The contribution of indigenous peoples' ecosystem management to climate change mitigation actions

Abstract

Indigenous Knowledge has received increased attention during the last decades. This study explores the current application of indigenous knowledge in environmental management systems which would improve climate change mitigation actions The difficulty in finding appropriate ways on how to integrate indigenous knowledge has been addressed because of the participatory rights that were guaranteed in many international environmental agreements since 1992. 1992 is a key date for climate change mitigation action thank to the Earth summit where all UN member states agreed to comprehensively address environmental issues in an international agreement. Subsequent agreements have seen the integration of indigenous peoples in mostly conservation policies. Further progress has been made for the evaluation of the rights of indigenous peoples, both on the national and international level. However, their science has long been underestimated. Since 2004, after the devastating tsunami in South East Asia, the interest in the actual content of Indigenous knowledge is rising. Areas, where indigenous knowledge seems to be superior to any other management are in forest conservation. Thanks to increased efforts in reducing carbon emissions, a field where tropical rainforest were identified as one of the key resources to protect, indigenous peoples provide states with effective strategies to avoid deforestation. Their potential is not limited to forest conservation only. Agricultural practices very often proved to be much more suited towards certain environments but more importantly - adaptable to changing climate conditions. As such, indigenous knowledge, which is inherently connected to a specific area and its people, shows a dynamic system to prepare adaption strategies and help mitigating climate change when their rights are ensured. Legal aspects of indigenous knowledge are mentioned where needed, the focus was the integration and combination of scientific methods with indigenous knowledge systems. Thus, the comparison of five exemplary projects in South America and Africa is a means to give insight into the various techniques of indigenous peoples worldwide. Despite promising results those projects show, the need for improving the legal situation worldwide remains. Moreover, science and Indigenous knowledge work complementary, yet too often disregard each other.