Sustaining the Earth depends to a great extent on the traditional knowledge of Indigenous peoples and local communities. International instruments such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Sustainable Development Goals and the soon to be adopted post-2020 global biodiversity framework recognize the critical role of traditional knowledge for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Despite this recognition there are still few examples of national policies which take into consideration and effectively includes traditional knowledge. Furthermore, due to various external pressures of the modern world, traditional knowledge is also under threat and rapidly decreasing worldwide.

 

In this session, that will be conducted on July 12th, 2021, at 02:00 PM London, the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP- WCMC), will present a mixed-methodological approach to address the above challenges. The approach has proven helpful in:

1) assessing the extent to which traditional knowledge is included in national policies;

2) assessing the state of traditional knowledge and identify solutions to safeguard it; and

3) facilitating dialogue between Indigenous peoples and local communities and decision-makers for knowledge sharing.

 

The mixed-methodological approach was developed with indigenous peoples and local communities in Guyana as part of the project “Integrating Traditional Knowledge into National Policy and Practice in Guyana” (2017-2021) funded by the Darwin Initiative.