Weathering uncertainty: traditional knowledge for climate change assessment and adaptation; 2012

Resilience in the face of change is rooted in indigenous knowledge and know-how, diversified resources and livelihoods, social institutions and networks, and cultural values and attitudes. [...] It suggests that the integration of local, traditional and indigenous knowledge in climate science would result in the mutual enrichment of both knowledge systems, and the reinforcement of on-the-ground solutions. [...] This sub-section provides four brief snapshots that illustrate the nature of this interaction and the relatively recent emergence of contemporary understandings of the breadth, depth and diversity of indigenous peoples’ knowledge of the natural world. [...] Conklin’s work documents indigenous ways of understanding and knowing the world – specifically the plant world – and began to raise questions about the supposedly superior intellect and training of scientists by demonstrating the complexity, detail and accuracy of indigenous knowledge and its value for the scientific community (Schultes, 1994; Zent, 2009). [...] were able to demonstrate how and why these ancient observations actually work: The apparent size and brightness of the Pleiades varies with the amount of thin, high cloud at the top of the troposphere, which in turn reflects the severity of El Niño conditions over the Pacific.