Possibilities for using traditional and local knowledge in assessments

Marie Kvarnström, NAPTEK, Swedish Biodiversity Centre, Uppsala;Stockholm Resilience Centre/CBM-NAPTEK project group on Multiple knowledge systems

7. In carrying out its work an IPBES should:

d) Recognize and respect the contribution of indigenous and local knowledge to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystems.

(Busan outcome UNEP/IPBES/3/L.2/Rev.1)

Multilateral environmental agreements need to be taken into account, e g

the Convention on Biological Diversity

Each Contracting Party shall, as far as possible and as appropriate:

Article 8 (j): … respect, preserve and maintain knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity …

Article 10(c:) Protect and encourage customary use of biological resources in accordance with traditional cultural practices that are compatible with conservation or sustainable use requirements;

CBD Programme of Work on Protected Areas

Goal 2.2: To enhance and secure involvement ofindigenous and local communities and relevantstakeholdersTarget: Full and effective participation by 2008, of

indigenous and local communities, in full respect oftheir rights and recognition of their responsibilities,

consistent with national law and applicableinternational obligations, and the participation of

relevant stakeholders, in the management of existing,

and the establishment and management of new, protected areas

There are NGO and indigenous initiatives to learn from, such as Peoples’ Biocultural Climate Change Assessment Initiative, IPCCA

What kind of knowledge are we talking about?

• Traditional knowledge• Indigenous knowledge• Indigenous science• Aboriginal knowledge• Local Knowledge• Traditional Ecological Knowledge

“With respect to traditional knowledge and data that is shared with IPBES

for its assessments, IPBES should respect the rights of indigenous peoples and not share, without permission, such knowledge and data without prior informed consent unless the knowledge and/or data is already publicly available in ways that respect the rights of the knowledge

holders.”

(IUCN comments on IPBES work

programme under construction).Note: also local communities,Not only indigenous peoples

Evaluation of Local Ecological Knowledge as a Method for Collecting Extensive Data on Animal Abundance.

(Anadón et al, 2009, Conservation Biology)

• Estimation of abundance of the terrestrial tortoise Testudo graeca by local shepherds in SE Spain

• high-quality and low-cost information about both distribution and abundance

• Analysis of confidence intervals indicated local knowledge could be used to estimate mean local abundances and to detect mean population trends

• abundance estimates in a much wider range than linear transects

• information derived from LEK was 100 times cheaper

Inuit Knowledge of Long-term Changes in a Population of Arctic Tundra Caribou (Ferguson et al., Arctic 1998)

• Inuit knowledge proved to be temporally and spatially more complete than the written record

• abundances described by Inuit were generally consistent with densities estimated from aerial surveys

• using aerial survey, a numerical scale for Inuit descriptions of caribou abundance was developed

• stunning accuracy and precision of the informants’ recollections

• Inuit informants were able to accurately predict population changes

• The threat of climate change makes collaboration between caribou biologists, other scientists, and the Inuit especially urgent.

Learning from Traditional Knowledge of Non-timber Forest Products: Penan Benalui and the Autecology of Aquilaria in

Indonesian Borneo (Donovan and Puri, 2004)

• study of distribution of resin-containing trees of genus Aquilaria, a tropical forest tree of South and Southeast Asia

• the Penan Benalui have detailed knowledge of distribution, abundance, complexity of resin formation, involving 1-2 species of fungi and 1 insect species

www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol9/iss3/art3

“Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) offers ecological information and insight relevant to ecological management and research that cannot be obtained from other sources”

While this makes sense, the statement is also problematic, for reasons explained in the following slides:

“The idea of integration … contains the implicit assumption that the cultural beliefs and practices referred to as "traditional knowledge" conform to western conceptions about "knowledge." It takes for granted existing power relations between aboriginal people and the state by assuming that traditional knowledge is simply a new form of "data" to be incorporated into existing management bureaucracies and acted upon by scientists and resource managers.”

“As a result, aboriginal people have been forced to express themselves in ways that conform to the institutions and practices of state management rather than to their own beliefs, values, and practices. And, since it is scientists and resource managers, rather than aboriginal hunters and trappers, who will be using this new "integrated" knowledge, the project of integration actually serves to concentrate power in administrative centers, rather than in the hands of aboriginal people.”

The Politics Of TEK: Power And The Integration Of Knowledge(Paul Nadasdy, 1999, Arctic Anthropology)

Scientists and resource managers usually do not even acknowledge, much less

attempt to make use of, the stories, beliefs, and values which inform the hunters' view of the world and specify the proper relationship between themselves and the animals in question.

The case of management of Dall sheep in Southwest Yukon, Canada. Biologists wanted to cull full curl rams (+7-8yrs). Kluane First Nation hunters said this would remove the individuals who had the most important knowledge for the social structure in their herds. They were the memory and the teachers of the herd, and removing them would seriously disrupt social structure.

According to members of Kluane First Nation, disruption of social structure of sheep can do at least as much damage to their population as the deaths of hordes of potential offspring.

Dialogue Workshop on Knowledge for the 21st Century:Indigenous knowledge, Traditional knowledge, Science and

connecting diverse knowledge systems

• To contribute to strengthened exchange and cross-fertilization between knowledge systems in an equal, legitimate, and transparent way.

• To outline the context of connecting diverse knowledge systems, including indigenous and local knowledge and experiential knowledge as well as Western scientific knowledge, for the benefit of knowledge generation, capacity building and ecosystem assessments as carried out by researchers, including NGOs, governing authorities, and others, , with the final aim of contributing to sustainable development

Stockholm Resilience Centre/CBM-NAPTEK project group on Multiple knowledge systems together with representatives of International Indigenous Forum on Biodiveristy and other partners

Some issues for IPBES:

• ”Dual-evidence base”?• different criteria of validation?• Design of a process for indigenous and local

knowledge in IPBES• Selection of actors in this process• Accountability to all constituencies• Protection of ownership of knowledge,

disclosure/non-disclosure