This convening is directly informed by the resolutions and shared visions emerging from the Camel Caravan 2025, Pastoralist Women’s Forum , East Africa Youth Pastoralist Gathering and the Community Land Summit 2025,
Adopted by the Pastoralist Peoples of the World at the Global Pastoralist Gathering in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in August 2026, the Ulaanbaatar Declaration — “Our Lands, Our Territories, Our Heritage, Our Future” — is a global call to action affirming pastoralist peoples, including Indigenous pastoralist peoples, as the rightful guardians, knowledge-holders, and rights-holders of their ancestral lands and resources, setting out commitments across land tenure, mobility, climate justice, gender and youth inclusion, finance, and governance, including calls for a Pastoralist Caucus at UNCCD COP17, a UN Day of Pastoralists, and an independent Pastoralist-led monitoring commission. The Declaration was formally submitted to the Government of Mongolia and the UNCCD Secretary-General during COP17.
Why Participate
Shape the Global Agenda
Contribute directly to the Common African Pastoralist Agenda that will be presented at the UNCCD COP17 in Mongolia. This is your chance to ensure international rangeland policies are grounded in local strategies and innovations
Amplify Your Voice
Join a unified front to influence the activities of the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP 2026). We are moving beyond being mere "stakeholders" to becoming "right-holders" who co-manage the narrative of our own lands.
Secure Land Sovereignty
Engage in high-level dialogues to address urgent threats like land grabs, insecure tenure, and extractive industries. Use this platform to advocate for policies that protect communal land rights and customary governance
Drive Climate Justice:
African rangelands are massive carbon sinks, yet pastoralists face the brunt of the climate emergency. Participate to demand equitable access to climate financing and recognition of indigenous knowledge as a sophisticated tool for global resilience.
Community Land Summit 2025.
"Enhance mobile indigenous peoples’ livelihoods through secure tenure rights,
effective pastoral policy environment for prosperity"
Past Community Land Summits
ABOUT
East African Indigenous Peoples’
Land Summit 2022
The Community Land Summit (CLS) brings together the voices of communities from the 24 counties with undissolved communal lands as identified by the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning.
The Community Land Summit is convened by IMPACT, NLC, PARAN Alliance Members, Natural Justice, Kenya Land Alliance, CLAN and other key actors in the implementation of the Community Land Act, 2016.
Our Partners
The African Indigenous Pastoralists Gathering was made possible through partnership between indigenous movements and national institutions. We are bridging the gap between community-led land stewardship and the global policy execution required for a sustainable future.
