Integrating Local and Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK) Systems into Climate Adaptation Policy for Resilience Building, and Sustainability in Agriculture

Stephen Chitengi Sakapaji

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijsdr.20220801.12

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Integrating Local and Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK) Systems into Climate Adaptation Policy for Resilience Building, and Sustainability in Agriculture

Stephen Chitengi Sakapaji

Published in International Journal of Sustainable Development Research (Volume 8, Issue 1)

Received: 13 November 2021 Accepted: 29 November 2021 Published: 23 March 2022

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Abstract

With the inception of global climate change and its related risks, impacts, and challenges many rural and indigenous communities across the globe are today facing tremendous cultural, economic, and environmental change which is likely going to weaken their adaptability and resilience capacities to climate change. Indigenous and local people have for centuries been known to possess the capacity to adapt to environmental change within their ecological environment. However, in the face of profound and continuous global environmental change, some scholars have argued and projected that cultural, biological diversity, as well as local resilience capacities to environmental change, will likely be severely impacted leading to the ultimate loss of these valuable sources of livelihood and survival of the many remote, rural, and local communities across the world. Despite this popular notion that local and Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK) systems will disappear, the academic vision of local and IEK has progressively shifted from being viewed as a static body of knowledge to one of dynamism. Today, this knowledge is being hybridized through the accommodation of new forms of information or its exposition to external socio-economic drivers. Therefore, its relevance and the role it plays in disaster risk management, natural resource conservation, and management, and now in climate change adaptation must be clearly understood, acknowledged, and given the utmost attention, it deserves if we are to fully address the impacts emanating from a warming climate. In understanding the role and relevance of local and IEK systems in climate change adaptation and disaster risk management this paper analyzes present climate change-related impacts on agriculture in Barisal Southern Bangladesh and identifies effective local and indigenous ecological knowledge adaptation mechanisms being utilized by the local people in this region for climate change adaptation, resilience building, and sustainability. Through literature reviews, fieldwork research, interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) the findings of this research indicate that local and indigenous adaptation strategies to climate change impacts are striving and are enhancing the adaptability and resilience capacities of the many poor local people in this region. This research, therefore, recommends that the usefulness and relevance of local and IEK must be acknowledged and incorporated into the mainstream developmental and climate change policies, particularly at the local and community level where resources are scarce, and the adaptability capacity, is weak.

Published in	International Journal of Sustainable Development Research (Volume 8, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijsdr.20220801.12
Page(s)	9-24
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Climate, Local Knowledge, Indigenous, Sustainability, Agriculture, Adaptation, Bangladesh

References

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Stephen Chitengi Sakapaji. (2022). Integrating Local and Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK) Systems into Climate Adaptation Policy for Resilience Building, and Sustainability in Agriculture. International Journal of Sustainable Development Research, 8(1), 9-24. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsdr.20220801.12

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Stephen Chitengi Sakapaji. Integrating Local and Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK) Systems into Climate Adaptation Policy for Resilience Building, and Sustainability in Agriculture. Int. J. Sustain. Dev. Res. 2022, 8(1), 9-24. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsdr.20220801.12

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Stephen Chitengi Sakapaji. Integrating Local and Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK) Systems into Climate Adaptation Policy for Resilience Building, and Sustainability in Agriculture. Int J Sustain Dev Res. 2022;8(1):9-24. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsdr.20220801.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ijsdr.20220801.12,
  author = {Stephen Chitengi Sakapaji},
  title = {Integrating Local and Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK) Systems into Climate Adaptation Policy for Resilience Building, and Sustainability in Agriculture},
  journal = {International Journal of Sustainable Development Research},
  volume = {8},
  number = {1},
  pages = {9-24},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijsdr.20220801.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsdr.20220801.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijsdr.20220801.12},
  abstract = {With the inception of global climate change and its related risks, impacts, and challenges many rural and indigenous communities across the globe are today facing tremendous cultural, economic, and environmental change which is likely going to weaken their adaptability and resilience capacities to climate change. Indigenous and local people have for centuries been known to possess the capacity to adapt to environmental change within their ecological environment. However, in the face of profound and continuous global environmental change, some scholars have argued and projected that cultural, biological diversity, as well as local resilience capacities to environmental change, will likely be severely impacted leading to the ultimate loss of these valuable sources of livelihood and survival of the many remote, rural, and local communities across the world. Despite this popular notion that local and Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK) systems will disappear, the academic vision of local and IEK has progressively shifted from being viewed as a static body of knowledge to one of dynamism. Today, this knowledge is being hybridized through the accommodation of new forms of information or its exposition to external socio-economic drivers. Therefore, its relevance and the role it plays in disaster risk management, natural resource conservation, and management, and now in climate change adaptation must be clearly understood, acknowledged, and given the utmost attention, it deserves if we are to fully address the impacts emanating from a warming climate. In understanding the role and relevance of local and IEK systems in climate change adaptation and disaster risk management this paper analyzes present climate change-related impacts on agriculture in Barisal Southern Bangladesh and identifies effective local and indigenous ecological knowledge adaptation mechanisms being utilized by the local people in this region for climate change adaptation, resilience building, and sustainability. Through literature reviews, fieldwork research, interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) the findings of this research indicate that local and indigenous adaptation strategies to climate change impacts are striving and are enhancing the adaptability and resilience capacities of the many poor local people in this region. This research, therefore, recommends that the usefulness and relevance of local and IEK must be acknowledged and incorporated into the mainstream developmental and climate change policies, particularly at the local and community level where resources are scarce, and the adaptability capacity, is weak.},
 year = {2022}
}

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DO  - 10.11648/j.ijsdr.20220801.12
T2  - International Journal of Sustainable Development Research
JF  - International Journal of Sustainable Development Research
JO  - International Journal of Sustainable Development Research
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AB  - With the inception of global climate change and its related risks, impacts, and challenges many rural and indigenous communities across the globe are today facing tremendous cultural, economic, and environmental change which is likely going to weaken their adaptability and resilience capacities to climate change. Indigenous and local people have for centuries been known to possess the capacity to adapt to environmental change within their ecological environment. However, in the face of profound and continuous global environmental change, some scholars have argued and projected that cultural, biological diversity, as well as local resilience capacities to environmental change, will likely be severely impacted leading to the ultimate loss of these valuable sources of livelihood and survival of the many remote, rural, and local communities across the world. Despite this popular notion that local and Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK) systems will disappear, the academic vision of local and IEK has progressively shifted from being viewed as a static body of knowledge to one of dynamism. Today, this knowledge is being hybridized through the accommodation of new forms of information or its exposition to external socio-economic drivers. Therefore, its relevance and the role it plays in disaster risk management, natural resource conservation, and management, and now in climate change adaptation must be clearly understood, acknowledged, and given the utmost attention, it deserves if we are to fully address the impacts emanating from a warming climate. In understanding the role and relevance of local and IEK systems in climate change adaptation and disaster risk management this paper analyzes present climate change-related impacts on agriculture in Barisal Southern Bangladesh and identifies effective local and indigenous ecological knowledge adaptation mechanisms being utilized by the local people in this region for climate change adaptation, resilience building, and sustainability. Through literature reviews, fieldwork research, interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) the findings of this research indicate that local and indigenous adaptation strategies to climate change impacts are striving and are enhancing the adaptability and resilience capacities of the many poor local people in this region. This research, therefore, recommends that the usefulness and relevance of local and IEK must be acknowledged and incorporated into the mainstream developmental and climate change policies, particularly at the local and community level where resources are scarce, and the adaptability capacity, is weak.
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Stephen Chitengi Sakapaji

Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan

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Stephen Chitengi Sakapaji. (2022). Integrating Local and Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK) Systems into Climate Adaptation Policy for Resilience Building, and Sustainability in Agriculture. International Journal of Sustainable Development Research, 8(1), 9-24. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsdr.20220801.12

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Stephen Chitengi Sakapaji. Integrating Local and Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK) Systems into Climate Adaptation Policy for Resilience Building, and Sustainability in Agriculture. Int. J. Sustain. Dev. Res. 2022, 8(1), 9-24. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsdr.20220801.12

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Stephen Chitengi Sakapaji. Integrating Local and Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK) Systems into Climate Adaptation Policy for Resilience Building, and Sustainability in Agriculture. Int J Sustain Dev Res. 2022;8(1):9-24. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsdr.20220801.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ijsdr.20220801.12,
  author = {Stephen Chitengi Sakapaji},
  title = {Integrating Local and Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK) Systems into Climate Adaptation Policy for Resilience Building, and Sustainability in Agriculture},
  journal = {International Journal of Sustainable Development Research},
  volume = {8},
  number = {1},
  pages = {9-24},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijsdr.20220801.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsdr.20220801.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijsdr.20220801.12},
  abstract = {With the inception of global climate change and its related risks, impacts, and challenges many rural and indigenous communities across the globe are today facing tremendous cultural, economic, and environmental change which is likely going to weaken their adaptability and resilience capacities to climate change. Indigenous and local people have for centuries been known to possess the capacity to adapt to environmental change within their ecological environment. However, in the face of profound and continuous global environmental change, some scholars have argued and projected that cultural, biological diversity, as well as local resilience capacities to environmental change, will likely be severely impacted leading to the ultimate loss of these valuable sources of livelihood and survival of the many remote, rural, and local communities across the world. Despite this popular notion that local and Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK) systems will disappear, the academic vision of local and IEK has progressively shifted from being viewed as a static body of knowledge to one of dynamism. Today, this knowledge is being hybridized through the accommodation of new forms of information or its exposition to external socio-economic drivers. Therefore, its relevance and the role it plays in disaster risk management, natural resource conservation, and management, and now in climate change adaptation must be clearly understood, acknowledged, and given the utmost attention, it deserves if we are to fully address the impacts emanating from a warming climate. In understanding the role and relevance of local and IEK systems in climate change adaptation and disaster risk management this paper analyzes present climate change-related impacts on agriculture in Barisal Southern Bangladesh and identifies effective local and indigenous ecological knowledge adaptation mechanisms being utilized by the local people in this region for climate change adaptation, resilience building, and sustainability. Through literature reviews, fieldwork research, interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) the findings of this research indicate that local and indigenous adaptation strategies to climate change impacts are striving and are enhancing the adaptability and resilience capacities of the many poor local people in this region. This research, therefore, recommends that the usefulness and relevance of local and IEK must be acknowledged and incorporated into the mainstream developmental and climate change policies, particularly at the local and community level where resources are scarce, and the adaptability capacity, is weak.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Integrating Local and Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK) Systems into Climate Adaptation Policy for Resilience Building, and Sustainability in Agriculture
AU  - Stephen Chitengi Sakapaji
Y1  - 2022/03/23
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsdr.20220801.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijsdr.20220801.12
T2  - International Journal of Sustainable Development Research
JF  - International Journal of Sustainable Development Research
JO  - International Journal of Sustainable Development Research
SP  - 9
EP  - 24
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-1832
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsdr.20220801.12
AB  - With the inception of global climate change and its related risks, impacts, and challenges many rural and indigenous communities across the globe are today facing tremendous cultural, economic, and environmental change which is likely going to weaken their adaptability and resilience capacities to climate change. Indigenous and local people have for centuries been known to possess the capacity to adapt to environmental change within their ecological environment. However, in the face of profound and continuous global environmental change, some scholars have argued and projected that cultural, biological diversity, as well as local resilience capacities to environmental change, will likely be severely impacted leading to the ultimate loss of these valuable sources of livelihood and survival of the many remote, rural, and local communities across the world. Despite this popular notion that local and Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK) systems will disappear, the academic vision of local and IEK has progressively shifted from being viewed as a static body of knowledge to one of dynamism. Today, this knowledge is being hybridized through the accommodation of new forms of information or its exposition to external socio-economic drivers. Therefore, its relevance and the role it plays in disaster risk management, natural resource conservation, and management, and now in climate change adaptation must be clearly understood, acknowledged, and given the utmost attention, it deserves if we are to fully address the impacts emanating from a warming climate. In understanding the role and relevance of local and IEK systems in climate change adaptation and disaster risk management this paper analyzes present climate change-related impacts on agriculture in Barisal Southern Bangladesh and identifies effective local and indigenous ecological knowledge adaptation mechanisms being utilized by the local people in this region for climate change adaptation, resilience building, and sustainability. Through literature reviews, fieldwork research, interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) the findings of this research indicate that local and indigenous adaptation strategies to climate change impacts are striving and are enhancing the adaptability and resilience capacities of the many poor local people in this region. This research, therefore, recommends that the usefulness and relevance of local and IEK must be acknowledged and incorporated into the mainstream developmental and climate change policies, particularly at the local and community level where resources are scarce, and the adaptability capacity, is weak.
VL  - 8
IS  - 1
ER  -

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