Authors: Fernández-llamazares, Álvaro;

Over the last decades, significant knowledge has accumulated about the unique contributions of Indigenous Peoples and local communities to global biodiversity conservation. As a result of this rich body of evidence, there is increasing recognition in policy circles that traditional knowledge systems play critical roles in safeguarding our planet’s biological and cultural diversity. However, globalization, colonialism, and extractivism threaten the integral relationships between Indigenous Peoples and local communities and their environments, thereby challenging the continuity and resilience of their knowledge systems. Based on my long-term field-based research partnerships with several Indigenous communities in the Global South (e.g., Tsimane’ in Bolivia, Maasai and Daasanach in Kenya) and drawing on an in-depth global literature review on pressures to traditional knowledge systems, this work will identify 15 strategic actions to support the ongoing efforts of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in sustaining their knowledge systems and ties to lands. I will finally discuss how supporting Indigenous Peoples and local communities in sustaining their homelands and associated knowledge systems is inextricably linked to global efforts to address biodiversity loss and climate change.