Publications

A Model for Utilising Local, Indigenous and Traditional Knowledge and Practices to Address Global Climate and Water Instability and Related Risks: the Sacred Groves and Green Corridors Method

11.04.2016
This study by Active Remedy Ltd. makes a strong case for incorporating the traditional knowledge of mountain farmers into a dynamic approach to climate change and water instability. Active Remedy Ltd. argues that combining traditional, local and indigenous knowledge (TLIK) with the modern scientific method will be necessary in order to adapt successfully to climate change. This hybrid approach, along with the belief that global ecosystems are inextricably interconnected, forms the basis of the Sacred Groves and Green Corridors (SGGC) method. The SGGC method rests on two pillars: protecting the ecological mechanisms behind climate and water cycles, and integrating modern scientific methods with specific regional TLIK. The model identifies mountains as the place where the largest impact can be made because of their role as “global regulators of climate and water”. Mountain peoples, in their role as the “adaptation community”, would be the ones to put the model into practice. Because many men have migrated away from the mountains in search of employment, the SDDG model is designed with the understanding that it will be implemented by rural women. The key elements of the SGGC method are permaculture, companion planting, peace parks and of course sacred groves and green corridors. Permaculture and companion planting are an alternative to industrial farming that integrate multiple life forms into self-regulating symbiotic systems. Peace parks are forested areas placed in between bordering States and safeguarded by local communities as a way of encouraging peaceful relations and rehabilitating degraded landscapes. Sacred groves enhance biodiversity as well as cultural wealth, and are seen as a more viable alternative in mountain regions as opposed to conservation models that do not include the presence of humans. Green corridors and green belts are seen as a fast and effective methods of protecting and increasing biodiversity over large areas while intervening directly on a very small amount of land. This approach is in line with the current paradigm of the United Nations, which holds TLIK in high esteem. Article 7 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Paris Agreement states that climate adaptation action should be “based on and guided by the best available science and, as appropriate, traditional knowledge, knowledge of indigenous peoples and local knowledge systems”.
Author Active Remedy Ltd.
Publication year 2016
Language English
 Model_for_Utilising_Local_Indigenous_and_Traditional_Knowledge_and_Practices_to_Address_Global_Climate.pdf

Themes: AgricultureBiodiversityClimate changeWater

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