TradiTional Knowledge and BiodiversiTy - UNU-IAS - United ...

executive summary
The recognition of the contribution of relevant traditional
and indigenous knowledge in relation to actions in
support of biodiversity conservation and its sustainable
and equitable use goes beyond its simple validation in
the context of conventional science-based approaches
to the study of biodiversity. Traditional and indigenous
knowledge related to biodiversity is central to elucidating
its status and trends and for developing plausible scenarios
based on community participation with regard to the way
biodiversity is conserved and used.
Biodiversity-dependent services such as provision of
food and fiber, purification of water and air, climate
regulation and many cultural and spiritual values that
depend on it are key to human well-being and sustainable
development. Learning about biodiversity, about how
traditional and indigenous holders of biodiversity-related
knowledge cope with biodiversity, how this knowledge is
used to effectively manage biodiversity and to maintain
ecosystem services at various scales, as well as which are
the most appropriate approaches to promote education
and raise further awareness on these issues – all of this has
been part and parcel of the mission of Regional Centres
of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development
(RCEs) since their inception.
This book constitutes an important contribution to
multistakeholder learning in the area of biodiversity and
traditional knowledge at the nexus of the goals of the
UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development
(2005-2014) with those of the UN Decade on Biodiversity
(2011-2020), which are mutually reinforcing.
The book provides an important reality check on the way
traditional and indigenous knowledge on biodiversity is
being increasingly widely recognised – in the variety of
social, cultural, economic and environmental contexts
covered by the case studies treated in the book.
Until a few years ago only, the notion of bio-cultural
diversity was still being questioned. Today, bio-cultural
protocols are being designed and implemented to
regulate access to biodiversity and the sharing of the
benefits arising from its utilisation at the local level in
several countries and regions in the world as a concrete
way to operationalise the Nagoya Protocol on
Access and Benefit-Sharing under the Convention on
Biological Diversity.
This book demonstrates further the interlinkages between
biological and cultural diversity and raises important
questions for further research and for the development
of policies which can be better reflective of a more
integrated approach to dealing with biodiversity i.e. an
approach which takes the cultural element of sustainable
development into due account. Not surprisingly,
the education and learning experiences conducted in
the context of the RCEs reveal how artificial separating
biodiversity knowledge from culture can be. It is only
through a process of co-learning among all stakeholders
concerned with biodiversity – each representing a cultural
perspective – that appropriate biodiversity and ecosystem
services policies can be co-designed.
The lessons learned through the experience of the RCEs
are elucidated in this book, including on how to document
those experiences, anticipate the direction which the
international science and policy debate on biodiversity has
taken with regard to the recognition of relevant traditional
and indigenous knowledge. It is now widely recognised
that processes at the science-policy interface, such as
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the
newly-created Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform
on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, must also work
with non-peer reviewed, grey literature and with relevant
knowledge held by local and indigenous communities.
The RCEs constitute not only a network of projects
but also a knowledge network from the experience of
which multiple stakeholders can benefit – governments,
scientists, multilateral environmental agreements, civil
society organisations, and the private sector. The ultimate
objective being learning together about and acting
together for the sake of biodiversity, human well-being
and sustainable development.
Salvatore Aricò
Coordinator, UNESCO-wide Biodiversity Initiative
November 2012
Two decades have passed since nations of the world
assembled in Rio de Janeiro and agreed to adopt a
sustainable development (SD) agenda, promising to chart
a development path that is equitable, environmentally just
and economically rewarding. We now stand at a crossroads
looking for the right path towards the world we want.
The prognosis is not encouraging. According to many
studies conducted by research or policy bodies, we seem
to have made some progress, but still fall far short of what
is required to sustain current levels of well-being. Negative
environmental trends continue to be exacerbated by
human interventions – primarily led by a model of
unsustainable and conspicuous consumption
The unsustainable conversion of natural capital for
supporting this emerging consumer culture while ignoring
the ecological consequences to economies and other
aspects of well-being has become quite entrenched.
The extraordinary emphasis on developing produced
capital appears to have overwhelmed all other aspects of
natural capital required for our well-being.
On the positive side, there is expanding awareness and
a growing acknowledgement of this gap in our planning
and implementation processes. Increasing resolve to
align production activities with environmental and equity
considerations, and efforts aimed at reforming global
institutional structures to create more synergies and
effective implementation of relevant policies are welcome
signs of change. Indeed, the eleventh meeting of the
Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD COP 11) is seen as an opportunity to
streamline various decisions and focus on implementing
them to achieve the different objectives of the Convention,
and more broadly, that are relevant to global goals.
Research and capacity building activities at the
United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies
(UNU-IAS) have examined various aspects related to the
rubric of governance challenges in achieving SD –
from a focus on broad-based development and wellbeing
at the community level, equity issues related to
urbanisation and its implications for environmental
resources, to innovations that could aid in achieving global
goals for policy-making for SD. This publication analyses
a diverse set of biodiversity and traditional knowledge
related case studies from various Regional Centres of
Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development
and highlights the need for strengthening
multistakeholder, cross sectoral partnerships at the local
level for effective implementation of global and national
strategies and targets. It also draws attention to the
importance of education, communication and awareness
building in this context.
Our broader research indicates that despite the exalted
nature of global goals, they become relevant only when
defined and shaped into pragmatic objectives and actions.
This would require cooperative action by all stakeholder
groups, implying that future policy processes need to
ensure their relevance at various levels to guarantee
successful implementation. This is no easy task, but by no
means an impossible one. Current accepted standards
of practice and business norms must be re-oriented
to include a more consultative policy setting with all
major actor representatives. It would require designing
regulations that acknowledge the need for balance among
all forms of capital, and incentives that provide equitable
access to resources and services.
There are a number of expectations from the outcomes
of CBD COP 11, particularly on how the decisions will
be transformed into action and results. UNU-IAS stands
ready to work with its existing and future collaborators to
transform our aspirations into reality as we move forward
in translating the sustainability agenda into action.
Partnerships with the Regional Centres of Expertise on
Education for Sustainable Development are one of the
significant avenues to realise this ambitious task through
learning and capacity development.
Govindan Parayil
Director, UNU-IAS and Vice-Rector, UNU
October 2012
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