Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Global Environmental Change: Research findings and policy implications

This paper introduces the special feature of Ecology and Society entitled "Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Global Environmental Change. The special feature addresses two main research themes. The first theme concerns the resilience of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (hereafter TEK) and t...

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Main Authors: Erik Gómez-Baggethun, Esteve Corbera, Victoria Reyes-García
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Resilience Alliance 2013-12-01
Series:Ecology and Society
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol18/iss4/art72/
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author Erik Gómez-Baggethun
Esteve Corbera
Victoria Reyes-García
author_facet Erik Gómez-Baggethun
Esteve Corbera
Victoria Reyes-García
author_sort Erik Gómez-Baggethun
collection DOAJ
description This paper introduces the special feature of Ecology and Society entitled "Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Global Environmental Change. The special feature addresses two main research themes. The first theme concerns the resilience of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (hereafter TEK) and the conditions that might explain its loss or persistence in the face of global change. The second theme relates to new findings regarding the way in which TEK strengthens community resilience to respond to the multiple stressors of global environmental change. Those themes are analyzed using case studies from Africa, Asia, America and Europe. Theoretical insights and empirical findings from the studies suggest that despite the generalized worldwide trend of TEK erosion, substantial pockets of TEK persist in both developing and developed countries. A common trend on the studies presented here is hybridization, where traditional knowledge, practices, and beliefs are merged with novel forms of knowledge and technologies to create new knowledge systems. The findings also reinforce previous hypotheses pointing at the importance of TEK systems as reservoirs of experiential knowledge that can provide important insights for the design of adaptation and mitigation strategies to cope with global environmental change. Based on the results from papers in this feature, we discuss policy directions that might help to promote maintenance and restoration of living TEK systems as sources of social-ecological resilience.
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spelling doaj.art-90b21b31875a4694ae85c758a264d0d72022-12-21T21:24:48ZengResilience AllianceEcology and Society1708-30872013-12-011847210.5751/ES-06288-1804726288Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Global Environmental Change: Research findings and policy implicationsErik Gómez-Baggethun0Esteve Corbera1Victoria Reyes-García2Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona, SpainInstitute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona, SpainICREA and Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona, SpainThis paper introduces the special feature of Ecology and Society entitled "Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Global Environmental Change. The special feature addresses two main research themes. The first theme concerns the resilience of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (hereafter TEK) and the conditions that might explain its loss or persistence in the face of global change. The second theme relates to new findings regarding the way in which TEK strengthens community resilience to respond to the multiple stressors of global environmental change. Those themes are analyzed using case studies from Africa, Asia, America and Europe. Theoretical insights and empirical findings from the studies suggest that despite the generalized worldwide trend of TEK erosion, substantial pockets of TEK persist in both developing and developed countries. A common trend on the studies presented here is hybridization, where traditional knowledge, practices, and beliefs are merged with novel forms of knowledge and technologies to create new knowledge systems. The findings also reinforce previous hypotheses pointing at the importance of TEK systems as reservoirs of experiential knowledge that can provide important insights for the design of adaptation and mitigation strategies to cope with global environmental change. Based on the results from papers in this feature, we discuss policy directions that might help to promote maintenance and restoration of living TEK systems as sources of social-ecological resilience.http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol18/iss4/art72/Adaptationbiocultural diversityindigenous knowledgeresiliencesmall-scale societies
spellingShingle Erik Gómez-Baggethun
Esteve Corbera
Victoria Reyes-García
Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Global Environmental Change: Research findings and policy implications
Ecology and Society
Adaptation
biocultural diversity
indigenous knowledge
resilience
small-scale societies
title Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Global Environmental Change: Research findings and policy implications
title_full Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Global Environmental Change: Research findings and policy implications
title_fullStr Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Global Environmental Change: Research findings and policy implications
title_full_unstemmed Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Global Environmental Change: Research findings and policy implications
title_short Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Global Environmental Change: Research findings and policy implications
title_sort traditional ecological knowledge and global environmental change research findings and policy implications
topic Adaptation
biocultural diversity
indigenous knowledge
resilience
small-scale societies
url http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol18/iss4/art72/
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