At the crossroad of emergency: ethnobiology, climate change, and Indigenous Peoples and local communities

The climate emergency declaration is an action taken by governments and scientists to acknowledge that humanity is in a climate emergency. Since the first declaration on climate emergency in 2016, there have been multiple and continuous efforts being devoted to addressing climate change from various stakeholders, including state governments, local governments, and scientists (Ripple, et al. 2020). As of June 2021, more than 1,900 local governments in 34 countries have declared a “climate emergency”- status (CEDAMIA 2021). Such declarations sum up the urgency to act towards anthropogenic climate change drivers and impacts and indicate the existence of a paradox confronting citizens on the topic of climate change across the globe. More specifically, it is urgent to act on reducing greenhouse emissions and developing viable adaptation measures. On the one hand, citizens grow aware of the catastrophic fact that all humanity, i.e., approximately eight billion people residing on planet earth, has failed to tackle factors that drive climatic change, even though scientists had warned the world about the alarming climatic trends as long as 40 years ago at the First World Climate Conference (in Geneva 1979). On the other hand, there is the encouraging and promising news, welcomed by citizens albeit with cautious optimism, that some effective actions to combat climate change are being implemented due to concerned government entities including Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) at the intersection of science and policy.

For Indigenous Peoples and local communities (thereafter IPLCs), climate change and its impacts on different elements of the ecosystem remain a major concern, namely in relation to their ability to sustain their livelihoods and well-being, even in the short term (FAO 2021, ILO 2017). For example, Inuit and Sámi Indigenous Peoples living in Arctic regions are already experiencing unprecedented impacts from melting ice, rising sea level, increased erosion, and loss of traditional food ways and hunting culture due to climate change (Tyler, et al. 2007, Wenzel 2009). For them, climate change is not a concern of the future, but a present reality with concrete effects on their livelihoods and cultures. Our goal for this special issue is to showcase the intricated relationship between climate change and Indigenous Peoples and local communities from different parts of the world. Particularly, this special issue encompasses two main themes – how climate change along with other socioeconomic factors impact IPLCs’ livelihoods and how IPLCs adapt to climate change impacts through ILK.

While the definition of IPLCs is contested, for the purpose of this special issue, we shall use the definition drawing from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), stating that

“Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) are typically ethnic groups who are descended from and identify with the original inhabitants of a given region, in contrast to groups that have settled, occupied or colonized the area more recently”.

-IPBES Glossary

Although IPLCs only make up approximately 5% of the global population, they have rights to and/or manage at least 28.1% of the global land areas (Garnett, et al. 2018), which are projected to experience significant negative effects from global changes in climate, biodiversity, and ecosystem functions, also are home to large concentrations of Indigenous Peoples and rural communities that directly depend on nature for their subsistence, livelihoods, culture, spirituality, and health (McGregor, Whitaker and Sritharan 2020, Levy and Patz 2015). It is precisely because their culture and livelihoods are closely tied to land- and water-based practices, that IPLCs have experienced a vast array of climate change impacts sooner and in a more immediate way than other sectors of the population (Ford, 2012, Savo, et al. 2016). Moreover, for many IPLCs around the world, the impacts of anthropogenic climate change layer up with social, political, and economic marginalization and disempowerment in which they live, further aggravating their vulnerability (O'Gorman, Beattie and Henry 2016). Still, much of the research has neglected previous histories of IPLCs. Until the beginning of 21^st century, IPLCs have often been viewed as victims of the effects of climate change, rather than as agents with capacity to adapt or fight climate change (Etchart 2017).

Yet, over recent years, evidence has grown showing that complex Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) systems, which have accumulated over generations and are held by IPLCs, can contribute to the sustainable management of ecological resources (Janhiainen and Hooli 2017, Shaffer 2014). Such intimate knowledge of the environment suggests that IPLCs can play a crucial role in combatting climate change impacts by providing effective adaptation strategies based on their profound knowledge of local environmental systems (Green and Raygorodetsky 2010, Reyes-García, et al. 2015, Savo, et al. 2016). Acknowledging the potential contributions of ILK to devise locally attuned strategies to adapt to climate change effects, is an important step forward that includes IPLCs into both scientific and policy arenas.

From a scientific perspective, climate change research has a long history of focus around natural sciences across different disciplines, including climatology, meteorology, and geophysics. In that sense, the data from these disciplines and a model driven structure have long dominated climate change research (Reyes-García, et al. 2019). However, over the past two decades, social and behavioral scientists have investigated human behaviors to understand climate change drivers and impacts across societies (Victor 2015, Blue 2016). Yet, this nascent research endeavor lacks of a systematic framework. Ethnobiology, at the crossroads of natural and social sciences, with its emphasis on having an holistic perspectives and its dedication to knowledge integration in complex multi-stakeholder settings, brings insights from Indigenous and local knowledge of climate change into a broader academic agenda, breaking barriers among scholars with different backgrounds (Ludwig and El-Hani 2020, Wolverton, Chambers and Veteto 2014).

From a policy and climate governance perspective, historically IPLCs have not been included in conversations about climate change (Ford, et al. 2016). This is so, even though their ways of life contributed little to climate change and they are suffering the worst impacts of climate change (Ford, 2012, Levy and Patz 2015). There is progress towards the inclusion of IPLCs into a global climate agenda. For example, the IPCC Special Report explicitly concluded that indigenous knowledge is critical for adaptation and many scholars argue that recognition of indigenous rights, governance systems and laws is central to adaptation, mitigation and sustainable development (IPCC 2018). Moreover, the establishment of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP) in 2015 under the framework of UNFCCC also offers ground-breaking inclusion of IPLCs into climate agenda. However, to be effective, this global action requires meaningful local participation. One of the most important tasks for policymakers concerned with improving the effectiveness of climate governance is to enable constructive participation of IPLCs, such as strengthening the knowledge, technologies, and practices of IPLCs related to climate change, and facilitating the exchange of expertise of different knowledge systems and the sharing of best practices that are effective in mitigating climate change.

Admittedly, formulating effective solutions to address climate emergency and incorporating Indigenous Peoples and local communities into such actions remains a challenge for policy makers, scientific communities, and IPLCs themselves. Researchers seeking to understand the crisis and its potential and possible answers face an array of challenges, from the long existing barriers between natural and social sciences, the ever-changing sociocultural, ecological, and economic environments that IPLCs experience across the globe, and the shifts in governance and hurdles imbedded in bureaucracy.

Our aim in this special issue of the Journal of Ethnobiology is to explore the intersection of climate change and Indigenous Peoples and local communities. This brief introductory essay provides context for readers, reviewing the state of science and policy in this growing field, illuminating past trends, outlining the current situation, and analyzing experts’ assessments of what the future may hold given the current climate emergency status. The articles selected present the results of several case studies on climate change impacts on IPLCs and how IPLCs adapt to it using ILK. The authors whose work comprises this special issue are all engaged in an effort to bring new empirical insights to bear on these growing and important topics.

Continuing the efforts to bring IPLCs into the global climate agenda, Mucioki et al. (2021) investigate contemporary relationships between plants and Indigenous people in the Klamath River Basin of northern California and southern Oregon, identifying benefits of cultural ecosystem services derived from Indigenous stewarding and gathering of cultural plants. They discusses how these services may further change based on climate change observations and experiences.

Working with the Daasanach in Kenya, Junqueira et al. (2021) explore multi-layered and cascading impacts of socioeconomic and environmental changes on peoples’ perceptions and knowledge about water resources. This study highlights the synergies of different drivers including climate change and infrastructure development affecting people’s livelihoods especially water resources. It demonstrates that the ILK can contribute to better understandings of the impacts caused by changes.

Martínez-Herrera et al. (2021) approach the topic of climate change impacts through farmers’ perceptions in mountain landscapes in central Mexico. The study analyzes how farmers’ perceptions of climate change influence their agricultural practices, details the changes observed by farmers, and features the direct link between farmers’ perceptions of climate change and their corresponding agricultural practices.

It is not uncommon for IPLCs to experience various impacts on livelihoods induced by climate changes along with other factors, including socioeconomic, cultural, political, and others changes. IPLCs can identify and respond to changes by using the very ILK they possess. The potential of ILK to identify climate change impacts and formulate adaptation measures has been demonstrated and increasingly recognized (Petzold, et al. 2020, Schlingmann, et al. 2021). There are four empirical research focusing on IPLCs’ adaptation measures to climate change impacts included.

Cameroon et al. (2021) presents findings on the ways in which Indigenous Peoples in Canadian Prairies understand and respond to climate change impacts in their territories. The results document significant observed changes across geographies, as well as innovative responses, ranging from community-owned renewable energy projects to ecological restoration initiatives. The findings of this work provide insight into human-nature relationships in a region heavily impacted by climate change.

Ruggieri et al. (2021) document farmers’ observations of local environmental changes and explore how Sereer smallholders use crop diversity to adapt to those changes in Senegal. This research reinforces the potential of ILK in responding to climate change impacts by demonstrating that Sereer farmers can identify climatic variation and make corresponding measures in cultivating different crop varieties.

Working at the other end of the geographic scale, Avila et al. (2021) examine climatic patterns and changes in livelihood activities of local Amazonian communities at the mid-Solimões River basin in Brazil, and investigate how their management activities are affected by extreme floods and droughts, as well their adaptation strategies in face of changing climate. The findings of this research show that the Riberirinhos intensify adaptation strategies during extreme weather events and recognize climatic unpredictability hinders effective planning of subsistence activities. However, the local knowledge is no longer fully reliable due to increasing irregularity of the climate.

Ballesteros and Isaza (2021) provide insights on Colombian Andean Altiplano farmers’ adaptation and coping strategies to the impacts of climate variations. The study presents how climate change is manifested in the local environment through farmers’ views, and document their both on-farm and off-farm adaptation strategies. It also highlights the resilience of Altiplano smallholders to climate change by employing their local knowledge, which have helps to ensure Colombia’s food security.

Climate emergency affect every facet of society-economies, environments, and cultures. As a result, scientists, IPLCs, policy makers, and other stakeholders are increasingly seeking effective solutions to address the crisis. This Special Issue encompasses seven empirical research that strives to provide in-depth understandings on climate change impacts on IPLCs and their corresponding adaptation measures that are culturally and locally feasible. Individually and collectively, the authors of this Special Issue hope that they have contributed to the increased comprehension of how climate change is manifested in Indigenous and local communities through their own perceptions, how climate change has been exacerbating vulnerability of IPLCs, how IPLCs have (not) been adapting to the changes, and how to further include IPLCs into global climate agenda.