Incorporating Local and Traditional Knowledge Systems: New Insights for Ecosystem Services and Transdisciplinary Collaborations

The project addresses gaps in local and regional biodiversity strategies by developing 'Communities of Practice Collaboratories' (CPCs) to integrate diverse knowledge systems and decentralize academia. Through case studies in four countries and a systematic literature review, the research identifies plurality, power asymmetries, and conflict as key enablers or barriers to conservation, while promoting the inclusion of local voices through a forthcoming edited book.

• The project identifies a gap in biodiversity strategy and ecosystem management at local and regional scales, noting that collaborative conservation has been impeded by power asymmetries that marginalize indigenous and local knowledge.
• The research team created 'Communities of Practice Collaboratories' (CPCs) as a co-learning model to integrate diverse knowledge and 'decentralize academia', involving academics, campesinos, and local knowledge keepers to ensure equitable relations in research design.
• A systematic literature review revealed that scholars frequently fail to provide clear conceptual or theoretical definitions for three primary enablers or barriers of biodiversity conservation: plurality, power asymmetries, and conflict.
• To center local voices in biodiversity conservation, the project invited community members from Uruguay, Chile, and Colombia to contribute to an edited book, resulting in 25 proposals including autobiographies, poems, and photo-narratives.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (n.d.). Incorporating Local and Traditional Knowledge Systems: New Insights for Ecosystem Services and Transdisciplinary Collaborations. https://iai.int/pdf/en/SGP-HW 072_merged.pdf

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Incorporating Local and Traditional Knowledge Systems: New Insights for Ecosystem Services and Transdisciplinary Collaborations. n.d. https://iai.int/pdf/en/SGP-HW 072_merged.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Incorporating Local and Traditional Knowledge Systems: New Insights for Ecosystem Services and Transdisciplinary Collaborations |url=https://iai.int/pdf/en/SGP-HW 072_merged.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearchndincorporating, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Incorporating Local and Traditional Knowledge Systems: New Insights for Ecosystem Services and Transdisciplinary Collaborations}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, url = {https://iai.int/pdf/en/SGP-HW 072_merged.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }