"We, the indigenous peoples, walk to the future in the footprints of our ancestors" was the key message of the indigenous people in Rio in 1992 when they committed to a sustainable future rooted in the legacy of knowledge and worldwide views of their elders.
Twenty years later for the first time indigenous people have convened a side meeting at the forum on science, technology & innovation for sustainable development. The side event "Indigenous Knowledge and Science: From Recognition to Knowledge Co-Production" is testimony to how far the science community has come in embracing traditional knowledge.
The FANRPAN delegation at the Forum for Science and Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development on the 13th of June attended the Indigenous Knowledge side event organised by UNESCO and the International Council for Science (ICSU).
The panellists shared how they are working with UNESCO to transform and expand engagement among local and indigenous knowledge holders, the scientific community and decision makers. Participants heard how there is increasing collaborative engagement of indigenous and scientific knowledge holders especially today in the context of accelerating ecological, socio-economic and political dynamics. Indigenous Peoples continue to engage the global community in innovative actions that extend beyond recognition, to joint action between scientists and indigenous peoples to collaborate and generate new knowledge.
Speaking at the event, Joji Carino from TEBTEBBA (Indigenous Peoples' International Centre for Policy Research) acknowledged that, whilst science is important, what is needed to inform innovative solutions to complex sustainable development challenges in the 21st century are inter-disciplinary, multi-cultural knowledge platforms that embrace traditional knowledge.
The United Nations University in partnership with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the UNDP GEF Small Grants Programme and UNESCO took the opportunity to launch a recently published book
Weathering Uncertainty: Traditional Knowledge for Climate Change Assessment and Adaptation.
For more information on the initiative and to download the book please visit
www.ipmpcc.org
