Khalid Khawaldeh

I am from rural, southern Jordan and have been involved in land rights since 1989 when a process began to create a nature reserve on part of my community’s customary land. I am a founding member of the Dana and Qadisiyah Local Community Cooperative (DQLCC) which was established in 1994, in response to my community’s marginalisation and the creation of the Dana Nature Reserve in 1993.

I work at grassroots level, and have strong, practical experience based on the traditional knowledge of the community related to livestock, nature and the interaction between man and ecosystem (Traditional Ecosystem Management).

In the past thirty years, I have gathered extensive experience through my work in defending my community’s pastoral traditional land; my membership and participation in HIC-MENA; the World Alliance for Mobile Indigenous People (WAMIP), the International Land Coalition and other networks; and my participation in national and international workshops related to ecosystems, pastoralism and land.

I have developed national and international networks and connections for my community, and use these connections, perspectives and resources to inform my practice.  Often there is a gap in representing and defending the traditional practices that served and saved nature for centuries. With my experience in both traditional and modern science, I work to help bridge that gap.