Value Of Traditional Ecological Knowledge Research Articles

Advancing arboriculture through human and tree ecology

This paper explores the significance of ecosystem functions in maintaining the health and balance of ecological systems, particularly in the context of planning, managing, and maintaining trees in landscape settings. It emphasises the multifaceted relationship between humans and trees, encompassing cultural, ecological, economic, and emotional connections, and underscores the value of traditional ecological knowledge alongside empirical science. By combining these two ways of knowing, along with social science insights into human health and well-being, future landscapes can be crafted to be sustainable, diverse, and functional. As urbanisation continues to shape landscapes globally, urban planners face the challenge of managing rapidly changing environments. Urban forestry and arboriculture have emerged to address these challenges, aiming to enhance environmental quality and human well-being. The concept of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) has gained traction, recognising the importance of integrating natural systems into urban planning to address environmental challenges while preserving functional ecosystems. This paper advocates for an enhanced understanding of tree and human ecology to navigate the complex relations between trees, people, and their environments. It calls for interdisciplinary collaboration, research, and education to inform policy, assess environmental impacts, and widen approaches to ecosystem management. By monitoring ecosystem health and collaborating across disciplines, arboriculturists and urban foresters can shape resilient practices for tree conservation and sustainable urban development. In conclusion, integrating tree ecology into urban planning and management practices is essential for ensuring the health, resilience, and sustainability of tree populations and the ecosystems they inhabit. By embracing a holistic understanding of trees and their environments, professionals can contribute to shaping future landscapes that support both human well-being and biodiversity.

The Value of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Stormwater Management: A Case Study of a Traditional Village

In recent years, floods have occurred frequently in urban and rural areas around the world, causing heavy casualties and property damage. In contrast, some traditional Chinese villages have never flooded. It is hypothesized that these villages, because of their long-term adaptations to their environment, hold necessary ecological knowledge regarding stormwater management so that damaging flooding can be avoided. Previous studies on the traditional ecological knowledge regarding stormwater management in traditional Chinese villages are mostly qualitative studies, and these fail in their evaluation of the functional performance of stormwater management facilities and measures. Therefore, we use the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) in our quantitative evaluation of stormwater management in Zhuge, a traditional Chinese village, so as to rationally analyze the traditional ecological knowledge regarding stormwater management in traditional Chinese villages. In order to analyze the functions and efficiency of stormwater management facilities such as ponds, canals, and permeable pavement in Zhuge Village, this study sets out four scenarios: the No Pond Scenario (NO-PO), the No Canal Scenario (NO-CO), the No Permeable Pavement Scenario (NO-PP), and the actual Current Scenario (CS). The SWMM is used to simulate and quantitatively analyze the stormwater hydrological processes of the four scenarios in different rainfall return periods. The following conclusions emerged from our evaluation of the approaches used in Zhuge Village: (1) The rainwater regulation system composed of ponds, canals, and permeable pavement can play a dual role in alleviating rainstorm disasters and fully storing rainwater, achieving the flexible allocation of rainwater resources. It can effectively alleviate the problem of uneven time and space of local rainfall in shallow, hilly areas, reflecting the traditional ecological wisdom of residents in adapting to the local natural environment. (2) As a rainwater regulation device, ponds are very effective in storing water and mitigating periods of intense runoff. (3) The main function of canals is to rapidly drain water and balance rainwater resources. (4) The main function of permeable pavement is to increase rainwater infiltration and reduce the peak runoff and runoff. (5) The use of the SWMM proved effective in both quantifying the results as well as elucidating stormwater management strategies.

Advancing Environmental Justice through the Integration of Traditional Ecological Knowledge into Environmental Policy

As our planet faces more frequent and severe environmental threats due to climate change (including threats to biodiversity), environmental justice will be essential to ensure that the costs and burdens of combating these threats are shared equally, borne by all people worldwide in a fair and equitable manner. If the past is any indicator, however, environmental problems—and their “solutions”—disproportionately affect poor communities and communities of color, including Indigenous communities. Despite these past injustices, Indigenous lands, which make up only 20 percent of the Earth’s territory, contain 80 percent of the world’s remaining biodiversity—evidence that Indigenous peoples are among the most effective stewards of the environment. A primary reason for this remarkable statistic is the use and practice of Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge; ecological wisdom which has been passed down for generations and has been shown to strengthen community resilience in response to the multiple stressors of global environmental change. While the United States government has been slow to acknowledge the value of Traditional Ecological Knowledge, it has recently begun to incorporate that knowledge into environmental policy in response to the worldwide climate crisis. Continuing the integration of Traditional Ecological Knowledge into government environmental policy will ensure that such policies will be more effective at the federal, state, and local levels and more equitable in their application. Western scientists, government officials, and global leaders need to build trusting and co-equal relationships with Indigenous communities by actively listening to all cultures and respecting the many kinds of knowledge systems required to conserve the natural world and all living beings. This paper will address how incorporating Traditional Ecological Knowledge into U.S. policy would help safeguard the environment from further biodiversity loss and other ecological destruction, and advance environmental justice to ensure the fair treatment of all.

Mapping styles of ethnobiological thinking in North and Latin America: Different kinds of integration between biology, anthropology, and TEK

Ethnobiology has emerged as an important transdisciplinary field that addresses the epistemic and political value of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) through an integration of biological and social sciences. In North and Latin America, ethnobiology encompasses a diversity of approaches towards TEK but there is no consensus on how TEK relates to biological and anthropological research. The aim of this article is to develop an account that helps to map integration strategies in ethnobiological approaches in North and Latin America that jointly embrace biology, anthropology, and TEK. Borrowing the notion of ‘styles of reasoning’ and the framework of integrative pluralism from philosophy of science, we argue that ethnobiologists across the Americas have developed heterogeneous research programs. At the same time, we argue that these styles of reasoning tend to converge in prioritizing biological perspectives and are often limited in their understandings of cultural practices due to a lack of substantive ethnographic methods.

Traditional ecological knowledge and practices for forest conservation in Thathe Vondo in Limpopo Province, South Africa

This study combined qualitative and quantitative research to identify and describe the key indigenous practices used to conserve/protect the sacred or “Holy” forest in Thathe Vondo, South Africa, and to examine the attitudes held by rural households regarding the value of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) in forest conservation. Key informant interviews with sacred forest custodians (n = 6), household administered questionnaire surveys (n = 160) in three villages surrounding the sacred forest and field observations were employed to collect data. Data obtained from interviews were analysed using thematic content analysis, while the questionnaires were assessed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Field observations helped to corroborate the results from the interviews and questionnaires. The study found that the key TEK that is used to conserve sacred forest in the study area includes rituals (u phasa) and customs for the protection of ancient burial grounds. Other important TEK comprises myths (lightning bird–Ndadzi and ancestral lion) and taboos involving a complete ban on activities in the forest other than the above-mentioned rituals. The study also found that the local communities have positive attitudes towards conservation of the local sacred forest. The positive attitudes equated to compliance as local communities were found not to harvest fuelwood or hunt in the sacred forest because of respect for, and fear of, different forms of TEK. These findings confirmed that TEK contributes to the conservation and protection of sacred forest in the study area.

Food for Thought: Building Socially Conscious Readers and Writers through Exploring Eating Practices and Sustainability Perspectives

Food for Thought: Building Socially Conscious Readers and Writers through Exploring Eating Practices and Sustainability Perspectives Silvia Rodríguez Sabater Globalization in the twenty-first century has created new and interconnected challenges for everyone, especially for the current generation of students in our classrooms. Language learning can be part of the solution, by opening students’ eyes to the social, cultural, economic, and environmental issues around the world. The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) has been advocating for the inclusion of the 5 Cs—Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities—since 1996. More recently, the publication of Words and Actions: Teaching Languages through the Lens of Social Justice (Glynn et al. 2014), and second edition in 2018, shed more light on how to teach these challenging topics. Recently, the Modern Language Association (MLA) has called for proposals on the “greening” of the Spanish curriculum for their 2020 convention. University students are and will be faced with complex twenty-first-century economic problems, such as food deserts, costs of industrial agriculture, organic regulations and market demand, sustainable food systems, value of traditional ecological knowledge, and regulations and business ethics related to food. These economic problems cannot be separated from social problems, such as political implications from food insecurity, loss of traditional ecological knowledge around food issues, food ethics, GMO vs. non-GMO debates, nutrition issues, speciesism in agriculture, policy, and regulations around food. In addition to the varied economic dimensions, environmental problems require creative answers to tackle the impact of industrial agriculture, agricultural pollution and runoff, climate crisis and agriculture, and deforestation and agriculture. Immediate solutions are required, and we need to equip our students with the tools to address and solve such real-world problems. In other words, the Spanish language classroom can be a crucial part of the education of globally prepared solutionaries, individuals able to address and solve issues (Weil 2016) and who are sustainability literate because they have the knowledge and skills to advocate for resilient social, economic, and environmental systems. The College of Charleston has made these concerns part of the Quality Enhancement Plan and has encouraged faculty to create courses in all fields of study. 1. The Case of SPAN 313: A Composition Course An intermediate composition section at the College of Charleston was taught in Spring 2019 aimed to build socially conscious readers and writers through exploring eating practices and sustainability perspectives. The course learning outcomes are: 1. sustainability literacy (identify various elements of sustainability in the Spanish-speaking world, key ways to be more sustainable in personal life, and the relationship between social/cultural, economic, and environmental factors); [End Page 155] 2. the development of interpretive reading and listening (understand, interpret, and analyze what is heard, read, or viewed on a variety of topics related to food practices and sustainability perspectives); 3. the development of presentational writing (present information, concepts, and ideas to inform, explain, persuade, and narrate on a variety of topics related to food practices and sustainability perspectives using appropriate media and adapting to various audiences of readers). The course themes are: 1) food deserts and social justice; 2) diets (Mediterranean diet, plant-based eating, and Mexican gastronomy); 3) habits (milk alternatives, organic produce, local products, drinking straws, and disposable products); 4) traditional agriculture and foods of Latin America (Mesoamerican chinampas and Andean terrazas); and 5) fair trade chocolate and coffee; and 6) cattle raising and deforestation. Students read authentic texts written by Spanish native speakers for members of that culture, and they interpret the texts by identifying key words, the main idea(s), supporting details, and the organizational features and author’s perspective, inferring meaning of unfamiliar words, and identifying cultural and sustainability perspectives. A list of these texts is included in the Appendix. 2. Presentational Writing Activities Students carry out a variety of presentational writing activities such as essays, discussion board posts, summaries of food and sustainability events on campus, and on invited speaker talks to class. The writing activities were structured according to the guidelines for ACTFL proficiency, beginning with writing assignments that asked students to narrate and describe, and then propose and persuade. The assignments increased in length and expectations for vocabulary and...

Integrating Participatory Methods and Remote Sensing to Enhance Understanding of Ecosystem Service Dynamics Across Scales

The value of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) for informing resource management has long been recognized; however, its incorporation into ecosystem services (ES) assessments remains uncommon. Often “top-down” approaches are utilized, depending on “expert knowledge”, that are not relevant to local resource users. Here we propose an approach for combining participatory methods with remote sensing to provide a more holistic understanding of ES change. Participatory mapping in focus group discussions identified TEK regarding what ES were present, where, and their value to communities. TEK was then integrated with satellite imagery to extrapolate to the landscape-scale. We demonstrate our method for Nyangatom communities in the Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia, showing for the first time the ES impacts of regional environmental change, including the Gibe III dam, for communities in the Omo River basin. Results confirmed the collapse of flood-retreat cultivation associated with the loss of the annual Omo flood. Communities reported declines in many other provisioning ES, and these results were supported by satellite mapping, which showed substantial reductions in land covers with high ES value (shrubland and wetland), leading to consequent ES declines. Our mixed-methods approach has potential to be applied in other regions to generate locally relevant information for evaluating ES dynamics and improving management of natural resources.

The Value of Traditional Ecological Knowledge for the Environmental Health Sciences and Biomedical Research.

Background:Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) is a term, relatively new to Western science, that encompasses a subset of traditional knowledge maintained by Indigenous nations about the relationships between people and the natural environment. The term was first shared by tribal elders in the 1980s to help raise awareness of the importance of TEK. TEK has become a construct that Western scientists have increasingly considered for conducting culturally relevant research with Tribal nations.Objectives:The authors aim to position TEK in relation to other emerging schools of thought, that is, concepts such as the exposome, social determinants of health (SDoH), and citizen science, and to explore TEK’s relevance to environmental health research. This article provides examples of successful application of TEK principles in federally funded research when implemented with respect for the underlying cultural context and in partnership with Indigenous communities.Discussion:Rather than treating TEK as an adjunct or element to be quantified or incorporated into Western scientific studies, TEK can instead ground our understanding of the environmental, social, and biomedical determinants of health and improve our understanding of health and disease. This article provides historical and recent examples of how TEK has informed Western scientific research.Conclusions:This article provides recommendations for researchers and federal funders to ensure respect for the contributions of TEK to research and to ensure equity and self-determination for Tribal nations who participate in research. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP858

The role of traditional ecological knowledge in ecosystem services management: the case of four rural communities in Northern Ghana

ABSTRACTThis study combines qualitative and quantitative research to examine perceptions held by rural households in Northern Ghana regarding the value of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) in the management of ecosystem services. Key informant interviews (n = 14), household questionnaire surveys (n = 195), field observations, and dissemination meetings were employed to collect data. Results suggest the regular use of different but interrelated forms of TEK, i.e. taboos and totems, customs and rituals, rules and regulations, and traditional protected areas, to manage ecosystem services through existing sociocultural mechanisms. However, household awareness of TEK did not equate with compliance. A wide discrepancy in views on TEK was observed across surveyed households. A generalized linear model (GLM) regression analysis suggests age to be the most significant determinant of TEK awareness and compliance. Compared with mature and younger adults, the elderly appear more likely to be aware of and comply with characterized TEK systems. Notwithstanding these findings, the use of traditional protected areas as a form of TEK appears to be highly valued by the majority of survey participants. Demand-led research aimed at examining TEK’s role in the face of changing socioeconomic and environmental conditions can contribute to the formulation and implementation of policy-relevant strategies.EDITED BY Leni Camacho

Ethnobiology, Political Ecology, and Conservation

Ethnobiology is increasingly recognized from within and outside of its boundaries as interdisciplinary. The Society of Ethnobiology defines the field as “the scientific study of dynamic relationships among peoples, biota, and environments.” Ethnobiologists are able to skillfully assess challenges of biocultural conservation across the divides of political ecology. They are situated to mediate between conservation programs that target biodiversity preservation with little concern for the needs of human communities, and those (such as the New Conservation movement) that privilege those needs. Ethnobiology also transcends the pervasive assumption in these fields that Western knowledge and economic goals should guide change. Because of ethnobiology's importance as a bridging discipline, it is important to ask what unifies ethnobiology. Is it common subject matter? Or, is there an underlying emphasis representing an “ethnobiological perspective?” Answers to these questions are explored here using content analysis and discourse-and-ideology analysis. We use the results to identify the unique roles ethnobiologists play in biocultural conservation. This analysis also proved useful in the systematic identification of four salient themes that unify ethnobiology—ethics in ethnobiology, shared environmental and cultural heritage, interdisciplinary science and non-science, and ecological understanding. How ethnobiologists conceive of themselves is critical for further enrichment of the field as interdisciplinary human-environmental scholarship, particularly in reference to biocultural conservation. Self-definition makes explicit the unique strengths of the field, which by its very nature integrates a sophisticated understanding of political ecology with appreciation of the value of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), social science, and the biological sciences.

Perceptions of the value of traditional ecological knowledge to formal school curricula: opportunities and challenges from Malekula Island, Vanuatu.

BackgroundThe integration of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) into formal school curricula may be a key tool for the revitalisation of biocultural diversity, and has the potential to improve the delivery of educational objectives. This paper explores perceptions of the value of TEK to formal education curricula on Malekula Island, Vanuatu. We conducted 49 interviews with key stakeholders (local TEK experts, educators, and officials) regarding the use of the formal school system to transmit, maintain, and revitalise TEK. Interviews also gathered information on the areas where TEK might add value to school curricula and on the perceived barriers to maintaining and revitalising TEK via formal education programs.ResultsParticipants reported that TEK had eroded on Malekula, and identified the formal school system as a principal driver. Most interviewees believed that if an appropriate format could be developed, TEK could be included in the formal education system. Such an approach has potential to maintain customary knowledge and practice in the focus communities. Participants identified several specific domains of TEK for inclusion in school curricula, including ethnomedical knowledge, agricultural knowledge and practice, and the reinforcement of respect for traditional authority and values. However, interviewees also noted a number of practical and epistemological barriers to teaching TEK in school. These included the cultural diversity of Malekula, tensions between public and private forms of knowledge, and multiple values of TEK within the community.ConclusionsTEK has potential to add value to formal education systems in Vanuatu by contextualising the content and process of curricular delivery, and by facilitating character development and self-awareness in students. These benefits are congruent with UNESCO-mandated goals for curricular reform and provide a strong argument for the inclusion of TEK in formal school systems. Such approaches may also assist in the maintenance and revitalisation of at-risk systems of ethnobiological knowledge. However, we urge further research attention to the significant epistemological challenges inherent in including TEK in formal school, particularly as participants noted the potential for such approaches to have negative consequences.

Traditional ecological knowledge and community-based natural resource management in northeast India

Community-based natural resource management in northeast India has a long history. indigenous knowledge and adaptation are the collective information, with improvement from generation to generation. The expectation is that under community control, local expertise on biodiversity will play a significant role in natural resource management through traditional practices. This paper discusses the characteristics and application of the traditional ecological knowledge of aboriginal peoples in northeast India and its role in natural resource management. Examples are provided in two different eco-cultural landscapes, i.e., Demazong (the Buddhist eco-cultural landscape in Sikkim Himalaya) and the Apatani eco-cultural landscape in Arunachal Pradesh, which illustrate the utility value of traditional ecological knowledge in sustainable natural resource management. Both eco-cultural landscapes are indeed very complex and highly evolved systems with high levels of economic and. ecological efficiencies. The paper concludes that traditional ecological knowledge systems and institutions could serve as entry points into the sustainable utilization and management of natural resources. This could be achieved through the exploration of the cultural practices of the local people and integrating useful aspects into the modern natural resource management expertise. With rapidly depleting biodiversity in the developing tropic regions, there is a greater utilization today than ever before of the value of respecting the "Sacred" as a tool towards better conservation of natural resources.

Wildlife knowledge among migrants in southern Sumatra, Indonesia: implications for conservation

The value of traditional ecological knowledge for biodiversity research and conservation is widely recognized. The value of wildlife knowledge provided by recent migrants is less clear. Photographs of 10 mammal species were shown to 622 individuals in communities near Way Kambas National Park in Sumatra, Indonesia, to assess wildlife knowledge among recent migrants and to identify socio-economic variables that can be used to identify more knowledgeable informants. Knowledge scores were categorized by taxonomic family, genus and species. Large, charismatic and abundant animals were identified more frequently than smaller and more secretive animals. Higher knowledge scores were significantly associated with males, higher educational attainment and past experience with these animals. Number of years respondents had lived in the area and respondent age were also good predictors of higher scores. The characteristics of animals that were likely to be identified more accurately were assessed. Generic terms used to describe animals can confound individual responses. Biodiversity research, conservation and education programmes frequently rely on ‘local’ knowledge to inform management and policy. This information can be a valuable addition to field-based efforts to identify the distribution and abundance of rare endangered species. With more and more migrants living near the world's wildlife protected areas, care must be taken to understand how human demographic shifts may affect such studies.

Dreaming the country and burning the land

Human relationships with the world are deeply affected by the images used to understand and express our place in nature. Ecologically, art and symbolic modelling demonstrate an ordering of information about the world. They are bio-cultural artefacts necessary to ordering human socio-cultural life, and while our regard for art may be predicated on aesthetics, our need for art is biological. The biological imperative of symbolic modelling has not, however, been adequately analysed. Rock-art documents vast environmental knowledge of indigenous and local peoples. A people's ecological knowledge affects its subsistence and adaptation, is relevant to interpreting rock-art, and relates to broader issues of contemporary environmental predicaments. Recent work in this area suggests the value of traditional ecological knowledge in addressing socio-ecological problems, and sheds light on diverse ontologies of knowledge. Ethnoecology has importance in an increasingly interconnected world, and illuminates human encoun...