Authors: Hill, Rosemary;

Traditional knowledge of herders, foragers and farmers is increasingly recognised as useful for conservation science, policy and practice across Europe. However, few conservation scientists are trained to work with place-based knowledge, practices and worldviews. European guidelines for ethical research practice are generally silent on these topics. Some journals contain standards for working with Indigenous knowledge, generally drawn from experiences in places such as Australia and Canada. Many challenges have been encountered in working with traditional knowledge in these contexts—knowledge is frequently misappropriated for commercial gain without benefits flowing to communities, without consent and in ways that are considered harmful by traditional custodians. Here I present guidance about working with traditional knowledge in biodiversity assessment, emanating globally from the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, and nationally from Australian Indigenous land and sea managers in Our Knowledge Our Way and the recent State of the Environment 2021 report. Australian Indigenous peoples emphasise their own purposes and leadership in traditional knowledge, rather than situating these in the context of enrichment of scientific-led biodiversity management. I consider whether these guidelines may be applicable in the European context, and how conservation scientists can use such guidance to enrich their research and practice.