Harnessing the power of indigenous knowledge
Indigenous and local communities have a sophisticated knowledge of their environment and its biodiversity, and how to engage with their surroundings in sustainable ways. At the same time, this knowledge is often intertwined with cultural practices and norms that are very different from those of scientists. For example, cultural taboos and spiritual practices of engaging with a forest may be key to local sustainability in forest conservation, but difficult to relate to modern understanding of natural resource management. The LOCAL KNOWLEDGE(opens in new window) project asked how this gap can be bridged in a way that is both sensitive and effective, and developed the concept of the philosophy of ethnobiology. David Ludwig(opens in new window), associate professor in the Knowledge, Technology and Innovation(opens in new window) (KTI) Group of Wageningen University in the Netherlands, explains: “We mostly think of ‘philosophy’ as a reflexive practice, allowing for more careful thinking about all the complicated questions emerging from knowledge diversity.” The idea of how philosophy can be applied is evolving. “We’ve also been increasingly thinking of philosophy as a ‘mediator’ between different forms of knowledge, values and world views,” says Ludwig. As he explains, there are many scientists who want to work in more inclusive ways and recognise that indigenous communities have a lot of relevant knowledge. “But they don’t know how to engage knowledge that does not fit their disciplinary standards and that is deeply embedded in local cultures. Here, philosophy can mediate between different perspectives and contribute to better understanding.”
Integrating scientific techniques and local knowledge
In areas such as agriculture, conservation and health, there is a lot of talk about ‘integrating’ indigenous and academic knowledge. But integration is difficult and sometimes impossible. Indigenous communities and scientists use very different methods, and the qualitative knowledge of a community may not fit into the quantitative methods of scientists. Colonial histories and power differentials may make it difficult to collaborate as equals. Serious attempts to co-produce knowledge need to address these methodological challenges. Ludwig points to the example of taboos – like not being allowed to fish certain times of the year or not being allowed to hunt in certain parts of the forest. “Many local taboos have spiritual justifications and seem difficult to understand for scientists. At the same time, they are often crucial parts of sustainable relationships between communities and their environments that prevent overhunting and excessive extraction of resources,” he notes.
Interdisciplinary research methodology
To try and bring the two approaches together, LOCAL KNOWLEDGE established an interdisciplinary research methodology that integrates philosophical analysis and empirical collaboration with three ethnobiological research teams in Brazil and Mexico. In Brazil, the team(opens in new window) co-developed school materials with local teachers to present the knowledge of the fishing community while relating it to academic knowledge about issues such as climate change. “We’ve shown how the knowledge of fishers is essential for more effective conservation policies that protect local species of fish. For example, current Brazilian policies prohibit fishing during certain months to protect the fish while they are laying eggs. But local fishermen told us that the laws do not match the months when the fish actually lay their eggs – adapting policies through local knowledge would therefore benefit threatened species a lot,” Ludwig says. In Mexico, the project investigated plant diseases that affect coffee plants. Many of these diseases are of recent origin, so there is no indigenous knowledge about how to address them.
Address urgent social-environmental problems
The ideas explored by the project are set out in a book, LINK (Transformative Transdisciplinarity), co-authored by Charbel El-Hani(opens in new window), a full professor at the Institute of Biology of the Federal University of Bahia(opens in new window) (website in Portuguese) in Brazil. This will be published by Oxford University Press next year. “As philosophers we think about all kinds of highly relevant issues from climate change to social justice. But it often remains unclear how our thinking becomes more than an intellectual game and affects people,” he adds. “I’m much happier with, and confident about, the work that I do now than I was before we started the journey of the European Research Council(opens in new window) project.”
