Indigenous and Local Knowledge Contributions to Social-Ecological Systems’ Management

Social-ecological systems are complex and adaptive, for which their governance requires holistic understanding of the different components of the system and their relations, capacity to respond to change and uncertainty, and well-functioning institutional frameworks. Probably because Indigenous and local knowledge systems often entail these characteristics, lands and waters managed by Indigenous peoples and local communities experience a less rapid decline of biodiversity and continue to maintain their functions than other land and seascapes. In this chapter, I draw on published research to summarize how Indigenous and local knowledge systems (1) draw on conceptualizations of nature that contribute to the long-term maintenance of functioning social-ecological systems, (2) enhance our understanding of complex social-ecological systems, and (3) articulate resistance to social-ecological systems degradation. The chapter discusses why, although Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ contributions to complex social-ecological system management are growingly recognized, such contributions will not be fully realized unless Indigenous peoples and local communities are fully acknowledged as equal partners at different levels of environmental governance. The chapter concludes by suggesting that the post-normal science approach proposed by the Barcelona School offers principles to do so.