Indigenous ecological knowledge and global environmental change

Abstract

Sustainable development, recommended by the Brundtland Commission, is accepted as the guiding principle on environment and development issues, by the international community. The report also drew attention of the international community to the crucial prospective contribution by indigenous ecological knowledge towards resolving global environmental issues and preventing further deterioration of environment and natural resources. Indigenous and traditional ecological knowledge has been receiving validity in decision-making today. Indigenous communities generally construct policies that allow successful resource management. They respected nature’s carrying capacity and threshold limits and had management approaches for ecological resilience and regeneration. Intimate association of indigenous communities with nature and their dependency on natural resources are the key secrets behind indigenous ecological knowledge. Indigenous ecological knowledge can provide valuable ecological and biological insights into sustainable use of resources and their regeneration. Vast potential of indigenous ecological knowledge, for its meaningful use in finding solutions to cope with global environmental change, remains yet untapped. The introductory chapter discusses various aspects of indigenous ecological knowledge, its integration with modern scientific knowledge and its role in coping with the global environmental change.