The Local Ecologies of Knowledge project has generated a broad spectrum of academic and public contributions that cut across disciplinary boundaries and societal sectors.
On the academic side, we have brought together empirical research and philosophical inquiry to deepen the understanding of knowledge diversity. Our empirical work has focused on documenting the ethnobiological knowledge held by local communities, including culturally specific classifications of animals and nuanced explanations of ecological relationships and phenomena. This work captures the richness and sophistication of community-based understandings of the natural world.
Philosophically, we have explored how these different knowledge systems represent distinct yet equally valuable forms of expertise. We have reflected critically on how divergent worldviews—rooted in place, history, and cultural practice—can be productively engaged, and how disagreements or epistemic tensions might be negotiated rather than erased.
This integrated approach has led to several philosophical contributions that:
(a) advance the concept of epistemic justice, emphasizing fair and respectful engagement between scientific and local knowledge traditions;
(b) contribute to the development of novel transdisciplinary methods that make co-creation of knowledge meaningful and equitable in real-world contexts; and
(c) offer a more nuanced understanding of the political ecology underlying socio-ecological conflicts, shedding light on how knowledge, power, and environmental change intersect.
These academic insights have directly informed a wide range of applied and public interventions. For example, we have collaborated with community members to co-develop educational materials that incorporate local ecological knowledge into school curricula, thereby supporting both cultural continuity and ecological awareness. We have also engaged in policy advocacy, promoting environmental policies that are more responsive to the needs, voices, and knowledge systems of local communities.
In addition, we have convened multi-stakeholder workshops in places such as Oaxaca (Mexico) and Salvador (Brazil), creating inclusive spaces for dialogue and collaboration among scholars, farmers, Indigenous leaders, fishers, and activists. These meetings have fostered mutual learning and forged new alliances for socio-environmental action. We have also organized public lecture series on complex, politically charged topics such as decolonization, with the goal of enabling deliberation across diverse and often unequal publics.
The impact of the project is also reflected in its scholarly output. To date, the team has produced over 20 peer-reviewed articles published in leading journals spanning philosophy and empirical sciences. These contributions are brought together and further developed in our forthcoming monograph, Transformative Transdisciplinarity: An Introduction to Community-Based Philosophy, to be published by Oxford University Press in August 2025.
