Traditional ecological knowledge for conservation: weaving traditional knowledge with science in and for Europe 

Organized by: Zsolt Molnár, Centre for Ecological Research, Hungary; Fernández-Llamazares Álvaro,
Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science, Finland
THU 25 (10:30, 14:00)

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has advanced our understanding of the ways in which scientists, conservation practitioners and Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLC) can work together for better stewardship of our planet (Hill et al. 2020, Brondizio et al. 2021). The last ECCB conference in Finland had a full session dedicated to IPBES, which discussed the importance of traditional ecological knowledge in European contexts. This symposium is aimed to expand on this topic, highlighting how working with traditional knowledge systems can enrich conservation science, policy and practice across Europe. The roles of IPLC, and their interwoven knowledge systems, practices and worldviews, in conservation have been actively discussed (and debated) in the recent scholarly literature (Fernández-Llamazares et al. 2021, Reyes-García et al. 2021), and several of the lead authors of these publications will contribute to the symposium in person. Working with place-based knowledge, practices and worldviews is often a challenge for conservation scientists and practitioners (Molnár and Babai 2021) but there is a growing body of scientific evidence highlighting that it can lead to enhanced environmental governance and stewardship (Berkes 2021). The session will bring into focus European experiences, but will also draw inspiration from best practices and cases studies from elsewhere.

Reference list
Berkes, F. (2021): Advanced introduction to community-based conservation, Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2021.

Brondizio, E.S. et al. (2021): Locally based, regionally manifested, and globally relevant: Indigenous and local knowledge, values, and practices for nature. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 46.

Fernández-Llamazares, Á., Lepofsky,, D. et al. (2021): Scientists’ Warning to Humanity on Threats to Indigenous and Local Knowledge systems. Journal of Ethnobiology 41: 144-169.

Hill, R. et al. (2020): Working with indigenous, local and scientific knowledge systems in assessments of biodiversity and nature’s contribution to people. COSUST: Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 43: 8-20.

Molnár Zs., Babai D. (2021): Inviting ecologists to delve deeper into traditional knowledge. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 36: 679-690.

Reyes-García, V. et al. (2021): Recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ rights and agency in the post-2020 Biodiversity Agenda. Ambio 1-9.


Presentations
1/1
Our (Traditional) Knowledge Our Way?
- Rosemary Hill (James Cook University, Australia)

Sustaining traditional knowledge systems for better environmental stewardship
- Álvaro Fernández-llamazares (University of Helsinki, Finland)

Societal extinction of species
- Ivan Jaric (Biology Centre of The Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic)

Biocultural approaches to advance the inclusion of traditional ecological knowledge in conservation in Europe
- Isabel Díaz Reviriego (Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany)

Reviewing across knowledge systems for better conservation: the case of the ’Gourmet omnivorous’ pigs
- Zsolt Molnár (Centre For Ecological Research, Hungary)

Panelist discussion: Knowledge weaving and collaboration for more effective and inclusive conservation

1/2

Haymeadows and pastures in the present and past. Traditional and historical knowledge in successful species conservation
Cosmin Ivascu (West University of Timișoara, Romania)

In the trap of interacting drivers: the disintegration of extensive, traditional grassland management in Central and Eastern Europe
- Dániel Babai (Research Centre for the Humanities, Hungary)

Learning collaboration in the adaptive co-management environment: example from Lahemaa National Park in Estonia
- Kaisa Linno (Estonian University of Life Sciences, Estonia)

Combining local and academic knowledge to define and assess wild food plant sustainable foraging in Norway
- Irene Teixidor Toneu (University of Oslo, Norway)

Panelist discussion: European experiences and future potentials: how traditional ecological knowledge can help conservation and how conservation can help locals?