Indigenous Knowledge: A Key to Climate Solutions
For example, controlled burning in Australia and North America is an indigenous practice applied by indigenous people. Low-intensity fires were managed so that undergrowth would be cleared and greater wildfires could not spread, allowing important plants to grow. In the face of more severe climate-driven wildfires, this traditional practice is gaining attention as a way to manage fire-prone landscapes.
Indigenous populations in the Amazon rainforest have classically used agroforestry practices to mix trees and crops in a manner approximating the behavior of the natural forest. Such systems allow for maintenance of biodiversity and carbon storage while also producing food and other products for local communities. For example, research has quantified that in the Amazon managed by indigenous people, there is less deforestation and more biodiversity than in comparable territory managed by others.
While indigenous knowledge has started to be recognized, much has to be done to see it fully integrated into global climate policies. The indigenous people must be put into the decision making levels, with their knowledge at par with scientific knowledge.