Indigenous Traditional Knowledge for climate change resilience and poverty alleviation across rural livelihoods.

Indigenous communities in developing countries are already facing the effects of climate change. Negative disturbances can be perceived in the coastal areas where subsistence livelihoods are typically dependent on the ecosystem services provided by these natural systems. Similarly, the variability of climate patterns has generated unexpected changes across inlands, with impacts on food security and agriculture. The main threat of these issues are highly perceived among Indigenous groups, whose livelihoods are already vulnerable as a result of the lack of access to basic services. Furthermore, it is broadly known that the rapid scale of changes occurred owing to the massive and uncontrolled use natural of resources in the Anthropocene, have altered the natural dynamic of multiple Indigenous territories. For instance, the capacity to cope with climatic and environmental transformations has been shaped by deforestation and land degradation. In general, these conditions have reduced the ability to perform traditional practices, affecting the accuracy of Indigenous observations of nature and the construction of resilience indicators. A direct barrier can be perceived when industrial developments occupy Indigenous territories producing massive migration, overgrazing and loss of traditional practices which eventually permeate their social and economic values.

On the other hand, there is insufficient stewardship approaches across Indigenous livelihoods owing to the limited information of vulnerability indicators. This gap may intensify the level of risks and make more complex the adaptive capacity to cope with climate variability. In other words, the impacts of climate change upon indigenous peoples and their territorial ecosystems would be majorly noted where stewardship systems are poorly developed. Other pressures intensify historical vulnerabilities such as food insecurity, water scarcity, monoculture and erratic rainfalls which affect inlands and coastal areas.

Pathways and Solutions

One of the aspects I have identified during my academic experience exploring Indigenous traditions is the biophysical sphere where these groups perform their social, economic and governance interactions. Additionally, the historical adaptive capacity to survive and to cope with environmental change. The diversification of their natural and economic capitals and the notions of reciprocity and solidarity, represent examples of these coping mechanisms. Using indigenous experiential knowledge, these coping mechanisms can be intertwined with Indigenous observations, offering unique pathways to reduce their vulnerabilities and to poverty alleviation . Likewise, understanding the natural environment and the scale of transformations of its physical and biological systems, provide critical elements that can be applied for future solutions in a climate change context. Additionally, working in synergy with Indigenous groups may also signify the identification of resilience indicators to implement adaptive strategies which can be transformed into new forms of knowledge to sustainable development. These solutions can be found within productive models including agriculture, food systems, forest management and conservation approaches.

On the other hand, the identification of Indigenous values and the analysis of the traditional knowledge that have supported historical livelihood stability in times of rapid climatic and environmental transitions might represent a milestone tool in a climate change context. As dependency and subsistence are common characteristics among these groups, solutions can be built if new forms of knowledge are constructed and incorporated in the scientific field. The co-production of knowledge and integrative collaborative models may facilitate the identification of alternatives for a sustainable use of ecosystem services. On the other hand, the application of innovative and technological procedures into assets at risk, may support the stability of indigenous livelihoods, reducing climatic vulnerabilities. In sum, it is required the identification of the main attributes of local communities and their livelihoods in order to explore resilience opportunities and to develop adaptive capacities that bring solutions in form of innovations and other forms of development.

Scopes for Sustainable Development

The global agenda for Sustainable Development requires an interdisciplinary approach and diverse knowledge systems that help to collaborate, integrate and engage researchers and practitioners to one of main objectives of developing nations and their rural areas: to design and promote solutions for poverty reduction and sustainable development in a context of climate change.  The Sustainable Development Goals pledge to “leave no-one behind”, which is an invitation to contribute with the provision of solutions and transformative ideas from different scholar sources. But more importantly, to listen the voice of one the most vulnerable and marginalised, that is the case of Indigenous communities.

As most of the data collection and research on climate change have been highly focused on developed countries, explorations in developing nations have been limited and less well-understood. That includes the traditional perspectives of Indigenous peoples. In this case, researching on the pathways to mitigate to impacts of climate change across these vulnerable groups can enable the construction of new forms of understanding poverty, development and resilience. The notion can play an important role within the policy agenda of developing countries and Small Islands Developing States (SIDS), where Indigenous and rural groups have been highly exposed to poverty and recent environmental variability. The suggested approaches may also inform upon future sustainability measures that can be linked to the Sustainable Development Goals.

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