Conservation efforts based on local ecological knowledge: The role of social variables in identifying environmental indicators

Sobral, André; Torre‐Cuadros, María de los Ángeles La; Alves, Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega; Albuquerque, Ulysses Paulino

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.05.065

Cited by 30 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Environmental indicators that are locally used to read its signs and to interpret the expected climate conditions [47]. Indigenous peoples worldwide use cues from nature to carry out seasonal activities, according to studies from different regions [18,27,48]. The management of annual activities is based on long experiences of the aboriginal communities [11,28].…”

Section: Tek Based Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Based on their experience and knowledge, indigenous people used indicators to interpret natural surroundings and predict both short-and long-term seasonal processes [29,50]. Besides the scientific value, indicators and TEK were incorporated in the adjustment with environmental changes [21,27,50], and in developing priorities for adaptive strategies [23,28].…”

Section: Tek Based Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies suggested that indigenous peoples in different settlements worldwide used various types of signs or indicators to interpret their surroundings, forecast resources, decide activities and predict environmental processes [26]. On the whole, they developed several categories of an indicator, including: Biological signs, such as behaviors of wild animals, reproduction and migration of birds and typical phenological phases of plants, and abiotic environmental conditions, such as temperature/ precipitation, a constellation of stars, cloud cover and type, and soil condition [5,27,47,51]. Likewise, our results are consistent with these researches, which recognizes two types of indicators: Biophysical (e.g., variations in pastures and weather) and socio-cultural [24].…”

Section: Tek Based Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most of the researches on adaptation to climate change have been focused on tropics and lowland (e.g., Ghana, Zimbabwe and Brazil) [11,21,27]. Recently, documenting the traditional knowledge of aboriginal mountainous communities (e.g., alpine Himalaya region, Ethiopia and Tanzania) [15,[28][29][30] was considered an essential task.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Seasonal Calendars in the Context of Climate Change: A Case Study from China

et al. 2019

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A seasonal calendar, based on traditional knowledge of ecological indicators, seasonal variations and associated activities, can provide a baseline for understanding the practices of indigenous along with climatic variation. This paper investigates the ethno-ecological knowledge of indigenous people in Taxkorgan regarding the use of ecological cues to conduct seasonal activities that harmonize with climatic variations. Meteorological data from the nearest station was used to understand climatic variations and develop indices. The results revealed that indigenous elders still adopt traditional methods to decide the time of various annual activities observing and using seasonal cues, such as the height and color of grass, the arriving of migratory birds and phenological observations. Moreover, same or diverse indicators were used at settlements located in different elevations. The analysis revealed that the region was recently getting warmer and wetter compared to previous decades, and local perceptions were matched with climatic recordings. Local inhabitants already practiced earlier plantation of crops (e.g., wheat) in recent years. Climatic indices calculated revealed and validated recent weather condition can support earlier plantation of crops. Hence, the strong forecasting system using meteorological evidence to support existing local knowledge on ecological indicators and adjust seasonal calendars can improve indigenous people’s abilities to cope with climate risks. Furthermore, this can support in developing adaptation schemes that respond to community needs. The approaches and findings can be used to facilitate the management of these natural resource based on the adaptive framework and to create data that can be tested in subsequent studies.

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Section: Tek Based Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Tek Based Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Tek Based Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Seasonal Calendars in the Context of Climate Change: A Case Study from China

et al. 2019

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“…Local ecological knowledge (LEK), for example, is a set of wisdom that people in a specific location possess from their experience of dealing with the natural environment [22,23]. There are cases where indigenous people have passed such local knowledge through many generations, and this is referred to as traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) [24][25][26][27].…”

Section: Knowledge To Support Collaborative Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formation of a Community of Practice in the Watershed Scale, with Integrated Local Environmental Knowledge

2018

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Rural communities around the world face formidable problems such as resource depletion, environmental degradation and economic decline. While the term 'community' is often used without clear definition or context, it can be viewed as a group of people emerging through social interaction. Through a series of collaborative action toward a shared goal, a community of practice can be formed. This paper proposes a hypothetical framework of integrated local environmental knowledge (ILEK), and applies it to analyze the processes of collaborative actions in the case of the Nishibetsu Watershed in Hokkaido, Japan. The case study identified several phases of actions, all initiated by a group of local residents on a grassroots and voluntary basis. These local resident-initiated collaborative actions had a particular confluence of elements to facilitate gradual strengthening of formal and informal institutions in the watershed scale beyond jurisdictional boundaries, making this a worthy case to study. The local residents used diverse types of knowledge, including livelihood-based technologies and skills of working as a group and with local governments, for establishing and strengthening various institutions for collaborative actions, with such knowledge being used in the manner of tools in a box of bricolage for community formation.

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Local fishers’ knowledge on the ecology, economic importance, and threats faced by populations of African snakehead fish, Parachanna obscura, within Côte d'Ivoire freshwater ecosystems

Amoutchi

Kamelan

Kargbo

et al. 2023

Aquaculture Fish & Fisheries

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Traditionally, population sizes, ecology, and threats to species and their habitats have been obtained by empirical scientific studies. However, the knowledge of local and indigenous communities worldwide has been acknowledged as an extremely rich and underused source of information on how the environment, biodiversity, and local conditions are changing over time. In this view, the objective of the study was to investigate local fishers’ knowledge of local names, habitats, uses, market price, change in population abundance, and threats faced by the snakehead fish (Parachanna obscura) in Ivorian freshwaters. The study was conducted using face‐to‐face interviews and a structured questionnaire with 381 fishers during the period from October 2020 to February 2021. The results show that this fish species is strongly appreciated for the good taste of its flesh, with market prices varying between 1.5 and 3€ on average. All respondents confirmed that the species is not yet produced in aquaculture and mentioned their willingness to support its introduction into aquaculture. Several local names of P. obscura fish were recorded, with ‘Sounôgô‐djêguê’ (used in 36% of fishers’ ethnic groups), ‘Pino’ (21%), and ‘Édjoué‐bile’ (21%) being the most popular names used in Ivorian fishers’ communities. All respondents agreed that P. obscura is a potamodromous fish species living preferably in wetlands, rivers, lakes, and streams. A significant decrease in the abundance of this fish was observed by 71% of fishers, perceived mainly due to overfishing, deforestation around watersheds, habitat destruction/modification, obnoxious fishing practices, pesticide use in farms close to watersheds, and climate change, especially lack of rainfall. The study clearly demonstrated the importance of local ecological knowledge of fishers in identifying threats to fish populations, habitat types used by the species, and other relevant information; therefore, this ecological knowledge has to be integrated into biomonitoring and conservation policy of aquatic biodiversity. The information obtained from this study is also helpful for future studies on the management and cultivation of this species.

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Conservation efforts based on local ecological knowledge: The role of social variables in identifying environmental indicators

Cited by 30 publications

References 60 publications

Role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Seasonal Calendars in the Context of Climate Change: A Case Study from China

Role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Seasonal Calendars in the Context of Climate Change: A Case Study from China

Formation of a Community of Practice in the Watershed Scale, with Integrated Local Environmental Knowledge

Local fishers’ knowledge on the ecology, economic importance, and threats faced by populations of African snakehead fish, Parachanna obscura, within Côte d'Ivoire freshwater ecosystems

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