Introduction: The Growing Importance of Traditional Forest-Related Knowledge

Abstract

The knowledge, innovations, and practices of local and indigenous communities have supported their forest-based livelihoods for countless generations. The role of traditional knowledge—and the bio-cultural diversity it sustains—is increasingly recognized as important by decision makers, conservation and develop­ment organizations, and the scientific community. However, there has long existed a lack of understanding of, and an uneasy relationship between, the beliefs and practices of traditional communities and those of formal forest science. This mutual incomprehension has a number of unfortunate consequences, both for human societies and our planet’s forests and woodlands, which play out both on solid ground in many parts of the world as well as in international policy arenas. In this chapter, we define traditional forest-related knowledge, and explore the relationships between traditional knowledge systems and scientific approaches. We follow with an overview of the scope and central questions to be addressed in subsequent chapters of the book, and then provide an overview of international and intergovernmental policy processes that affect traditional knowledge and its practitioners. Finally, we introduce some of the major international programmes and research initiatives that focus on traditional forest-related knowledge and its applications for sustaining livelihoods in local and indigenous communities in a world struggling to deal with environmental, cultural, social, and economic change.