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Global and Interdisciplinary Approaches to Indigenous and Local Knowledge in Conservation Ecology

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainability, Biodiversity and Conservation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 June 2023) | Viewed by 7243

Special Issue Editor

UMR CESCO, CNRS, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 61 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France
Interests: ecosystem engineering; restoration ecology; rewilding; ILK and science; ethology; multi-species anthropology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ecological research on conservation and sustainability occurs around the world in a variety of social contexts. Ecologists, conservationists, and sustainability researchers are increasingly understanding the range of benefits of working with local and indigenous peoples, a position that has been adopted and promoted by high-profile scientific bodies such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. A set of approaches to engaging scientific practice with ILK has already become standard, including approaches that document ILK, approaches that transform ILK into quantitative data for inclusion in statistical analyses, and approaches that focus on joint problem definition often with the goal of serving local communities through data coproduction. Although these approaches have been successful and are considered appropriate for specific political contexts, it is arguable that they do not represent the diversity of actual and possible forms of engagement between ecological science and ILK. 

From a global perspective, there is a large variety of existing indigenous and nonindigenous local communities with considerable knowledge of their local ecologies. Each of these has their own sociocultural context, ontology, epistemology, history, and political situation. Ecologists and conservationists have heard more accounts from some such communities than from others about the ways that they understand encounters with ecological science or conservation, and the ways that they would like to encounter them. Inversely, there is relatively little reflection from the perspective of scientific epistemologies and ontologies about how science can best encounter ILK. For example, reflections on interdisciplinarity across sciences and social sciences or humanities tend to be more nuanced than discussions about ILK and science, and might form a useful comparison. Interdisciplinary research is just as promoted as ILK engagement, but has not been precategorized into a handful of acceptable methods.  This lack of methodological standardization poses problems of disciplinary fit, communication, and assessment, but equally allows the freedom to generate creative and innovative methods and outcomes. Can engagements with ILK learn lessons from interdisciplinarity, in terms of focusing on innovation, embracing the diversity of social contexts, and being reflexive about scientific epistemology and ontology as well as ILK epistemologies and ontologies? 

We particularly welcome contributions from Asia, Africa, and South America, from indigenous scientists and conservationists, and anthropological, STS, and epistemological perspectives, with the goal of facilitating interdisciplinary dialogues about the diversity of contexts and practices for ILK–ecological science engagements. 

Dr. Meredith Root-Bernstein
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • indigenous and local knowledge
  • traditional ecological knowledge
  • interdisciplinarity
  • collaboration
  • coproduction

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 1456 KiB  
Article
Commons of the South: Ecologies of Interdependence in Local Territories of Chile
by María Ignacia Ibarra, Aurelia Guasch, Jaime Ojeda, Wladimir Riquelme Maulen and José Tomás Ibarra
Sustainability 2023, 15(13), 10515; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151310515 - 04 Jul 2023
Viewed by 1041
Abstract
In a context of global social–ecological crises, a growing number of researchers, policymakers, activists and politicians have given importance to the “commons”. This is mainly because the commons are associated with a logic of regulation and collective organization over the use [...] Read more.
In a context of global social–ecological crises, a growing number of researchers, policymakers, activists and politicians have given importance to the “commons”. This is mainly because the commons are associated with a logic of regulation and collective organization over the use and conservation of those goods considered essential for both human and ecosystem co-existence. This article seeks to draw attention to the commons from the standpoint of an ecology of interdependence and understand their modes of co-existence in the Global South. We analyze four case studies along with the tensions and junctures faced by the communities and the goods that sustain their continuity over time in southern Chile, a territory where extractivism and resource exploitation have increased over the last decades. The case studies use a combination of qualitative methodologies, including document analysis, literature review, ethnographies, participant observation, interviews and other means of participatory action research with community actors. Integrative analysis and discussion of the results reveal the fluidity and dynamism of the commons of southern Chile in contexts where there is pressure for their institutionalization and/or privatization, as well as various forms of resistance on the part of the territories for their protection and revitalization. Full article
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20 pages, 1241 KiB  
Article
Local Territorial Practices Inform Co-Production of a Rewilding Project in the Chilean Andes
by Matías Guerrero-Gatica, Tamara Escobar Reyes, Benjamín Silva Rochefort, Josefina Fernández, Andoni Elorrieta and Meredith Root-Bernstein
Sustainability 2023, 15(7), 5966; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15075966 - 30 Mar 2023
Viewed by 1270
Abstract
Co-production of conservation projects is favored by incorporating local ecological knowledge into project design and implementation. Using a mixed method approach, we asked how the territorial practices and knowledge of cowboys and livestock farmers inform their attitudes to this proposed project. We predicted [...] Read more.
Co-production of conservation projects is favored by incorporating local ecological knowledge into project design and implementation. Using a mixed method approach, we asked how the territorial practices and knowledge of cowboys and livestock farmers inform their attitudes to this proposed project. We predicted that cowboy territorial practices would be reduced in diversity compared to the past, and that this may be associated with a reduction in coping or adaptation capacity in the face of environmental challenges. We further predicted that due to growing environmental and social pressures reducing traditional livelihood opportunities for this group, they are likely to see the guanaco reintroduction project in a conflictual and negative light. We additionally predicted that they would perceive local carnivorous species in a conflictual and negative way. We found that territorial practices among the sample had indeed decreased in diversity. The sample coped with changing socio-ecological conditions by taking up other jobs. However, we also found that they had majority favorable views on the guanaco reintroduction project. Yet their knowledge of current guanaco behavior led them to believe that the project would fail. However, they also observed that pumas and condors changed their behaviors. We suggest that there are opportunities to co-produce knowledge about the possibility of flexible and adaptive guanaco behavior, which may lead to restoration and create more sustainable future scenarios, by engaging with the territorial practices and local ecological knowledge of cowboys and livestock farmers. Full article
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27 pages, 3607 KiB  
Article
Incorporating Traditional Knowledge into Science-Based Sociotechnical Measures in Upper Watershed Management: Theoretical Framework, Existing Practices and the Way Forward
by Hunggul Yudono Setio Hadi Nugroho, Markus Kudeng Sallata, Merryana Kiding Allo, Nining Wahyuningrum, Agung Budi Supangat, Ogi Setiawan, Gerson Ndawa Njurumana, Wahyudi Isnan, Diah Auliyani, Fajri Ansari, Luthfi Hanindityasari and Nardy Noerman Najib
Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3502; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043502 - 14 Feb 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2725
Abstract
In Indonesia, 2145 watersheds currently need to be restored, where around 21 million people spread over ± 23,000 villages live below the poverty line with a high dependence on forests. This condition requires an integrated approach in watershed management, which is aimed at [...] Read more.
In Indonesia, 2145 watersheds currently need to be restored, where around 21 million people spread over ± 23,000 villages live below the poverty line with a high dependence on forests. This condition requires an integrated approach in watershed management, which is aimed at technically restoring environmental conditions and ensuring the welfare of the people in it. One of the strategic approaches that can be taken is to revive local wisdom and traditional knowledge (TK), which has been eroded and neglected, and integrate them with technical approaches based on modern science and knowledge. Based on the author’s research and literature studies, this paper discusses the theoretical framework and implementation practices in integrating traditional knowledge into a science-based sociotechnical system to manage upstream watersheds sustainably. Based on the empirical evidence, efforts to create good biophysical and socio-economic watershed conditions can only be achieved through the active participation of farmers in adopting and integrating scientific technology into their traditional knowledge. This integration is realized in designing and implementing watershed management technology by considering the principles of suitability, applicability, feasibility, and acceptability. In the long term, it is necessary to document TK, patent it, and transfer it to the next generation to ensure that indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ social, cultural, and economic interests are protected. Full article
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14 pages, 321 KiB  
Perspective
What Are ILK in Relation to Science? Using the ‘Ethic of Equivocation’ to Co-Produce New Knowledge for Conservation
by Meredith Root-Bernstein, Pierre du Plessis, Matías Guerrero-Gatica, Trupthi Narayan, Samuel Roturier and Helen C. Wheeler
Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 1831; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15031831 - 18 Jan 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1387
Abstract
Attention to epistemological relationships between Indigenous and local knowledges (ILK) and conservation science is increasing. Some approaches for doing so have been developed, but in general, serious engagement between ILK and science still feels experimental and does not have broad uptake. Here we [...] Read more.
Attention to epistemological relationships between Indigenous and local knowledges (ILK) and conservation science is increasing. Some approaches for doing so have been developed, but in general, serious engagement between ILK and science still feels experimental and does not have broad uptake. Here we address some of the main issues that arise when considering the epistemological relationships between ILK and conservation or ecological science. A key issue is the relationship between ILK and science that sets the expectations for how they may form dialogues, collaborations, or co-production. After reviewing several perspectives on this relationship, and their limitations, we suggest that a focus on shared meanings within an ‘ethic of equivocation’ is a productive path forward. In an ethic of equivocation, neither ILK nor science validates the other, yet meaning can be created. We explain and develop the concepts of meanings and equivocation in the ILK-science context. We, thus, argue for a broad and rich understanding of the joint roles of ILK and science, which goes beyond treating ILK as a data source. We argue that diverse styles of reasoning exist in science, and scientists may already treat observations, models, and collaborations in the ways that we discuss, providing ready-made analogies for thinking about ILK. We also discuss how to avoid abuses of power while engaging with ILK to co-produce new knowledge. Full article
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