Traditional Knowledge Bulletin |
- This week in review … News of relevance to traditional knowledge and climate change
- Resources: Publications on REDD+ of relevance to indigenous peoples and TK
- This week in review … Article on biocultural resilience
- Resource: Handbook for GIAHS conservation
- Announcement: Applications available for the 2013 UNU-IAS Fellowship Programme
This week in review … News of relevance to traditional knowledge and climate change Posted: 05 Dec 2012 03:08 AM PST From Peru to the Philippines, UNEP Presents Grassroots Solutions to the Impacts of Climate Change DOHA, QATAR: Grassroots projects can guide the policies needed to build climate resilience, reverse the loss of natural resources and contribute to an inclusive green economy, according to a new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) booklet launched at the UN Climate Change Conference in Doha, Qatar. "Seeds of Knowledge" aims to show that grassroots, community-led responses are already playing an essential role in building resilience to climate change across all regions of the world. With the right levels of investment and support, such initiatives can be scaled up and become a central component in reducing climate risks and supporting the transition to an inclusive green economy. It features case studies from Afghanistan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Colombia, China, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Jordan, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Senegal and Turkey. Case studies address, among others, the radio broadcast used by indigenous communities in Peru's southern Andean highlands. Read the release … Food, Water and Livelihoods in Pacific Islands under Increasing Threat from Climate Change DOHA, QATAR: Island communities in the Pacific Ocean are facing unprecedented challenges to their economies and environment from the impacts of climate change, according to the "Pacific Environment and Climate Change Outlook," prepared by SPREP in partnership with UNEP and other organizations and released at the UN Climate Change Conference in Doha. Sea level rise, tropical cyclones, floods and drought, combined with pressures from unsustainable fishing practices and coastal development, and consumption and production trends, are rendering the livelihoods of some 10 million people increasingly vulnerable. Covering 21 countries and territories, mostly small, low-lying island communities, the report provides a detailed assessment of the state of the Pacific environment, and lays out policy options for improving sustainable development in island communities. The study highlights successful efforts to create community-managed conservation areas, such as marine parks, which have used indigenous knowledge to improve recycling, energy efficiency and sustainable water use. Such techniques can be scaled up, and serve as a model for other regions. In addition, destruction of coral reefs, mangrove forests and sea grass beds as development proceeds, suggests the need for a better strategy with the involvement of local communities using their traditional knowledge and practices. Read the release … Download the report [pdf] … Indigenous people in Colombia have a plan to protect their environment from climate change PUTUMAYO, COLOMBIA: With the assistance of a grant from the World Bank's Development Marketplace, indigenous people of the Putumayo department in Colombia elaborated five environment management plans that include studies and maps allowing them to better adapt to climate change. They developed the plans with the help of modern technology, with a research methodology, as well as the ancient knowledge of the indigenous communities. The indigenous communities themselves gathered some samples and information after being trained in the use of GPS devices and basic cartography. The finished documentation includes registers of plants, with their name and use by indigenous people, 5 ecological calendars, regulation norms and 44 maps that show where the flora and fauna can be found, where indigenous people hunt, and where their holy places are. Read the release … Climate Conversations – Mapping a route through climate change in Chad N'DJAMENA, CHAD: The M'bororo people have a deep understanding passed down through generations of their land and its climate conditions. They know how to read the signs offered by nature. Scientists, on the other hand, hold the key to interpreting the impacts of the latest research. If these two groups could come together and pool their combined expertise, perhaps the M'bororo people could maintain their traditional way of life and the scientists would gain from a more profound understanding of the areas. This was in fact the first stage in a process to address the climate change challenge and its far-reaching effects in Chad. A meeting was held in N'Djamena, Chad in November 2011, which produced the N'Djamena Declaration on traditional knowledge and climate adaptation. It was however a participatory mapping exercise in August 2012 that has had the most lasting effect on the M'bororo people, who made a significant contribution identifying six tree species protected under their customary law. These trees have both medicinal and ecosystem functions and have acted as navigation reference points over the years. Read the article … |
Resources: Publications on REDD+ of relevance to indigenous peoples and TK Posted: 05 Dec 2012 03:04 AM PST Understanding Relationships between Biodiversity, Carbon, Forests and People: The Key to Achieving REDD+ Objectives. A global assessment report This assessment report evaluates the implications of forest and land management interventions envisaged under REDD+ in a multidimensional and integrated fashion. It summarizes the most current scientific literature that sheds light on the relationships between forest biodiversity and carbon (and other ecosystem services), how these complex relationships may be affected by management activities implemented to achieve REDD+ objectives, the potential synergies and tradeoffs between and among environmental and socio-economic objectives, and their relationship to governance issues. Based on the main findings of the assessment (summarized in Chapter 6), a policy brief entitled 'REDD+, Biodiversity and People: Opportunities and Risks' has been prepared especially for policy- and decision-makers. The report starts with the ecological fundamentals of forests as they relate to biodiversity, carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services. It then explores the different forest management options under REDD+ and seeks to highlight their main biodiversity and carbon impacts. It then considers the socio-economic dimension of these forest-related interventions and finally reviews the governance underpinnings of REDD+. Download the report [pdf] … Download a policy brief on "REDD+, Biodiversity and People: Opportunities and Risks" [pdf] … Read an interview with authors on CIFOR blog … Briefing paper on REDD+, Rights and Indigenous Peoples: Lessons from REDD+ Initiative in Asia Reflecting on a few piloting initiatives, this briefing paper explores how far the REDD+ countries in Asia have advanced in addressing social and environmental issues in their REDD+ strategy drafting, what experiences indigenous peoples have so far made in engaging with REDD+ in their countries, and what lessons have been learnt from that. Download the paper [pdf] … Challenges and Prospects for REDD+ in Africa: Desk Review of REDD+ Implementation in Africa This report documents the current state of forests in Africa and strategies for REDD+ implementation, identifying forest degradation as one of Africa's biggest contributors to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The report underscores the political and institutional challenges facing REDD+, as well as technical challenges, social and economic challenges, and resources and funding issues. It examines: managing trade-offs between sectors; managing incentives; land access and tenure rights; and resourcing and funding issues. It also addresses social benefits, including issues related to the consent and adhesion of local communities and distribution of benefits. Download the report [pdf] … |
This week in review … Article on biocultural resilience Posted: 05 Dec 2012 02:59 AM PST Pulsating Heart of Nature: How to Ensure Our Collective Bioculturally Resilient Future WASHINGTON DC, USA: As the environmental and social consequences of human-induced changes have become increasingly apparent, there is growing recognition that the ways of thinking that originated in the dominant, largely linear, reductionist worldview must be abandoned. Recent years have seen the emergence of a number of integrative fields of inquiry, seeking to advance our understanding of the complex interactions between culture and nature, to incorporate insights from both the biological and the social sciences and to develop respectful and equitable ways of relying on the traditional knowledge systems of communities and indigenous peoples. One integrative way of looking at the world and our relationship with it is through the lens of biocultural diversity. Biocultural diversity describes life-sustaining interdependencies and co-evolution of various forms of diversity – a view of the world that has been integral to indigenous ways of knowing – from landscapes to ecosystems, from foodways to languages. The essential feature of biocultural systems that has ensured their persistence in time and space has been their resilience. Read the article … |
Resource: Handbook for GIAHS conservation Posted: 05 Dec 2012 02:56 AM PST A methodological framework for the dynamic conservation of agricultural heritage systems This handbook is intended for various stakeholders to: facilitate understanding of the concept of globally important agricultural heritage systems (GIAHS), dynamics and goals; provide information on multi-stakeholders participatory processes and assessment; develop the capability to prepare and implement a Dynamic Conservation Plan; and assess the sustainability of the system. The handbook contains suggestions and tips essential for stimulating discussion of each methodological process. Download the report [pdf] … |
Announcement: Applications available for the 2013 UNU-IAS Fellowship Programme Posted: 05 Dec 2012 02:54 AM PST Applications are now available for the 2013 UNU-IAS Fellowship Programmes UNU-IAS and UNU-ISP offer PhD and Postdoctoral fellowships to provide young scholars and policy-makers, especially from the developing world, with a multidisciplinary context within which to pursue advanced research and training that are of professional interest to the successful applicant and of direct relevance to the research agenda of their selected programme. The deadline for applications is 28 February 2013. Any questions should be directed to the UNU-IAS Fellowship Committee, at fellowships(at)ias.unu.edu. Further information … |
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