While all land is Indigenous land, only about 28% of global land area is currently under the management of Indigenous peoples. These lands, however, include at least 40% of global protected areas, and a higher ratio of conserved to non-conserved lands than other areas. The ecological and cultural histories and current statuses of these landscapes vary widely, but Indigenous peoples indisputably play a crucial role in the movement to protect 30% of the earth’s landscapes.
A recent study demonstrates how Traditional Ecological Knowledge can guide the corridor planning process to the benefit of both human residents and wildlife. Local communities, especially Indigenous communities with deep and longstanding relationships to place, have valuable insight and experience to inform the processes of corridor and restoration planning.
Haq, S.M., Pieroni, A., Bussmann, R.W., Abd-ElGawad, A.M. and El-Ansary, H.O. 2023. Integrating traditional ecological knowledge into habitat restoration: implications for meeting forest restoration challenges. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 19: 33.
Traditional Ecological Knowledge systems have evolved in conjunction with particular landscapes and include thorough understandings of the ecological relationships and histories of a place. These ways of knowing can guide management at a fine spatial scale that other types of scientific information may be unable to capture.
The study took place in three villages in the Dering-Dibru Saikhowa Elephant Corridor in Northeast India. The forests in the area support the livelihoods and survival of the Mishing, Adi, and Galos communities, among others. While the relationships these groups have established with the forested landscape emphasize careful harvesting and long-term sustainability, invasive species and changing human pressures have nevertheless degraded the corridor landscape.
In the process of restoring this corridor, researchers engaged in conversation with study participants in these villages about local tree species. They collected information in local languages from residents about how trees are used by humans (ie., for food, fuel, and medicine) as well as by wildlife. The researchers also sampled tree species in various habitat types with the assistance of at least one knowledgeable informant from the community. The uses, images, and local names that were compiled were documented and shared among community members to assist in the preservation of this knowledge.
After this community-engaged process to select species for restoration was complete, nearly 700 individuals were trained and compensated to do the work of planting and conducting early maintenance for restored areas. These plantings represented 31 species and over 95,000 individual trees. Species that were prioritized for restoration had many reports of use and/or varied uses. Ten of these species had more than six recorded uses, some dating back to ancestral times, and 68% of all species included had multiple uses.
This method helped keep restoration efforts consistent with traditional practices of conserving woody species, making use of non-timber forest products, protecting ecosystems, and providing an economic safety net. The authors emphasize that as similar collaborative methods are used, Indigenous peoples should be listened to and supported in leadership at every stage of the process.
The authors caution against a top-down approach, as Traditional Ecological Knowledge doesn’t and can’t exist without Indigenous people, and any restoration effort needs community engagement. Extractive methods that attempt to make use of Traditional Ecological Knowledge without the appropriate engagement and agreement of Indigenous peoples can serve to further ecological and social harms.
Collaborative partnerships and stakeholder-engaged or translational processes lead to innovative science. When a wide range of partners are engaged thoroughly and from the beginning, corridor implementation and other conservation projects have an easier time getting off the ground and a more lasting impact. The group of partners and stakeholders should include Indigenous communities, as well as individuals who aren’t researchers or restoration professionals. This study provides a roadmap for a successful ethno-biological approach to restoration that can inspire similar partnerships elsewhere.
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