Indigenous Knowledge for Climate Change Assessment and Adaptation

Description

This unique transdisciplinary publication is the result of collaboration between UNESCO's Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) programme, the United Nations University's Traditional Knowledge Initiative, the IPCC, and other organisations. Chapters, written by indigenous peoples, scientists and development experts, provide insight into how diverse societies observe and adapt to changing environments. A broad range of case studies illustrate how these societies, building upon traditional knowledge handed down through generations, are already developing their own solutions for dealing with a rapidly changing climate and how this might be useful on a global scale. Of interest to policy-makers, social and natural scientists, and indigenous peoples and experts, this book provides an indispensable reference for those interested in climate science, policy and adaptation. Contents List of Contributors Foreword Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations 1 Indigenous Knowledge for Climate Change Assessment and Adaptation: Introduction Part I Knowing our Weather and Climate 2 Forest, Reef and Sea-Level Rise in North Vanuatu: Seasonal Environmental Practices and Climate Fluctuations in Island Melanesia 3 Annual Cycles in Indigenous North-Western Amazon: A Collaborative Research Towards Climate Change Monitoring 4 Indigenous Knowledge in the Time of Climate Change (with Reference to Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia) 5 Local Responses to Variability and Climate Change by Zoque Indigenous Communities in Chiapas, Mexico 6 Climate Knowledge of Ch’ol Farmers in Chiapas, Mexico Part II Our Changing Homelands 7 Indigenous Forest Management as a Means for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation 8 Indigenous Knowledge, History and Environmental Change as Seen by Yolngu People of Blue Mud Bay, Northern Australia 9 Coping with Climate: Innovation and Adaptation in Tibetan Land Use and Agriculture 10 Seasonal Environmental Practices and Climate Fluctuations in Island Melanesia: Transformations in a Regional System in Eastern Papua New Guinea 11 Traditional Knowledge and Crop Varieties as Adaptation to Climate Change in South- West China , the Bolivian Andes and Coastal Kenya Part III Confronting Extreme Events 12 Accounts from Tribal Elders: Increasing Vulnerability of the Navajo People to Drought and Climate Change in the Southwestern United States 13 The Spirits Are Leaving: Adaptation and the Indigenous Peoples of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua 14 Indigenous Reindeer Herding and Adaptation to New Hazards in the Arctic 15 ‘Everything That Is Happening Now Is Beyond Our Capacity’ – Nyangatom Livelihoods Under Threat Part IV Sources of Indigenous Strength and Resilience 16 ‘Normal’ Catastrophes or Harbinger of Climate Change? Reindeer-herding Sami Facing Dire Winters in Northern Sweden 17 Canaries of Civilization: Small Island Vulnerability, Past Adaptations and Sea-Level Rise 18 Peasants of the Amazonian-Andes and their Conversations with Climate Change in the San Martín Region 19 Climate Change, Whaling Tradition and Cultural Survival Among the Iñupiat of Arctic Alaska 20 Indigenous Knowledge for Climate Change Assessment and Adaptation: Epilogue Index