IPBES report highlights Indigenous & local knowledge as key to ‘transformative change’

Indigenous and local knowledge systems’ ability to nurture human-nature interconnection can play an important role in creating the type of transformative change needed to address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss, according to a new report published Dec. 16 by the U.N.’s biodiversity policy panel. Prepared by more than 100 experts from 42 countries working under the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the report outlines strategies for this transformative change to meet the upcoming global biodiversity goals and the 2050 vision for living in harmony with nature. It defines transformative change as “fundamental system-wide shifts in views — ways of thinking, knowing and seeing; structures — ways of organizing, regulating and governing; and practices — ways of doing, behaving and relating,” according to an IPBES press release. The report identifies three underlying causes of the biodiversity crisis: the disconnection from nature, inequitable power and wealth distribution, and the prioritization of short-term gains. Karen O’Brien, co-chair of the assessment and a sociology professor at the University of Oslo, said these issues have led to destructive views and behaviors that exacerbate biodiversity loss, including the risk of irreversible tipping points that threaten ecological systems. Many knowledge systems, including Indigenous and local knowledge, often “provide complementary insights into how [transformative change] occurs and how to promote, accelerate and navigate the change needed for a just and sustainable world,” O’Brien in the release. The report concluded with four principles to guide the change, five strategies to advance it, six broad…This article was originally published on Mongabay