Ambio https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-023-01857-w GETTING TO SOLUTIONS: MOVING BEYOND THEORY TO PRACTICAL METHODS FOR CHANGE Placing diverse knowledge systems at the core of transformative climate research Ben Orlove , Pasang Sherpa, Neil Dawson, Ibidun Adelekan, Wilfredo Alangui, Rosario Carmona, Deborah Coen, Melissa K. Nelson, Victoria Reyes-Garcı́a, Jennifer Rubis, Gideon Sanago, Andrew Wilson Received: 16 August 2022 / Revised: 19 January 2023 / Accepted: 20 March 2023 Abstract We argue that solutions-based research must well that such partnerships can be built only as part of avoid treating climate change as a merely technical larger, more encompassing political shifts. Indigenous problem, recognizing instead that it is symptomatic of the Peoples have long pressed for recognition and respect of history of European and North American colonialism. It their knowledge systems as part of their struggles for self- must therefore be addressed by decolonizing the research determination; local communities around the world have process and transforming relations between scientific engaged in parallel efforts, as well. International environ- expertise and the knowledge systems of Indigenous mental organizations are increasingly attempting to engage Peoples and of local communities. Partnership across with non-Western knowledge systems, but too often they diverse knowledge systems can be a path to transformative do so in ways that detach information gathered from this change only if those systems are respected in their entirety, as engagement from the worldviews, values, embodied prac- indivisible cultural wholes of knowledge, practices, values, tices, and relationships that are both definitive of and vital and worldviews. This argument grounds our specific to those knowledge systems. Only by fully recognizing this recommendations for governance at the local, national, and holistic quality of knowledge systems can climate research international scales. As concrete mechanisms to guide begin to point beyond short-term fixes, toward a transfor- collaboration across knowledge systems, we propose a set mation of attitudes, of ways of life, and, ultimately, of of instruments based on the principles of consent, intellectual power structures. Only by confronting the deep histories of and cultural autonomy, and justice. We recommend these the unjust—and often exploitative and violent—relations instruments as tools to ensure that collaborations across between the societies and peoples that hold these knowl- knowledge systems embody just partnerships in support of a edge systems can climate research undo the forces that decolonial transformation of relations between human block this transformation. communities and between humanity and the more-than- Our recommendations for transformative change pre- human world. sume that institutions of knowledge-making and institu- tions of governance do not change independently of each Keywords Climate  Co-production  Decolonization  other. In other words, epistemic justice–full, fair inclusion Indigenous  Knowledge  Transformation and participation of different knowledge systems–is inseparable from social and political justice. As Sheila Jasanoff has theorized, science and society ‘‘co-produce’’ INTRODUCTION each other, meaning that the practice of science inevitably reflects the power relations of the existing social order, and To focus on solutions, as the term ‘‘solutions-oriented when people set the rules of knowledge-making, they are research’’ suggests, is to risk prioritizing ends over means; also defining social norms (Jasanoff 2004). This usage we argue that the research process is as important as the contrasts with the way that ‘‘co-production’’ is commonly output. For reasons that are both epistemic and ethical, we used in climate science today to designate collaboration hold that research on climate change must facilitate gen- between scientists and other groups of experts and uine partnership across knowledge systems. We argue as knowledge holders, often limited to short-term projects.  The Author(s) 2023, corrected publication 2023 www.kva.se/en 123 Ambio Transformative change to solve the climate crisis will knowledge and the importance of the link between depend on careful attention to these interactions between knowledge and action, rather than presenting knowledge knowledge and power. simply as information about past, present and future states Our argument takes three steps. First, we review defi- of the world.’’ A similar definition of this term can be nitions of knowledge systems and recent empirical research found in a glossary of the Intergovernmental Science-Pol- on knowledge systems. We call for a fuller view of icy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services knowledge systems themselves. We note the persistent (IPBES 2017). social and political inequalities that marginalize certain However, we recognize that many researchers, including knowledge systems. Second, we review the positions on Indigenous scholars, prefer the term ‘‘ways of knowing’’ knowledge systems that are taken by the social and polit- (Basso 1996; Aikenhead and Michell 2011; Cochran et al. ical institutions that frame climate research and action. We 2013; ICC 2016; Ferguson and Weaselboy 2020; Nelson propose that scientific research remains inflected by the 2020; Chiblow and Meighan 2022). Like ‘‘knowledge history of European colonialism; research that aims at systems,’’ the term ‘‘ways of knowing’’ conveys that transformative change must begin by decolonizing the knowledge holders adapt to changing conditions and real- research process itself. We emphasize how undoing the ities. The term ‘‘ways of knowing’’ has the advantage of epistemic injustice associated with colonialism means signaling that knowledge is not a list of doctrines but rather rethinking the divide between knowledge and values that a coherent, dynamic set of practices, values, and world- currently structure international scientific and policy views. The term indicates (perhaps more directly than institutions like the UNFCCC and IPCC, as we argue ‘‘knowledge systems’’) that knowledge can simultaneously in ‘‘Transformative change’’ and ‘‘Recommendations’’ be rooted in and cohere to culturally specific ethical prin- sections. Finally, we call for concrete, accountable steps to ciples such as respect for and reciprocity with nonhuman achieve genuine partnerships. We show in the final sections life. of this Perspective that calls to pluralize the research pro- In particular, Indigenous Peoples have developed a wide cess are meaningless without concrete governance mech- variety of distinctive ways of knowing, often termed anisms to guarantee that collaboration proceeds with due Indigenous knowledge systems or Indigenous People’s respect for the cultures, worldviews, goals, and rights of knowledge systems, that are embedded in and proceed Indigenous Peoples and of local communities. Our Per- from local ecosystems and ecological processes that are spective culminates in a list of instruments whose use we encoded in distinct Indigenous languages (Salmon 2000). recommend in order to ensure just partnership across Potawatomi scholar Robin Wall Kimmerer often calls this knowledge systems for transformative change. Not all the ‘‘grammar of animacy,’’ as Indigenous languages often these instruments are novel—some were first proposed emerge from the sounds of the landscape (Kimmerer 2013). decades ago—but we note that they have been put into This phrase indicates that many Indigenous languages, and practice at best in an incomplete and piecemeal fashion; thus Indigenous Peoples’ epistemologies and ontologies, our contribution therefore is to emphasize the necessity of understand the world as a series of processes, flows, and full implementation of the full set of these instruments. No actions more than static objects or relations (Ferguson and set of instruments can on their own guarantee transforma- Weaselboy 2020; Nelson 2020). Additionally, Indigenous tive change, since instruments can often be abused by the oral stories and complex narratives often outline spiritual powerful, but the absence of instruments makes it unlikely values, ethical and pragmatic teachings, and ways of being if not impossible. that literally and metaphorically link worldviews to place- based environmental knowledge (Aikenhead and Michell 2011). These ways of knowing are not neutral or objective KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS but are rooted in a value-rich participatory relationality. As Keoki Kanakaokai, an Indigenous natural resource man- In our discussion, we rely on the general term ‘‘knowledge ager in Hawaii, explains, ‘‘We take into consideration more systems,’’ since it signals that the scope of knowledge is than just Western empirical science but also incorporate broader than facts, hypotheses, and observational tech- Traditional Ecological Knowledge [and] traditional ways niques, and since it is commonly used in research publi- of knowing. In particular, we value things like kilo, the cations, reports, and assessments. The Intergovernmental Hawaiian concept of observation and building relationships Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently defined knowl- with our resources’’ (Cartier 2022); for other discussion of edge systems as ‘‘sets of interacting agents, practices and Traditional Ecological Knowledge, see Nelson and Shil- institutions that organize the production, transfer and use of ling, eds. (2018) and Wildcat (2023). Similar points can be knowledge’’ (Petzold et al. 2020). The IPCC goes on to found in some earlier work of academic anthropologists, state that ‘‘this definition emphasizes the social nature of which examines complex systems of understandings and  The Author(s) 2023, corrected publication 2023 123 www.kva.se/en Ambio engagements with the natural world, drawing on a variety a choice to overlook the complexity of underlying condi- of approaches, including phenomenology (Ingold 2011), tions, thus eliding social, economic, and political circum- practice theory (Ellen 2004), structuralism (Lévi-Strauss stances that shape vulnerability. Indeed, the goal of ‘‘value- 1966), and political ecology (Sillitoe 2007); in different free’’ science—an ideal implicit in the IPCC’s founding ways, this earlier work, though often situated within dis- ambition to produce ‘‘policy-relevant but policy-neutral’’ ciplinary frameworks that posit Indigenous knowledge reports—is misguided. In the early days of climate change systems as objects of scientific research, opens some dis- research, most scientists maintained a posture of political cussion of Indigenous knowledge systems and local neutrality out of fear of losing professional credibility, and knowledge systems as full, complex, and autonomous this posture contributed to political inaction (Howe 2014). alternatives to scientific knowledge. At the same time, it is Solutions-oriented research must recognize that social important to acknowledge that, through the long history of values play legitimate, vital roles in science: inevitably, colonialist epistemic extractivism, Indigenous knowledge they shape research agendas and inform judgments about systems have informed the contents of both ‘‘Western’’ whether a conclusion is adequately supported by evidence sciences and theories of scientific knowledge (Haraway (Longino 1996; Douglas 2000). We call for partnerships to 2016; Graeber and Wengrow 2021). make explicit the different values that guide them (Longino As suggested above, Indigenous knowledge has been 1990; Richardson 2015). defined in a number of related ways, as definitions depend Though much recent work on knowledge systems and on the right to self-determination (van Bavel et al. 2022). on ways of knowing supports the full inclusion of diverse We follow the Indigenous scholars cited above in giving knowledge systems in solutions-oriented climate research descriptions of Indigenous ways of knowing rather than and other settings (see ‘‘Transformative change’’ section), providing a simple glossary-style definition, since such the recognition given to Indigenous knowledge systems definitions often fall short, because Indigenous languages and local knowledge systems often remains limited. Too often cannot be readily translated into English and, more- often, scientists have misrepresented Indigenous knowl- over, because such definitions can be used against Indige- edge systems and local knowledge systems as simple nous self-determination. repositories of empirical observations (Nakashima et al. We note that the discussions of local knowledge are less 2012; Granberg and Glover 2014). A review of 81 studies extensive. The IPCC defines local knowledge as ‘‘the of research that sought to engage substantially and delib- understandings and skills developed by individuals and erately with multiple knowledge systems in climate adap- populations, specific to the places where they live. Local tation found that the dominant pattern was for scientific knowledge informs decision-making about fundamental researchers to treat Indigenous knowledge and local aspects of life, from day-to-day activities to longer-term knowledge as sources of data or information that could be actions. This knowledge is a key element of the social and used, in isolation from the contexts in which they were cultural systems that influence observations of and produced, to fill gaps in scientific frameworks and models responses to climate change; it also informs governance (Klenk et al. 2017). decisions’’ (IPCC 2018). In addition, we recognize that Two contrasting studies of research on crop diversifi- some sources distinguish between place-based and activity- cation may be taken as examples of different types of work based local knowledge systems; the latter, sometimes that draws on diverse knowledge systems. This agricultural called practitioner knowledge systems, have been defined practice, widely used by Indigenous Peoples and local as ‘‘the pragmatic, practice-based knowledge that comes communities, has often been recognized for its potential to from the regular exercise of craft or professional work’’ reduce the food security risks that have expanded condi- (New et al. 2022). tions of climate change (Bezner Kerr et al. 2019). A study Both terms—knowledge systems and ways of know- of Indigenous farmers in the Indian Himalaya (Shukla et al. ing—can help us see what science and Indigenous 2016) may be taken as an example of a less inclusive knowledge have in common (Watson-Verran and Turnbull approach to Indigenous knowledge systems. The authors 1995). As an inescapably human enterprise that adjudicates count the frequency of the practice by households and among different knowledge claims, science inevitably correlate its use with the villagers’ stated perceptions of embeds values. These include both ‘‘cognitive’’ values changes in precipitation and temperature. They deemed the such as simplicity and consistency as well as ‘‘non-cogni- villagers’ perceptions, based on many generations of tive’’ or social values (Oreskes 2020). Feminist philoso- observations, to be correct when they coincided with data phers of science have shown that even this distinction is from the nearest meteorological station (some 40 km away, misleading. For instance, the choice to value the ‘‘sim- at a lower elevation, and with data available only for the plicity’’ or ‘‘elegance’’ of an explanatory theory—say, the last 30 years). They reviewed the potential compatibility of theory that migration is caused by climate change—is often crop diversity with modern agronomic practices and  The Author(s) 2023, corrected publication 2023 www.kva.se/en 123 Ambio financial instruments, and evaluated its potential transfer- Canada, that Indigenous ways of knowing cannot be ability to other settings. In contrast, other studies offer a detached from specific landscapes; from cultural and spir- fuller view of crop diversification within broader ways of itual practices that form communities of humans, animals, knowing. For example, Rarai et al. (2022), discussing and spirits marked by relationships of recognition and care; Vanuatu in the western Pacific Ocean, presents crop and, ultimately, from Indigenous self-determination. The diversification as a complex set of activities centered in a authors suggest that specific knowledge techniques, like communitarian, relational worldview that stresses the forms of observation of water quality or fish populations, mutual responsibility of humans, landscapes, and spirits. cannot be detached from their contexts and incorporated The author team, led by an Indigenous researcher, explores into packages of solutions that can then be transferred to more broadly the potential for this practice to operate other settings—a point that underscores the importance of within partnerships that link Indigenous knowledge holders assuring Indigenous land rights and self-determination as with modern adaptation projects at the national level and preconditions for epistemic justice. In a similar vein, with scientific knowledge systems that provide projections Nkuba et al. (2020), examining a variety of agricultural of future climate conditions. Though both studies consider practices in western Uganda, show that farmers pay crop diversification to be positive and argue that it should attention both to Indigenous weather knowledge that cir- be supported, Shukla et al. (2016) suggest that it could be culates within local communities and scientific forecasts transferred as an isolated practice that would form one that they receive in local languages by radio; their component of expert-driven projects, while Rarai et al. responses reflect not only the credence that they place on (2022), who note that such projects often do not promote these knowledges and the identities associated with them, long-term change, indicate instead that diversification but also with the social systems that govern—and often could more effectively be fostered by promoting local limit—access to land, labor, and agricultural inputs. The languages, maintaining cultural practices, and supporting authors suggest that expanding the scope of farmers’ village-based economies rather than commercial responses to climate change thus rests not only on sup- agriculture. porting the access to diverse forms of information, but This contrast suggests the range of approaches to the expanding the capacity of individuals, households, and interaction of knowledge systems. Petzold et al. (2020) communities to govern their lands. note that many studies, like Shukla et al. (2016), focus only For collaboration and mutual exchange between diverse on specific practices that align with specific economic knowledge systems to contribute to climate solutions, the agendas, and seek to include these practices alone into scientific community will need to transcend and overcome responses to climate change. They argue that this kind of widespread biases against Indigenous knowledge and local recognition continues to perpetuate a top-down approach knowledge. This task is often slow and filled with chal- that subordinates Indigenous knowledge systems and local lenges, as shown in a recent review of the team that pre- knowledge systems to scientific knowledge systems. This pared the Northwest regional chapter for the Fourth U.S. approach also decontextualizes these knowledge systems National Climate Assessment (Roesch-McNally et al. because, by focusing on observations and practices, it 2020). The authors had a mandate to work with ‘‘diverse omits components of the system, such as governance, participants’’ and to acknowledge ‘‘multiple ways of values and laws, and worldviews, that are relevant to knowing, including local and Indigenous knowledge.’’ understanding and responding to the climate crisis (Car- They note that this assessment represented an advance over mona et al. 2022a). More broadly, this pair of studies can prior assessments in this regard, and reported that this serve to raise a question: what are the conditions of the diversity of participants led to ‘‘the shift in the Northwest research process that can distinguish in advance how suc- chapter’s framing from the authors’ original framing, cessful a study will be in achieving the goals of sustain- articulated before the stakeholder engagement meetings, ability, inclusion, and equity? focused around subregional cultures and impacts (i.e., Perspectives similar to Rarai et al. (2022) rest not only coastal, western lowlands, mountains, and inland) to a on epistemic justice (the full and equitable inclusion of collective regional identity and values-based framing (e.g., diverse knowledge systems) in isolation but also on the outdoor recreation, rural food systems, hunting and fishing, procedural and distributive justice issues that assure and tribal and Indigenous cultures)’’ (340). This diversity equitable governance (Kidd et al. 2017). For example, also permitted fuller discussion of climate impacts, Latulippe and Klenk (2020) reject extractive approaches including ones that were less fully reported in the scientific that treat Indigenous knowledge as ‘‘data that can be literature. However, Roesch-McNally et al. (2020) stated aggregated and understood in abstract and universal form.’’ the need for deeper, more sustained engagement with They go on to show, through an examination of cases of diverse authors and stakeholders and fuller incorporation of Indigenous stewardship of water and fish in Ontario, epistemic plurality and different knowledge systems. They  The Author(s) 2023, corrected publication 2023 123 www.kva.se/en Ambio noted barriers that limited the effectiveness of the stake- 2020; Gard 2021). In Canada, the federal government has holder meetings, which were planned and organized by established three high-level bilateral roundtables with First agency staff rather than in collaboration with others, and Nations, Métis, and Inuit to discuss the design and imple- that they were held in cities with large airports, rather than mentation of climate policy (Reed et al. 2021). Among in smaller sites where stakeholder groups and communities other things, this collaboration resulted in an annex on reside. They noted as well the challenges of building Indigenous Climate Action with three sections in the effective processes within the time frames mandated by the Canadian Nationally Determined Contribution to the Uni- national government. They observed that the regulations ted Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that structure national climate assessments prioritize evi- (UNFCCC), drafted by representatives of the three groups dence from scientific knowledge, especially articles in (Canada’s 2021 Nationally Determined Contribution peer-reviewed journals, over evidence from other ways of Under the Paris Agreement, 2021). A study of cases of knowing. Though the authors do not use the term ‘‘decol- Indigenous decision-making in Peru, Pakistan, China, and onization,’’ their discussion parallels a claim of this article: the U.S. shows that Indigenous-led planning to adapt to decolonization is a long process that must proceed by climate-change impacts can receive support from science- building trust and by recognizing a rights-based approach led government agencies and NGOs when community that spans political and legal rights, economic, social and rights to manage resources are acknowledged (Orlove et al. cultural rights, and human rights more broadly. 2020). Despite these challenges, the potential for collaboration Our discussion now turns from an overview of diverse of diverse knowledge systems is demonstrated in a growing knowledge systems and cases of collaboration to a review body of literature, much of it quite recent. In Tanzania, of the ways that international climate agreements and Indigenous People are currently working with the Tanzania organizations frame diverse knowledge systems. We note Meteorological Authority on weather forecasting to inform significant progress in recent years toward fuller recogni- climate decision-making processes at local and national tion of the value of these knowledge systems—and we also scales (Climate Action Network Tanzania 2022; Lusiru and note the persistence of barriers that impede full, just part- Malekela 2022). Likewise, the work of Kassam, Haag, and nerships. In the section after next, we call for transforma- colleagues in mountainous villages in Tajikistan integrated tions to make pluralism, inclusion, and epistemic justice scientific data with community observations in local cli- more than general goals—or, perhaps, appealing slogans— mate trends to understand the scope and impact of climate and instead ensure that they become realities. change in the livelihoods and food systems in these upland areas. Their study showed that an integrative assessment using both scientific and local knowledge systems allowed THE POSITION OF DIVERSE KNOWLEDGE for an enriched understanding of local climate trends by SYSTEMS WITHIN INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE reducing existing uncertainties, providing new information, AGREEMENTS AND INSTITUTIONS and introducing unforeseen perspectives (Haag et al. 2021; Kassam et al. 2021). In Australia and California, Indige- The way in which international climate and environment nous fire management practices are now widely acknowl- assessment processes approach diverse knowledge systems edged and are incorporated into a multi-faceted solution to and the forms of climate research that are prioritized wildfire issues (Erickson and Hankins 2014; McKemey influence the solutions pursued for mitigation and adapta- et al. 2021). Likewise, Fiji recently recognized customary tion. We therefore explore how Indigenous knowledge land tenure and supported traditional meetings—attended systems and local knowledge systems have been consid- by men and women of all ages–as a form of governance ered within key reports from the past 20 years from the (Eräsaari 2015; Harris et al. 2020; Tomlinson 2020; Gard IPCC and the UNFCCC, as well as UNESCO, IPBES, and 2021). In this setting, village members, led by male elders, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which also planned the relocation of coastal villages impacted by consider climate and climate-adjacent issues; we review coastal erosion and saltwater intrusion, drawing both on the instruments put in place to facilitate the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge and on scientific information con- diverse knowledge systems and interactions between them. tributed by national meteorological services and other We perform a narrative synthesis of the major reports from science-based agencies (McMichael et al. 2019). The these orgranizations to critically analyze how diverse decisions not only supported livelihoods and use of ter- knowledge systems are conceptualized, what principles are restrial and marine resources, but maintained cultural val- articulated for their recognition, and the form and extent of ues and connections to ritual sites, providing an example of collaboration involved and advocated. solutions based research that illustrates the partnership of Overall, the importance of drawing on diverse knowl- diverse knowledge systems (Eräsaari 2015; Harris et al. edge systems to address climate change, along with other  The Author(s) 2023, corrected publication 2023 www.kva.se/en 123 Ambio complex sustainability problems, took a major step forward Peoples Advisory Group in 2022. More recently, the 2021 with the Rio Declaration of the 1992 Earth Summit, an Glasgow Pact emerging from the 26th Conference of the event marked by significant Indigenous mobilization Parties to the UNFCCC (COP26) ‘‘urges Parties to actively (Nakashima et al. 2017). The Declaration, which set up the involve indigenous peoples and local communities in UNFCCC and the CBD—as well as the UN Convention to designing and implementing climate action,’’ also noting Combat Desertification—lays out the principles by which their ‘‘important role’’ in ‘‘effective action on climate the Conventions would be formed; Principle 22 of the Rio change.’’ Although the progress made at UNFCCC COP27 Declaration states that Indigenous people and their com- in 2022 was relatively minor—the references to Indigenous munities and other local communities have a vital role in issues in the cover decision were minimal and the Indige- environmental management and development because of nous demand of including Indigenous rights in Article 6, their knowledge and traditional practices. It further indi- related to emission reduction targets, was rejected—we cates that States should recognize and duly support their highlight one point of progress: the assignment of one identity, culture and interests and enable their effective position for Indigenous Peoples organizations on the participation in the achievement of sustainable develop- advisory board to the newly created Loss and Damage ment. Building on this declaration, UNFCCC and the Fund (UNFCCC 2022a). For comparison, further CBD—as well as the IPCC, UNESCO, and IPBES—have advancements were seen at the CBD COP15 in 2022 in attended significantly to these knowledge systems. Some of Canada: the new Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity their documents emphasized characteristics that are shared Framework makes strong references to Indigenous Peo- across many Indigenous knowledge systems and local ples’ rights, recognizes their territories, and promotes knowledge systems, such as worldviews that rest on deep consideration of their knowledge and their participation links between nature and culture, appear widely acknowl- during implementation. edged (Tengö et al. 2017; Petzold et al. 2020; UNESCO However, despite long-standing progressive principles 2020). Consideration of Indigenous knowledge systems about diverse knowledge systems and their consistent and local knowledge systems in these reports and other inclusion within environmental policy objectives and social documents goes beyond discussions of their vulnerability safeguard standards for programs, progress has been slow, to emphasize their crucial governance and management whether in site-based research informing climate policy, role and the need for effective partnership with scientific the local implementation of projects, the inception and knowledge systems to address climate change and biodi- design of programs at regional or wider scales, national versity loss. Since the early 2000s, a number of specific policy processes and assessments like Nationally Deter- principles regarding the treatment of different knowledge mined Contributions toward climate change mitigation and systems have become widely and consistently articulated adaptation, or the structures and functioning of interna- across international climate and biodiversity governance tional climate and environmental negotiations (Nakashima processes. These include Free, Prior, and Informed Consent et al. 2017; Kuyper et al. 2018; Nelson and Madsen 2018; (FPIC); the recognition of diverse worldviews, knowledge Klinsky 2019; Mustonen et al. 2021; Carmona et al. 2022b; systems, and customary institutions; and respect for rights McAllister et al. 2022). In general, across scales, scientific (Ituarte-Lima et al. 2018). Despite this, numerous issues, knowledge systems have continued to dominate, while the such as data sovereignty, remain unaddressed (Reyes- aspiration that those processes should involve collabora- Garcı́a et al. 2022). tions based on meaningful intercultural recognition in This attention to diverse knowledge systems has carried appropriate forums remains distant (Ulloa 2017; Okereke across various platforms (Nakashima et al. 2017). One 2018). example is provided by UNESCO’s Local and Indigenous Regarding climate research, methodologies supporting Knowledge Systems (LINKS) program, established in the co-production of knowledge have advanced and have 2002, which connects Indigenous Peoples and local com- been increasingly applied (Gram-Hanssen et al. 2021). munity knowledge holders to IPCC Working Groups. Within IPCC assessment processes, the Fifth Assessment Another is provided by the Nairobi Work Programme of Review (AR5) (2013/14) explicitly described the need to the UNFCCC, which included from the outset an emphasis consider diverse knowledge systems in climate research on Indigenous and local knowledge, has reviewed available (Petzold et al. 2020). Since then, specific examples of tools and best practices for their incorporation into adap- Indigenous knowledge systems from across the world and tation (Nakashima and Nilsson 2006; Thaman et al. 2013). their contribution to climate change adaptation or mitiga- The Green Climate Fund, which was established by the tion have increasingly featured in IPCC reports (van Bavel UNFCCC in 2010 as an operating entity of the Financial 2021). However, the prevailing narrative continues to Mechanism of the Convention, adopted its Indigenous emphasize the vulnerability of Indigenous Peoples and Peoples Policy in 2018 and operationalized its Indigenous local communities to climate change, with the IPCC’s AR6  The Author(s) 2023, corrected publication 2023 123 www.kva.se/en Ambio Working Group II report of 2022 being the first to programs’’ whether by government or private entities, to go specifically highlight the historical processes of coloniza- through FPIC. Nonetheless, Daytec-Yañgot documented tion, marginalization, and disruption of knowledge systems many cases of violations of foreign-owned mining com- that underlie that vulnerability (Belfer et al. 2017; Musto- panies in the Philippines with the help of the Department of nen et al. 2021). However, despite greater attention to Environment and Natural Resources from 1999 to 2005. Indigenous knowledge systems and Indigenous scholar- These firms ignored the FPIC enshrined in national law or ship, the IPCC assessment methods do not include any even manipulated it to justify operations despite docu- requirement to respect Indigenous data governance proto- mented opposition of affected communities (Daytec-Yañ- cols (Krug et al. 2020), which could ensure Indigenous got 2012). Similarly, Talamayan reported similar violations Peoples’ rights to protect knowledge are fulfilled, as stip- of commitments to FPIC in recent and ongoing cases of ulated by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of proposed dam construction in the Philippines, including the Indigenous Peoples (UNGA 2007). Kaliwa dam that will affect the Dumagat-Remontado Regarding climate change governance processes, the Indigenous Peoples, in southern Luzon, where construction participation of Indigenous Peoples and local communities is set to begin despite local opposition (Talamayan 2020). is often assessed to be inadequate or symbolic rather than Indeed, there are multiple definitions of FPIC, from the full and effective (Brugnach et al. 2017). For example, the relatively comprehensive description within the non-bind- Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform ing United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous (LCIPP) of the UNFCCC has been operational only since Peoples (which includes criteria such as redress for cul- 2018. LCIPP provides recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ tural, intellectual, religious, and spiritual property taken knowledge, values, and practices as part of climate solu- without FPIC) to less stringent definitions associated with tions. For the first time in 2021—at COP26 in Glasgow— project funders such as the Green Climate Fund’s Indige- the Indigenous Peoples’ Pavilion was located in the same nous Peoples Policy (UNFCCC 2022b) or the World area as delegates and formal processes, rather than in a Bank’s Environmental and Social Standards (which focus separate exhibition zone. Fundamentally, discussions on obtaining ‘‘broad community support’’ for a current around collaboration among diverse knowledge systems specified intervention) (Raftopoulos and Short 2019). In a tend to focus on the equitable distribution of financial costs similar fashion, principles aspiring to recognize knowledge and benefits alongside participation, rather than opening up systems, customary institutions, and traditional practices to epistemic and historically grounded forms of justice, are commonly listed in policies, safeguards, and objectives, including anthropogenic drivers of climate and ecological yet clear tools and instruments are not always provided or crises (Klinsky 2019). The mainstream mechanisms and used for identifying, documenting, and respecting rights responses proposed, supported, and implemented through associated with relevant institutions as standard practice. those processes most often fall far short of the biocultural This lack of consistent definitions reflects the political approaches called for by Indigenous Peoples, local com- obstacles faced by those who call for full justice and munities, and their representatives that would see local recognition. Many national government policies and prac- values, territories, and customary institutions embedded tices fall short of recognizing Indigenous knowledge sys- within climate action and viewed as a key vehicle for tems and local knowledge systems and also fail to assure achieving climate and environmental outcomes and full and effective participation. These gaps create the need ensuring resource rights, intellectual property rights, and for further work by civil society organizations and inter- data sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples and local commu- national bodies that join with Indigenous Peoples and with nities (Maffi 2018). local communities to put effective instruments in place One factor enabling the gap to persist between the (Walter and Urkidi 2017). In sum, we note the persistence principles for and actual experiences of implementation is of limits to epistemic justice, including the persistence of the limited efforts to design and put in place specific policy institutional and governance structures that impose such instruments through which those principles and standards limits. These conditions lead us to call for transformative can be met and accountability upheld. For example, change, discussed in the next section. although FPIC is consistently included as a principle or objective, implementation processes often fall short of meeting requisite standards and are minimally account- TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE able to the extent that FPIC is seldom treated as pivotal to whether or how a project proceeds. For example, the As argued above, we observe, as many have, that action to Philippine government established FPIC as national law in date on climate change has been insufficient to address the 1997 Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA) in the existential threat created by current and projected impacts Philippines; this act requires all ‘‘development projects and (Huggel et al. 2022). We therefore call for a transformation  The Author(s) 2023, corrected publication 2023 www.kva.se/en 123 Ambio of climate research as a necessary component of solutions humanity and nature, these knowledge systems can play a to the climate crisis. We join with others in discussions fundamental role in providing alternatives for new forms of about climate change who use the term ‘‘transformative governance and more-than-human values (O’Brien and change’’ and the associated opposition between transfor- Sygna 2013; Lam et al. 2020; Nightingale et al. 2020; mative and incremental change to signal the necessity of Chakraborty and Sherpa 2021; Vogel and O’Brien 2021). large-scale fundamental shifts throughout society rather These alternatives can lead to just partnerships based on than smaller adjustments (O’Brien et al. 2021; Orlove mutual recognition and respect between the peoples, 2022); however, we are aware of the concerns that have communities, and societies of knowledge holders (Adger been raised about the term—its association with neo-liberal et al. 2013; IPCC 2014; Jones et al. 2014; Yeh 2016; Klenk policies or with top-down, managerial approaches (O’Brien et al. 2017; Petzold et al. 2020). 2012), its potential to silence and marginalize voices While scientific knowledge systems have contributed to (Blythe et al. 2018), and its inherent ambiguity, which the mitigation of and adaptation to climate change, their allows it to be put to many different purposes (Kasdan et al. narrow, technical, and dominating approach to problem- 2021). We recognize as well that some researchers argue solving often marginalizes solutions held by other knowl- that incremental actions can serve as steps toward trans- edge systems, limiting the participation and contributions formation, while others suggest that they undermine of these systems at a time when they are urgently needed. transformation by diverting effort away from fundamental By contrast, the gravity of the climate crisis has prompted change or by reinforcing existing path dependencies calls for research that supports transformative change—a (Jagannathan et al. 2020). fundamental reshaping of human relationships to the non- We emphasize that overall transformation entails several human world (O’Brien and Sygna 2013; Vogel and specific transformations. We note our discussion draws O’Brien 2021). The IPBES Global Assessment (Dı́az et al. inspiration from arguments that have been made by several 2015), the latest IPCC report (IPCC 2022), and the joint Indigenous scholars. Their work underscores the deep and IPBES–IPCC report (Pörtner, et al. 2021; Pascual et al. ongoing history of colonization that creates environmental 2022) acknowledge that transformative—rather than harms and that expropriates and marginalizes Indigenous incremental—change is needed to address the climate and knowledge systems (Todd 2016; Davis and Todd 2017; biodiversity loss crises in socially just ways. Whyte 2017). Tāłtān scholar Candis Callison argues that Secondly, as mentioned earlier, our recommendations increasingly destructive fires in Canada, the U.S., and for transformative change are based on the recognition that Australia are not only the result of climate change, but also institutions of knowledge-making and institutions of gov- of the interaction of the climate crisis with flawed land ernance do not change independently of each other. management resulting from the often violent exclusions Transformative change to solve the climate crisis must rest that accompanied colonialism (Callison 2021). In that on close attention to these interactions between knowledge sense, addressing wildfire, an impact and driver of the and power. climate crisis, requires reshaping the relations of people Thirdly, our view of transformative change includes not and nature, such as the restoration of land and resource only a look ahead to a future different from our present rights to the Indigenous Peoples and to the local commu- reality, but also a sustained look back to the long history of nities from whom they were stripped. Indigenous under- exploitation of peoples and environments by European standings of humans as an integral component of nature empires and their successor states. This sobering view connect ecological knowledge to social, cultural, and leads us to call for decolonization, involving the recogni- spiritual values (Lyver et al. 2017; Liboiron et al. 2018; tion of past violence and exclusion as well as acts of Coscieme et al. 2020) that can guide transformative restitution. Climate change underscores the importance of change. the broad challenge of decolonization, bringing it into Firstly, we call for solutions-based research to more wider view internationally, nationally, and locally as its broadly define the problems to be solved. Such efforts can unjust consequences grow more evident. On the one hand, advance by fully incorporating the deep-rooted knowledge this immense task of decolonization means that recom- possessed by Indigenous Peoples and local communities, mendations for more diverse knowledge systems cannot be arising from their close observations of and engagement made in a facile manner, as if these changes were easy to with the natural world (Orlove et al. 2000; Fernández- achieve; on the other hand, the immense task of con- Llamazares et al. 2015; Reyes-Garcı́a et al. 2021; Sch- fronting the climate crisis creates support for wider coali- lingmann et al. 2021). Moreover, because Indigenous tions and more inclusive efforts. knowledge systems and local knowledge systems are fun- These three points correspond only partially with certain damentally shaped by different worldviews, cosmologies, other views on transformative change. Both the IPCC and and ontologies that posit distinct ways of relating with IPBES speak of transformation in terms of systemic  The Author(s) 2023, corrected publication 2023 123 www.kva.se/en Ambio transitions and include shifts in governance and values in full acceptance of the complexity and breadth of knowl- order to address the underlying drivers of climate and edge systems. Indigenous knowledge systems and local environmental crises (IPCC 2022). We present a vision of knowledge systems are not restricted to observations, an inclusive process for the making and implementation of methodologies, and generalizations about the natural new knowledge—one that foregrounds the roles of values world; rather, they constitute entire ways of knowing— and the links between knowledge and governance. How- coherent, dynamic sets of practices, values, worldviews, ever, unlike the definitions of transformation offered by the and relationships, rooted in ties to land, language, and IPCC and IPBES—which focus on large-scale systems— cosmologies. we emphasize that change must occur at all scales. Transformation requires, in particular, new ways of linking Decolonization international research to local concerns, as well as new ways of bringing local and Indigenous knowledge to bear To move to full recognition of and respect between diverse on global governance, including the development and knowledge systems requires addressing colonial relations implementation of adaptation and mitigation measures in climate research. The transformational move to full (Renn 2020; PICC 2022). inclusion of diverse knowledge systems and their holders involves confronting the power relations that have deter- mined the historical undervaluing of certain groups and RECOMMENDATIONS their knowledge systems. This process requires sustained efforts to decolonize research agendas and tools, toward the We suggest a path toward the full inclusion of diverse revitalization of Indigenous Peoples and of local commu- knowledge systems in climate research. This recommended nities, strengthening of their knowledge systems and ways path begins with a statement of the general goals to support of life, and protection of their lands and territories. Such such inclusion, continues with three specific recommen- decolonization must be based on respect for diverse dations to achieve these goals, and closes with a review of worldviews (Mustonen 2013; Gilio-Whitaker 2019; Whyte specific instruments that have been developed to assure 2017; Wilson et al. 2020; Callison 2021). As we discuss inclusion of knowledge holders (primarily Indigenous below, specific instruments at the international, national, Peoples but also with applicability to local communities) and local scales can support processes of decolonization. In across a number of domains. We conclude by noting that this way, they can move from the vertical and violent progress to date, though significant, remains incomplete, so relations of colonialism and hegemonic Western world- that further work remains to ensure that instruments such as views to the horizontal and supportive relations of part- these are put into full practice. We acknowledge that there nership between knowledge holders and worldviews, our have been many similar calls for transformation, but we second recommendation. As shown in ‘‘Transformative emphasize that the time for action is now in light of the change’’ section, some of these instruments are not new, urgency of the climate crisis. Without specific instruments but they require broader and deeper application and fuller to ensure action, calls for transformation of climate implementation. research, of climate action, and of society can remain ineffective, if not rhetorical or performative. Partnership Goals The term partnership conveys a number of elements for the full inclusion of diverse knowledge systems. It indicates Our general goal centers on a call for transformation in the the importance of recognizing all knowledge holders as way diverse knowledge systems serve to develop solutions- individuals, as communities, and as organizations. More based research that can address the climate crisis, as they than collaboration, partnership points to horizontal ties contribute to solutions to other, related crises; incremental between equals. And more than co-production (see change is insufficient to address longstanding inequalities ‘‘Transformative change’’ section for a discussion of its and exclusions. This transformation rests on a rights-based meaning), partnership suggests ongoing ties and mutual justice approach, which entails mutual recognition and responsibilities that extend over time rather than joint respect between different knowledge systems and which efforts on individual projects that are by nature limited in acknowledges that knowledge systems are intertwined with duration. Partnership also points to a fuller range of material and political systems—as shown in particular by scales—from international and national to local—than co- the links that connect Indigenous knowledge with Indige- production, which is often limited to smaller scales. Most nous land rights and self-determination. As stated in importantly, partnerships respect the autonomy of diverse ‘‘Knowledge systems’’ section, this recognition entails the knowledge systems, rather than calling for their  The Author(s) 2023, corrected publication 2023 www.kva.se/en 123 Ambio integration—usually a precursor of the subordination of the mutual understanding that is a necessary precondition other knowledge systems to scientific knowledge—or for for implementation, so that all parties are ready to under- the creation of a syncretic knowledge system that obliter- take the collective work that constitutes ongoing partner- ates the distinctive nature of its constituents. Finally, ships. These processes of implementation take the concrete partnership also implies sustained dialogue between two or form of instruments, our fourth and final recommendation. more organizations or collectivities in ways that foster intercultural understanding. Such ongoing, sustained Instruments exchanges contribute to transformational rather than incremental change. We note a number of existing instruments that can operate Partnership also implies a governance framework in individually and jointly to advance the processes of which participants work together. As others have recog- decolonization. These processes, in turn, are necessary nized (Carmona et al. 2022a; Pascual et al. 2022), gover- preconditions for genuine partnerships to achieve full nance to support just, equitable partnerships for climate inclusion of diverse knowledge systems into climate research must function on multiple levels. At the interna- research. Indeed, the instruments serve not only to allow tional level, following the lead of biodiversity organiza- the sharing of knowledge but also the sharing of power. tions—particularly the CBD and IPBES (Hill et al. 2020)— This power-sharing is a key element of the reconciliation the UNFCCC must ensure that Indigenous Peoples engage that lies at the heart of decolonization. in all of its subsidiary and constituted bodies. The IPCC An important element of the power-sharing lies in the should include more Indigenous authors and representa- continuous monitoring and evaluation of the instruments tives of local communities in their assessments and con- by the many parties involved, leading to learning and to vene Indigenous Peoples and other knowledge holders as evolution of the instruments. It cannot be assumed that the official observers and reviewers (Ebhuoma and Leonard instruments, once established, will work so well that they 2022; Lu 2022). At the national level, states should commit can remain unchanged indefinitely. As shown by the his- to and ensure the full participation of Indigenous Peoples in tory of instruments in ‘‘The position of diverse knowledge the design, monitoring, reporting, and verification of cli- systems within international climate agreements and mate research and action, incorporating non-Western institutions’’ section, such monitoring and evaluation worldviews and forms of relating to nature. At the local reveals gaps and deficits which can then lead to modifi- level, all measures must be decided in accordance with the cations in the instruments and the addition of other rights of the Indigenous Peoples involved; the implemen- instruments. tation must respect land and resource tenure and local We recognize that no set of instruments can guarantee protocols, and must support as well the broader recognition justice and transformative change on their own. As dis- of plural values and worldviews. For these governance cussed in ‘‘The position of diverse knowledge systems measures to be successful, concrete steps must be taken to within international climate agreements and institutions’’ ensure that they lead directly to changed practices, leading section, formal requirements for FPIC in the Philippines to our third recommendation, implementation. did not prevent mines and dams from being constructed in Indigenous lands, despite the opposition of the Indigenous Implementation Peoples. FPIC has had a checked history elsewhere as well; a review of 68 cases of consultations between mining firms For governance mechanisms at local, national, and inter- and Indigenous and local communities across Latin national scales to promote change—especially transfor- America found some cases of success in supporting com- mative change—they must link to and influence processes munity efforts to protect their lands and other cases of of implementation. These processes include the adminis- failure (Walter and Urkidi 2017). Indeed, FPIC can have tration of rules and monitoring and evaluation of their pernicious effects, by creating the appearance of consent application and processes for presenting grievances and when such consent is neither free nor informed, as was adjudicating or arbitrating disputes. The diversity of recently documented for the Ecuadorian Amazon knowledge systems involved in climate research partner- (Etchart 2022). ships places requirements of inclusivity and accountability However, though these instruments cannot be taken as a on these processes of implementation. Since these knowl- panacea, they are often powerful; the expansion of their use edge systems include diverse types of relations between offers hope that transformative change is a genuine possi- human communities and the non-human or natural world, bility. As the text box below shows, there has been some these processes must ensure the respect of local world- progress toward establishing these instruments through views, protocols, and customary practices. In turn, this international agreements and toward implementing these mutual respect requires capacity building on all sides for instruments through governing authorities at national and  The Author(s) 2023, corrected publication 2023 123 www.kva.se/en Ambio local levels. We note that some of these instruments have research by acknowledging and respecting the prac- existed and been included in principle for decades, but tices, values, and forms of relationality in Indigenous substantial gaps remain in terms of their prioritization and knowledge systems and local knowledge systems. It is support that they have received—gaps that we signal in our supported by national legislation in some countries. discussions of decolonization and implementation above Examples include national programs in Nepal, the (Human Rights Watch 2019; Jong 2022). Philippines, and Mexico (Rénique 2007; Sherpa et al. We suggest that the expansion of such implementation, 2010; Poole 2011; CIPRED 2021). and indeed the expansion of these instruments, will pro- • Intellectual property rights. This instrument requires mote the rapid movement toward transformative change researchers to recognize the ownership rights of knowl- that the current climate crisis requires. edge holders to specific bodies of knowledge. It con- tributes to transformative climate research by Policy instruments supporting partnership guaranteeing the intellectual rights of all participants in between diverse knowledge systems partnerships. It is supported by the Nagoya Protocol of the Convention on Biodiversity (2014). In addition, in 2009, • Full consultation. This instrument promotes the inclu- the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Prop- sion of Indigenous Peoples and of local communities in erty and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and all stages of projects and programs, though it does not Folklore of the World Intellectual Property Organization guarantee them an influence in shaping action. It sup- began development of an international legal instrument to ports transformative climate research by recognizing defend intellectual property rights for Indigenous knowl- the rights to participation and self-governance. It is edge systems and local knowledge systems; work on this supported by the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples’ Con- instrument remains incomplete. Examples include Tan- vention of the International Labour Organisation zania (PINGO’s Forum 2021a b; Climate Action Network (1989), as well as by operational policies of the Con- Tanzania 2022; Lusiru and Malekela 2022; PINGO’s vention on Biological Diversity, the World Bank, a Forum 2022) and the US (Rimmer 2018). number of multilateral development banks, and a • Indigenous data sovereignty. This instrument expands number of United Nations agencies. Examples of the scope of the previous instrument, intellectual countries that have adopted consultation include India, property rights, by recognizing that intellectual prop- Chile, and Brazil (Eimer and Bartels 2020; Tormos- erty rights extend beyond the scope of specific bodies Aponte 2021; Carmona 2022). of knowledge to cover knowledge systems at large. The • Free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC). This instru- recognition of Indigenous data sovereignty supports ment requires the full voluntary agreement of Indige- transformative climate research by recognizing the nous Peoples or of local communities in advance of the rights of knowledge holders of diverse knowledge implementation of projects or activities by outside systems. It is supported by the proposed CARE and Fair parties that have the potential to affect them. It is Principles for Indigenous Data Futures (Carroll et al. therefore stronger than full consultation (since with- 2020). Development of this instrument has advanced holding consent can block projects), even though it is particularly in New Zealand (Cormack and Kukutai often only limited to the initial planning phases of 2022; Reeves et al. 2022). projects. FPIC supports transformative climate research • Preservation and promotion of Indigenous languages. by recognizing the rights to self-determination and self- This instrument builds on the two previous instruments governance, as well as other related rights. It is by supporting the languages that form the framework supported by the United Nations Declaration of the for the knowledge that those instruments address. The Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007). Examples include preservation and promotion of Indigenous languages numerous countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and supports transformative climate research by assuring elsewhere (Williams and Hardison 2013; Godden and the vitality and autonomy of languages that animate Tehan 2016; Papillon and Rodon 2017). Indigenous knowledge systems (Basso 1996). It is often • Recognition of customary law. This instrument extends linked with education programs to assure the transmis- the first two instruments by granting full legal status to sion of Indigenous languages. It is supported by the Los the traditional cultural rules and forms that regulate Pinos Declaration, the Outcome document of the high- action; it includes all actions, rather than only the level UNESCO event ‘‘Making a Decade of Action for projects and programs as in the first two. It typically Indigenous Languages’’ (2019). Examples include Peru includes customary institutions that shape land- and and Fiji (Hornberger 2014; Eräsaari 2015; Linares water-based practices, particularly communal tenure 2017; Ocampo Yahuarcani et al. 2019; Harris et al. and territorial rights. It supports transformative climate 2020; Gard 2021).  The Author(s) 2023, corrected publication 2023 www.kva.se/en 123 Ambio CONCLUSION adaptation. Nature Climate Change 3: 112–117. https://doi.org/ 10.1038/nclimate1666. Aikenhead, G., and H.J. Michell. 2011. Bridging cultures: scientific As suggested above, the goals of transformation will not be and indigenous and ways of knowing nature. Hoboken: Pearson achieved if they remain only as broad principles, since inevi- Prentice Hall. tably, disagreements will arise about how to put these princi- Basso, K. H. 1996. Wisdom sits in places: landscape and language ples into practice, and the forces that oppose these principles among the Western Apache. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. can use their breadth to delay or to block them. Bodies in Belfer, E., J.D. Ford, and M. Maillet. 2017. Representation of public, private and non-profit sectors have time and again Indigenous peoples in climate change reporting. Climatic shown themselves to be adept in subverting instruments. We Change 145: 57–70. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-017-2076-z. recognize that no call to action can offer a panacea, and that no Bezner Kerr, Rachel, Toshihiro Hasegawa, and Rodel Lasco. 2019. Chapter 5: food, fibre, and other ecosystem products. in Climate system of prescriptions can guarantee full, just partnerships. change 2022: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Contribu- Nonetheless, we also recognize that the instruments have tion of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the led to progress in a number of settings, as illustrated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge: cases which we discussed at the close of ‘‘Knowledge sys- Cambridge University Press. Blythe, J., J. Silver, L. Evans, D. Armitage, N.J. Bennett, M. Moore, T.H. tems’’ section and elsewhere in this article. Hence, we Morrison, and K. Brown. 2018. The dark side of transformation: include a focus on implementation, and propose concrete latent risks in contemporary sustainability discourse. Antipode 50: instruments that can serve to accomplish this implementa- 1206–1223. https://doi.org/10.1111/anti.12405. tion. We recognize as well that further action is also needed Brugnach, M., M. Craps, and A. Dewulf. 2017. Including indigenous peoples in climate change mitigation: addressing issues of scale, to build genuine partnerships between the holders of diverse knowledge and power. Climatic Change 140: 19–32. https://doi. knowledge systems. The full use of the instruments dis- org/10.1007/s10584-014-1280-3. cussed here can contribute significantly to this action. Callison, C. 2021. Refusing more empire: utility, colonialism, and Without them, such action is likely to be very limited. Indigenous knowing. Climatic Change 167: 58. https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s10584-021-03188-9. Canada’s 2021 Nationally Determined Contribution Under the Paris Acknowledgements For author Victoria Reyes-Garcı́a: Research Agreement. 2021. UNFCCC. https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/ leading to this paper has received funding from the European NDC/2022-06/Canada%27s%20Enhanced%20NDC% Research Council under an ERC Consolidator Grant (FP7-771056- 20Submission1_FINAL%20EN.pdf LICCI). This work contributes to the ‘‘Marı́a de Maeztu’’ Programme Carmona, R. 2022. Pueblo mapuche, vulnerabilidad climática y for Units of Excellence in R&D (MdM-2019-0940). For author Neil polı́tica pública. Una aproximación desde la etnografı́a del Dawson: Research leading to this paper has received funding through Estado [Thesis for the degree of PhD in Anthropology, the project Indigenous Sustainable Development (INDIS), supported University of Bonn]. https://bonndoc.ulb.uni-bonn.de/xmlui/ by the UK Global Challenges Research Fund grant number I206041. handle/20.500.11811/9569 Carmona, R., J. Petrasek MacDonald, D. Sambo Dorough, T. Rai, G. Funding Funding was provided by European Research Council Sanago, and S. Thorsell. 2022a. Recognising the contributions of (FP7-771056-LICCI). Indigenous Peoples in global climate action? An analysis of the IPCC report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Copen- Declarations hagen: International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs. https:// iwgia.org/en/resources/publications/4621-iwgia-briefing-analysing- Conflict of interest The authors have no interests that are directly or recognition-contrubutions-indigenous-peoples-ipcc-report.html indirectly related to the work submitted for publication. Carmona, R., G. Reed, J. Ford, S. Thorsell, R. Yon, F. Carril, J. Cerda, and K. Pickering. 2022b. Recognition of indigenous Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons peoples in nationally determined contributions. Copenhagen: Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs. https://iwgia. adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as org/en/resources/publications.html long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the Carroll, S.R., I. Garba, O.L. Figueroa-Rodrı́guez, J. Holbrook, R. source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate Lovett, S. Materechera, M. Parsons, K. Raseroka, D. Rodriguez- if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this Lonebear, R. Rowe, R. Sara, J.D. Walker, J. Anderson, and M. article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless Hudson. 2020. The CARE principles for indigenous data indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not governance. Data Science Journal 19: 43. https://doi.org/10. included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended 5334/dsj-2020-043. use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted Cartier, K. M. S. 2022. Maui Endures more drought and drier streams. use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright Eos. https://eos.org/articles/maui-endures-more-drought-and- holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons. drier-streams org/licenses/by/4.0/. Chakraborty, R., and P.Y. Sherpa. 2021. From climate adaptation to climate justice: critical reflections on the IPCC and Himalayan climate knowledges. Climatic Change 167: 49. https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s10584-021-03158-1. REFERENCES Chiblow, S., and P.J. Meighan. 2022. Language is land, land is language: the importance of Indigenous languages. Human Adger, W.N., J. Barnett, K. Brown, N. Marshall, and K. O’Brien. Geography 15: 206–210. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 2013. Cultural dimensions of climate change impacts and 19427786211022899.  The Author(s) 2023, corrected publication 2023 123 www.kva.se/en Ambio Center for Indigenous Peoples’ Research and Development Gard, R. 2021. Paddling on both sides of the canoe: toward a (CIPRED). 2021. Indigenous Peoples’ Customary Governance consilience of science and spirituality in climate change for Sustainable Management of Natural Resources and Protec- response. In Beyond belief, ed. J.M. Luetz and P.D. Nunn, tion of Biodiversity. IUCN CEESP. 207–225. New York: Springer. Climate Action Network Tanzania. 2022. Climate services: come in Gilio-Whitaker, D. 2019. As long as grass grows: the indigenous fight out of the rain (summary for policymakers). https://cantz.or.tz/ for environmental justice, from colonization to Standing Rock. publications/15 Boston: Beacon Press. Cochran, P., O.H. Huntington, C. Pungowiyi, S. Tom, F.S. Chapin, Godden, L., and M. Tehan. 2016. REDD?: climate justice and H.P. Huntington, N.G. Maynard, and S.F. Trainor. 2013. indigenous and local community rights in an era of climate Indigenous frameworks for observing and responding to climate disruption. Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law 34: change in Alaska. Climatic Change 120: 557–567. 95–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/02646811.2016.1121620. Cormack, D., and T. Kukutai. 2022. Indigenous peoples, data, and the Graeber, D., and D. Wengrow. 2021. The dawn of everything: a new coloniality of surveillance. In New perspectives in critical data history of humanity. Bristol: Allen Lane. studies, ed. A. Hepp, J. Jarke, and L. Kramp, 121–141. New Gram-Hanssen, I., N. Schafenacker, and J. Bentz. 2021. Decolonizing York: Springer. transformations through ‘right relations.’ Sustainability Science. Coscieme, L., H. da Silva Hyldmo, Á. Fernández-Llamazares, I. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-021-00960-9. Palomo, T.H. Mwampamba, O. Selomane, N. Sitas, Jau- Granberg, M., and L. Glover. 2014. Adaptation and maladaptation in reguiberry, et al. 2020. Multiple conceptualizations of nature australian national climate change policy. Journal of Environ- are key to inclusivity and legitimacy in global environmental mental Policy & Planning 16: 147–159. https://doi.org/10.1080/ governance. Environmental Science & Policy 104: 36–42. 1523908X.2013.823857. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2019.10.018. Haag, I., K.-A. Kassam, T. Senftl, H. Zandler, and C. Samimi. 2021. Davis, H., and Z. Todd. 2017. On the importance of a date, or, Measurements meet human observations: integrating distinctive decolonizing the anthropocene. ACME 16: 761–780. ways of knowing in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan to assess Daytec-Yañgot, C. L. 2012. FPIC: a shield or threat to indigenous local climate change. Climatic Change 165: 5. https://doi.org/10. peoples’ rights? https://www.un-redd.org/sites/default/files/ 1007/s10584-021-02988-3. 2021-09/Indigenous%20Peoples%20Experiences%20on% Haraway, D.J. 2016. Staying with the trouble: making kin in the 20Free%2C%20Prior%20and%20Informed%20Consent%3A% Chthulucene. Durham: Duke University Press. 20A%20Collection%20of%20Case%20Studies% Harris, P., Brock, C., McInnes, E., Neill, B., Diamond, A., Carter, J., 28Philippines%29.pdf Camaitoga, U., Krishna, M., et al. (2020). Language and Dı́az, S., S. Demissew, J. Carabias, C. Joly, M. Lonsdale, N. Ash, A. Literacy Learning in Multilingual Settings. In P. Harris, C. Larigauderie, J.R. Adhikari, et al. 2015. The IPBES conceptual Brock, E. McInnes, B. Neill, A. Diamond, J. Carter, U. framework—connecting nature and people. Current Opinion in Camaitoga, M. Krishna, and E. Giannakis (eds), Children’s Environmental Sustainability 14: 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. Multilingual Literacy (Vol. 31, pp. 41–75). Springer, Singapore cosust.2014.11.002. Hill, R., Ç. Adem, W.V. Alangui, Z. Molnár, Y. Aumeeruddy- Douglas, H. 2000. Inductive risk and values in science. Philosophy of Thomas, P. Bridgewater, M. Tengö, R. Thaman, et al. 2020. Science 67: 559–579. https://doi.org/10.1086/392855. Working with Indigenous, local and scientific knowledge in Ebhuoma, E., and L. Leonard, eds. 2022. Indigenous knowledge and assessments of nature and nature’s linkages with people. Current climate governance: a Sub-Saharan African perspective. New Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 43: 8–20. https://doi. York: Springer. org/10.1016/j.cosust.2019.12.006. Eimer, T.R., and T. Bartels. 2020. From consent to consultation: Hornberger, N.H. 2014. ‘‘Until I became a professional, I was not, indigenous rights and the new environmental constitutionalism. consciously, indigenous’’: one intercultural bilingual educator’s Environmental Politics 29: 235–256. https://doi.org/10.1080/ trajectory in indigenous language revitalization. Journal of 09644016.2019.1595884. Language, Identity & Education 13: 283–299. https://doi.org/10. Ellen, R. 2004. From ethno-science to science, or ‘‘what the 1080/15348458.2014.939028. indigenous knowledge debate tells us about how scientists Howe, J.P. 2014. Getting past the greenhouse: John Tyndall and the define their project.’’ Journal of Cognition and Culture 4: nineteenth-century history of climate change. In The age of 409–450. scientific naturalism, ed. B. Lightman and M.S. Reidy. London: Eräsaari, M. 2015. The iTaukei chief: value and alterity in Verata. Pickering & Chatto. Journal De La Socie´te´ Des Oce´anistes 141: 239–254. https://doi. Huggel, C., L.M. Bouwer, S. Juhola, R. Mecler, V. Muccione, B. org/10.4000/jso.7407. Orlove, and I. Wallimann-Helmer. 2022. The existential risk Eriksen, C., and D.L. Hankins. 2014. The retention, revival, and space of climate change. Climatic Change 174: 8. https://doi.org/ subjugation of indigenous fire knowledge through agency fire 10.1007/s10584-022-03430-y. fighting in Eastern Australia and California. Society & Natural Human Rights Watch. 2019. September 22. Indonesia: indigenous Resources 27: 1288–1303. peoples losing their forests. https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/09/ Etchart, L. 2022. Corporate social responsibility and the extractive 22/indonesia-indigenous-peoples-losing-their-forests industries in the Ecuadorian amazon: indigenous rights and the International Labour Organisation (ILO). 1989. Indigenous and environment. Cham: Palgrave. Tribal Peoples Convention (Convention No. 169). Geneva: ILO. Ferguson, J., and M. Weaselboy. 2020. Indigenous sustainable Ingold, T. 2011. Being alive: essays on movement, knowledge and relations: considering land in language and language in land. description. London: Routledge. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 43: 1–7. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 2014. Climate https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2019.11.006. change 2014: mitigation of climate change: working group III Fernández-Llamazares, Á., I. Dı́az-Reviriego, A.C. Luz, M. Cabeza, contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovern- A. Pyhälä, and V. Reyes-Garcı́a. 2015. Rapid ecosystem change mental Panel on Climate Change (O. Edenhofer, R. Pichs- challenges the adaptive capacity of local environmental knowl- Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, and K. Seyboth, edge. Global Environmental Change 31: 272–284. https://doi. Eds.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.02.001.  The Author(s) 2023, corrected publication 2023 www.kva.se/en 123 Ambio Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 2018. Annex I: effectiveness in a post-Paris era. Wires Climate Change. glossary (Matthews, JBR, Ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge Univer- https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.497. sity Press. Lam, D.P.M., E. Hinz, D.J. Lang, M. Tengö, H. von Wehrden, and B. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 2022. Climate Martı́n-López. 2020. Indigenous and local knowledge in sus- change 2022: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. IPCC. tainability transformations research: a literature review. Ecology https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/ and Society. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-11305-250103. Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Latulippe, N., and N. Klenk. 2020. Making room and moving over: Ecosystem Services (IPBES). 2017. Knowledge systems. IPBES knowledge co-production, Indigenous knowledge sovereignty Secretariat. http://ipbes.net/glossary/knowledge-systems and the politics of global environmental change decision- Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC). 2016. Application of indigenous making. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 42: knowledge in the arctic council. Anchorage, Alaska: Inuit 7–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2019.10.010. Circumpolar Conference. https://iccalaska.org/wp-icc/wp- Levi-Strauss, C. 1966. The savage mind. University of Chicago Press. content/uploads/2016/03/Application-of-IK-in-the-Arctic- Liboiron, M., M. Tironi, and N. Calvillo. 2018. Toxic politics: acting Council.pdf in a permanently polluted world. Social Studies of Science 48: Ituarte-Lima, C., M. Schultz, T. Hahn, C. Mcdermott, R. Martinez- 331–349. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306312718783087. Peña, and S.E. Cornell. 2018. CBD voluntary guidelines for Linares, R.E. 2017. Guided by care: teacher decision-making in a safeguards: implementation pathways. https://doi.org/10.13140/ rural intercultural bilingual classroom in Peru. Intercultural RG.2.2.24660.96643 Education 28: 508–522. https://doi.org/10.1080/14675986.2017. Jagannathan, K., J.C. Arnott, C. Wyborn, N. Klenk, K.J. Mach, R.H. 1390941. Moss, and K.D. Sjostrom. 2020. Great expectations? Reconciling Longino, H.E. 1990. Science as social knowledge: values and the aspiration, outcome, and possibility of co-production. objectivity in scientific inquiry. Princeton: Princeton University Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 42: 22–29. Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2019.11.010. Longino, H.E. 1996. Cognitive and non-cognitive values in science: Jasanoff, S., ed. 2004. States of knowledge: the co-production of rethinking the dichotomy. In Feminism, science, and the science and social order. Milton Park: Routledge. philosophy of science, ed. L.H. Nelson and J. Nelson, 39–58. Jones, R., A. Patwardhan, S. Cohen, S. Dessai, A. Lammel, R. Netherlands: Springer. Lempert, M. Mirza, and H. von Storch. 2014. Foundations for Lu, D. 2022. July 30. How scientists are working for greater inclusion decision making. In Climate change 2014: impacts, adaptation, of Indigenous knowledge. The Guardian. https://www. and vulnerability, ed. C.B. Field, V.R. Barros, D.J. Dokken, K.J. theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jul/31/how-scientists-are- Mach, and M.D. Mastrandrea, 195–228. Cambridge: Cambridge working-for-greater-inclusion-of-indigenous-knowledge University Press. Lusiru, S.N., and A.A. Malekela. 2022. Triangulating indigenous Jong, H. N. 2022, August 1. No permit? No problem for palm oil place names and meteorological data for a better understanding company still clearing forest in Papua. Mongabay. https://news. of climate change in same district, Tanzania. International mongabay.com/2022/08/no-permit-no-problem-for-palm-oil- Journal of Environment and Climate Change. https://doi.org/10. company-still-clearing-forest-in-papua 9734/ijecc/2022/v12i1131053 Kasdan, M., L. Kuhl, and P. Kurukulasuriya. 2021. The evolution of Lyver, P.O., P. Timoti, A.M. Gormley, C.J. Jones, S.J. Richardson, B.L. transformational change in multilateral funds dedicated to financ- Tahi, and S. Greenhalgh. 2017. Key Māori values strengthen the ing adaptation to climate change. Climate and Development 13: mapping of forest ecosystem services. Ecosystem Services 27: 427–442. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2020.1790333. 92–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2017.08.009. Kassam, K.-A., M. Ruelle, I. Haag, U. Bulbulshoev, D. Kaziev, L. Maffi, L. 2018. Biocultural diversity. In The international encyclo- Louis, A. Ullmann, I. Edwards, et al. 2021. Engaging transfor- pedia of anthropology, 1st ed., ed. H. Callan, 1–14. New York: mation: using seasonal rounds to anticipate climate change. Wiley. Human Ecology 49: 509–523. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745- McAllister, T.G., S. Naepi, E. Wilson, D. Hikuroa, and L.A. Walker. 021-00269-2. 2022. Under-represented and overlooked: Māori and Pasifika Kidd, I.J., J. Medina, and G. Pohlhaus, eds. 2017. Routledge scientists in Aotearoa New Zealand’s universities and crown- handbook of epistemic injustice. Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxford- research institutes. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand shire, UK: Routledge. 52: 38–53. Kimmerer, R. W. 2013. Braiding sweetgrass (First edition). Milkweed McKemey, M., T.B. Rangers, M. Patterson, J. Hunter, M. Ridges, E. Editions. Ens, C. Miller, O. Costello, and N. Reid. 2021. Indigenous Klenk, N., A. Fiume, K. Meehan, and C. Gibbes. 2017. Local cultural burning had less impact than wildfire on the threatened knowledge in climate adaptation research: moving knowledge Backwater grevillea (Grevillea scortechinii subsp. Sarmentosa) frameworks from extraction to co-production. Wires Climate while effectively decreasing fuel loads. International Journal of Change 8: e475. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.475. Wildland Fire 30: 745. Klinsky, S. 2019. Taming equity in multilateral climate politics: a McMichael, C., M. Katonivualiku, and T. Powell. 2019. Planned shift from responsibilities to capacities. In What next for relocation and everyday agency in low-lying coastal villages in sustainable development?, ed. J. Meadowcroft, D. Banister, E. Fiji. The Geographical Journal 185: 325–337. https://doi.org/10. Holden, O. Langhelle, K. Linnerud, and G. Gilpin, 159–179. 1111/geoj.12312. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. Mustonen, T. 2013. Rebirth of Indigenous Arctic Nations and polar Krug, C.B., E. Sterling, T. Cadman, J. Geschke, P.F. Drummond de resource management: critical perspectives from Siberia and Castro, R. Schliep, I. Osemwegie, F.E. Muller-Karger, and T. Sámi areas of Finland. Biodiversity 14: 19–27. https://doi.org/10. Maraseni. 2020. Stakeholder participation in IPBES: connecting 1080/14888386.2012.725652. local environmental work with global decision making. Ecosys- Mustonen, T., Rivera Harper, M. Ferre, J.C. Postigo, A. Ayanlade, T. tems and People 16: 197–211. https://doi.org/10.1080/26395916. Benjaminsen, R. Morgan, A. Okem, et al. 2021. 2021 towards 2020.1788643. inclusion of indigenous knowledge and local knowledge in Kuyper, J.W., B. Linnér, and H. Schroeder. 2018. Non-state actors in global reports on climate change. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2. hybrid global climate governance: justice, legitimacy, and 2.14498.76485  The Author(s) 2023, corrected publication 2023 123 www.kva.se/en Ambio Nakashima, D., K. Galloway McLean, H. Thulstrup, A. Ramos Orlove, B. 2022. The concept of adaptation. Annual Review of Castillo, and J. Rubis. 2012. Weathering uncertainty: traditional Environment and Resources 47: 535–581. https://doi.org/10. knowledge for climate change assessment and adaptation. 1146/annurev-environ-112320-095719. Darwin: UNESCO; UNU-IAS. Orlove, B., J.C.H. Chiang, and M.A. Cane. 2000. Forecasting Andean Nakashima, D., and A. Nilsson. 2006. Linking biological and cultural rainfall and crop yield from the influence of El Niño on Pleiades diversity: Local and indigenous knowledge systems. In Sixty visibility. Nature 403: 68–71. https://doi.org/10.1038/47456. years of science at UNESCO, ed. P. Petitjean, V. Zharov, G. Orlove, B., R. Shwom, E. Markowitz, and S.-M. Cheong. 2020. Glaser, J. Richardson, B. de Padirac, and G. Archibald, Climate decision-making. Annual Review of Environment and 1945–2005. UNESCO. Resources 45: 271–303. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev- Nakashima, D., J. Rubis, P. Bates, and B. Ávila. 2017. Local environ-012320-085130. knowledge, global goals. Paris: UNESCO Document code:SC/ Papillon, M., and T. Rodon. 2017. Proponent-Indigenous agreements UNESCO-LINKS/WS/2017, SC-2018/WS/https://unesdoc. and the implementation of the right to free, prior, and informed unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000259599 consent in Canada. Environmental Impact Assessment Review Nelson, M. 2020, December 22. Time to indigenize lands and water 62: 216–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2016.06.009. conservation. Sierra. https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2021-1- Pascual, U., P.D. McElwee, S.E. Diamond, H.T. Ngo, X. Bai, W.W.L. january-february/feature/time-indigenize-lands-and-water- Cheung, M. Lim, N. Steiner, J. Agard, C.I. Donatti, C.M. Duarte, conservation R. Leemans, S. Managi, A.P.F. Pires, V. Reyes-Garcı́a, C. Nelson, D.J., and L.D. Madsen. 2018. Representation of Native Trisos, R.J. Scholes, and H.-O. Pörtner. 2022. Governing for Americans in US science and engineering faculty. MRS Bulletin transformative change across the biodiversity–climate–society 43: 379–383. https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs.2018.108. nexus. BioScience 72: 684–704. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/ Nelson, M.K., and D. Shilling, eds. 2018. Traditional ecological biac031. knowledge: learning from indigenous practices for environmen- Petzold, J., N. Andrews, J.D. Ford, C. Hedemann, and J.C. Postigo. tal sustainability. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2020. Indigenous knowledge on climate change adaptation: a New, M., Reckien, D., Viner, D., Adler, C., Cheong, S.-M., Conde, global evidence map of academic literature. Environmental C., Constable, A., Coughlan de Perez, E., et al. (2022). Decision Research Letters 15: 113007. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ making options for managing risk. in climate change 2022: abb330. impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability: vol. Contribution of PINGO’s Forum. 2021a. Climate change partnership with indigenous Working Group II to the sixth assessment report of the peoples in East Africa: indigenous knowledge and coping intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge: Cam- mechanisms. The Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa. bridge University Press. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/ https://pingosforum.or.tz/wp-content/uploads/2021a/05/ downloads Indigenous-Knowledge-Coping-Mechanisms.pdf Nightingale, A.J., S. Eriksen, M. Taylor, T. Forsyth, M. Pelling, A. PINGO’s Forum. 2021b. Impacts of climate change mitigation Newsham, E. Boyd, K. Brown, et al. 2020. Beyond technical strategies on indigenous peoples livelihoods: a case of Tanzania. fixes: climate solutions and the great derangement. Climate and The Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa. https:// Development 12: 343–352. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529. pingosforum.or.tz/wp-content/uploads/2021b/05/Impacts-of- 2019.1624495. Climate-Change-Mitigation-Strategy-to-IPs.pdf Nkuba, M.R., R. Chanda, G. Mmopelwa, E. Kato, M.N. Mangheni, PINGO’s Forum. 2022. Traditional knowledge system for agro- and D. Lesolle. 2020. Influence of indigenous knowledge and pastorialists resiliency. The Open Society Initiative for Eastern scientific climate forecasts on arable farmers’ climate adaptation Africa. http://www.pingosforum.or.tz methods in the Rwenzori region Western Uganda. Environmen- Poole, D. 2011. Mestizaje, distinction, and cultural presence: the view tal Management 65: 500–516. from Oaxaca. In Histories of race and racism: the andes and O’Brien, K. 2012. Global environmental change II: from adaptation to mesoamerica from colonial times to the present, ed. L. Gotkow- deliberate transformation. Progress in Human Geography 36: itz, 179–203. Durham: Duke University Press. 667–676. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132511425767. Pörtner, Hans-Otto., Robert J. Scholes, John Agard, Emma Archer, O’Brien, K., C. Bethell, and T. Bjordam. 2021. You matter more than Almut Arneth, Xuemei Bai, David Barnes, Michael Burrows, you think: Quantum social change for a thriving world. http:// et al. 2021. Scientific outcome of the IPBES-IPCC co-sponsored public.eblib.com/choice/PublicFullRecord.aspx?p=6788483 workshop on biodiversity and climate change (Version 5). O’Brien, K., and L. Sygna. 2013, June 19. Responding to climate Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.4659158. change: the three spheres of transformation. Proceedings of Raftopoulos, M., and D. Short. 2019. Implementing free prior and Transformation in a Changing Climate. informed consent: The United Nations Declaration on the Rights Ocampo Yahuarcani, I., K.D. Jeri Lagos, E. Gutierrez Gomez, O.M. of Indigenous Peoples (2007), the challenges of REDD? and the Mendoza Valverde, L.D. Jeri Lagos, and L.A. Saravia Llaja. case for the precautionary principle. The International Journal of 2019. Educational tool for the teaching and self-learning of Human Rights 23: 87–103. https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987. mathematics and language from mobile devices aimed at 2019.1579990. Quechua-speaking educational institutions of the initial level in Rarai, A., M. Parsons, M. Nursey-Bray, and R. Crease. 2022. Ayacucho, Peru. XIV Latin American Conference on Learning Situating climate change adaptation within plural worlds: the Technologies (LACLO) 2019: 332–339. https://doi.org/10.1109/ role of Indigenous and local knowledge in Pentecost Island, LACLO49268.2019.00063. Vanuatu. Environment and Planning e: Nature and Space 5: Okereke, C. 2018. Equity and justice in polycentric climate gover- 2240–2282. nance. In A. Jordan, D. Huitema, H. van Asselt, and J. Forster Reed, G., J. Gobby, R. Sinclair, R. Ivey, and H.D. Matthews. 2021. (Eds.), Governing climate change (1st ed., pp. 320–337). Indigenizing Climate Policy in Canada: A Critical Examination Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10. of the Pan-Canadian Framework and the ZéN RoadMap. 1017/9781108284646.019 Frontiers in Sustainable Cities 3: 644675. https://doi.org/10. Oreskes, N. 2020. Science on a mission: how military funding shaped 3389/frsc.2021.644675. what we do and don’t know about the ocean. University of Reeves, J., G.J. Treharne, R. Theodore, W. Edwards, M. Ratima, and Chicago Press. R. Poulton. 2022. Understanding the data-sharing debate in the  The Author(s) 2023, corrected publication 2023 www.kva.se/en 123 Ambio context of Aotearoa/New Zealand: a narrative review on the knowledge systems to IPBES: building synergies with science. perspectives of funders, publishers/journals, researchers, partic- Report of the International Expert Workshop on the Contribution ipants and Māori collectives. Kōtuitui: New Zealand Journal of of Indigenous and Local Knowledge Systems to the Platform. Social Sciences Online 17: 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/ Todd, Z. 2016. An indigenous feminist’s take on the ontological turn: 1177083X.2021.1922465. ‘ontology’ is just another word for colonialism: an indigenous Rénique, G. 2007. Subaltern political formation and the struggle for feminist’s take on the ontological turn. Journal of Historical autonomy in Oaxaca. Socialism and Democracy 21: 62–73. Sociology 29: 4–22. https://doi.org/10.1111/johs.12124. https://doi.org/10.1080/08854300701388138. Tomlinson, M. 2020. Talanoa as dialogue and PTC’s role in creating Renn, J. 2020. The evolution of knowledge: rethinking science for the conversation. Pacific Journal of Theology, 2. anthropocene. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10. Tormos-Aponte, F. 2021. The influence of indigenous peoples in 1515/9780691185675. global climate governance. Current Opinion in Environmental Reyes-Garcı́a, V., Á. Fernández-Llamazares, Y. Aumeeruddy-Tho- Sustainability 52: 125–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust. mas, P. Benyei, R.W. Bussmann, S.K. Diamond, D. Garcı́a-del- 2021.10.001. Amo, S. Guadilla-Sáez, et al. 2022. Recognizing Indigenous Ulloa, A. 2017. Perspectives of environmental justices from indige- peoples’ and local communities’ rights and agency in the post- nous peoples of latin america: a relational indigenous environ- 2020 Biodiversity Agenda. Ambio 51: 84–92. https://doi.org/10. mental justice. Environmental Justice 10: 175–180. 1007/s13280-021-01561-7. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Reyes-Garcı́a, V., A. Tofighi-Niaki, B.J. Austin, P. Benyei, F. (UNESCO). 2020. Basic texts of the 2003 Convention for the Danielsen, Á. Fernández-Llamazares, A. Sharma, R. Soleymani- Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. https://ich. Fard, et al. 2022. Data sovereignty in community-based envi- unesco.org/en/basic-texts-00503 ronmental monitoring: toward equitable environmental data United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change governance. BioScience, biac048. https://doi.org/10.1093/ (UNFCCC). 2022a. Santiago network for averting, minimizing biosci/biac048 and addressing loss and damage under the Warsaw International Richardson, S.S. 2015. Sex itself: the search for male and female in Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change the human genome (Paperback edition). The University of Impacts. UNFCCC. https://unfccc.int/documents/624375 Chicago Press. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Rimmer, M. 2018. Northern exposure: Alaska, climate change, (UNFCCC). 2022b. Report of the green climate fund to the indigenous rights, and atmospheric trust litigation. In Intellectual conference of the parties and guidance to the green climate fund. property and clean energy: the paris agreement and climate UNFCCC. justice, ed. M. Rimmer, 639–686. Berlin: Springer. United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). 2007. 61/295. United Roesch-McNally, G., M. Chang, M. Dalton, S. Lowe, C. Luce, C. Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (A/ May, G. Morishima, P. Mote, et al. 2020. Beyond climate RES/61/295). UN. https://www.un.org/development/desa/ impacts: knowledge gaps and process-based reflection on indigenouspeoples/declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous- preparing a regional chapter for the fourth national climate peoples.html assessment. Weather, Climate, and Society 12: 337–350. van Bavel, B. 2021. Diversifying knowledge(s) to advance climate- Salmon, E. 2000. Kincentric ecology: indigenous perceptions of the health responses locally and globally [University of Leeds]. human-nature relationship. Ecological Applications 10: 1327. https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/29516/ https://doi.org/10.2307/2641288. van Bavel, B., J.P. MacDOnald, and D.S. Dorough. 2022. Indigenous Schlingmann, A., S. Graham, P. Benyei, E. Corbera, I. Martinez knowledge systems. In A critical assessment of the intergovern- Sanesteban, A. Marelle, R. Soleymani-Fard, and V. Reyes- mental panel on climate change, ed. K. de Pryck and M. Hulme, Garcı́a. 2021. Global patterns of adaptation to climate change by 116–124. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Indigenous Peoples and local communities. A systematic review. Vogel, C., and K. O’Brien. 2021. Getting to the heart of transfor- Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 51: 55–64. mation. Sustainability Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2021.03.002. 021-01016-8. Sherpa, P.D., K. Ghale, K. Lama, and P. Sherpa. 2010. Revitalizing Walter, M., and L. Urkidi. 2017. Geoforum 84: 265–279. https://doi. customary governance and strengthening traditional knowledge org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2015.09.007. on natural resource management in Nepal. In State of forests, Watson-Verran, H., and D. Turnbull. 1995. Science and other policy environment & ways forward. Tebtebba Foundation. indigenous knowledge systems. In Handbook of science and Shukla, G., A. Kumar, N.A. Pala, and S. Chakravarty. 2016. Farmers technology studies, ed. S. Jasanoff, G. Markle, T. Pinch, and J. perception and awareness of climate change: a case study from Petersen, 115–139. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Kanchandzonga Biosphere Reserve, India. Environment, Devel- Whyte, K. 2017. Indigenous climate change studies: indigenizing opment and Sustainability 18: 1167–1176. futures, decolonizing the anthropocene. English Language Notes Sillitoe, P. 2007. Local science vs. global science: approaches to 55: 153–162. indigenous knowledge in international development. New York: Wildcat, D. 2023. Traditional ecological knowledges: an antidote to Berghahn Books. destruction. In Re-indigenizing ecological consciousness and the Talamayan, F. 2020. Mapping anti-dam movements: the politics of interconnectedness to indigenous identities, ed. M. Montgomery, water reservoir construction and hydropower development 1–9. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. projects in the Philippines. SSRN Electronic Journal. https:// Williams, T., and P. Hardison. 2013. Culture, law, risk and doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3748391. governance: contexts of traditional knowledge in climate change Tengö, M., R. Hill, P. Malmer, C.M. Raymond, M. Spierenburg, F. adaptation. Climatic Change 120: 531–544. https://doi.org/10. Danielsen, T. Elmqvist, and C. Folke. 2017. Weaving knowledge 1007/s10584-013-0850-0. systems in IPBES, CBD and beyond—Lessons learned for Wilson, K.J., T. Bell, A. Arreak, B. Koonoo, D. Angnatsiak, and G.J. sustainability. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability Ljubicic. 2020. Changing the role of non-Indigenous research 26–27: 17–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2016.12.005. partners in practice to support Inuit self-determination in Thaman, R., P. Lyver, R. Mpande, E. Perez, J. Cariño, and K. research. Arctic Science 6: 127–153. https://doi.org/10.1139/as- Takeuchi. 2013. The contribution of indigenous and local 2019-002.  The Author(s) 2023, corrected publication 2023 123 www.kva.se/en Ambio Yeh, E.T. 2016. ‘How can experience of local residents be Address: Department of Anthropology of the Americas, University of ‘‘knowledge’’?’ Challenges in interdisciplinary climate change Bonn, Bonn, Germany. research, Area 48: 34–40. Address: Center for Integrated Disaster Risk Management (CIGI- DEN), Pedro Torres 460, apt. 405 B, Santiago, Chile. Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to e-mail: rosariocarmonayost@gmail.com jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Deborah Coen is Professor of History and Chair of the Program in History of Science and Medicine at Yale University. Her research interests include the history of the modern physical and environ- AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES mental sciences and the intellectual and cultural history of modern Ben Orlove (&) is a Professor in the School of International and Europe. Public Affairs at Columbia University. His research interests include Address: Department of History and Program in the History of Sci- climate change, anthropology, political economy and Indigenous ence & Medicine, Yale University, 320 York St, New Haven, CT knowledge. 06511, USA. Address: School of International and Public Affairs and Columbia e-mail: deborah.coen@yale.edu Climate School, Columbia University, 420 West 118th Street, New York, NY 10027, USA. Melissa K. Nelson is a Professor of Indigenous Sustainability in the e-mail: bso5@columbia.edu School of Sustainability at Arizona State University. Her research interests include Indigenous rights, biocultural heritage, environ- Pasang Sherpa is Associate Professor of Sociology at Tribhuvan mental justice, and food sovereignty. She is a member of the Turtle University, Kathmandu, Chairperson of the Center for Indigenous Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians. Peoples’ Research and Development (CIPRED) and General Secre- Address: School of Sustainability, College of Global Futures, Arizona tary of Nepal Sociological Association (NSA). His research and State University, 777 E. University Dr, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA. advocacy work focus on the role of Indigenous Peoples and local e-mail: Melissa.K.Nelson@asu.edu communities in natural resource governance and customary land tenure rights Victoria Reyes-Garcı́a is an ICREA Research Professor at the Address: Department of Sociology, Trichandra Multiple Campus, Institut de Ciència i Tecnologı́a Ambientals, Universitat Autònoma de Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu 44605, Nepal. Barcelona, Spain. Her research focuses on Indigenous and local e-mail: pasangtu2010@gmail.com knowledge systems, particularly in relation to the natural environ- ment, and on the relevance of these knowledge systems to understand Neil Dawson is a Research Fellow in the Global Environmental and deal with the climate and environmental crises. Justice Group at the University of East Anglia. His research focuses Address: ICREA and Institute of Environmental Science and Tech- on the rights and roles of Indigenous Peoples and local communities nology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, in environmental governance. 08193 Barcelona, Spain. Address: Global Environmental Justice Research Group, School of e-mail: victoria.reyes@uab.cat International Development, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. e-mail: Neil.Dawson@uea.ac.uk Jennifer Rubis is the Indigenous Peoples Specialist at the Green Climate Fund. Her research focuses on Indigenous knowledge in Ibidun Adelekan is a Professor of Geography at the University of climate change and biodiversity, and its mainstreaming in policy and Ibadan, Nigeria. Her research interests focus on the human dimen- environmental management. She is an Indigenous Dayak woman sions of global environmental change; including the vulnerability and from Sarawak, Malaysia. resilience of human-environment systems to climate change in cities Address: Green Climate Fund, Incheon 22004, Republic of Korea. and coastal areas, climate change adaptation, and disaster risk e-mail: jenrubis@gmail.com; jrubis@gcfund.org reduction. Address: Department of Geography, Faculty of the Social Sciences, Gideon Sanago is a Tanzanian Maasai Indigenous person, born and University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. raised in Maasailand in Simanjiro District in northern Tanzania. He is e-mail: ibidun.adelekan@mail.ui.edu.ng; ibiadelekan@yahoo.com the climate coordinator at the Pastoralists Indigenous NGOs Forum (PINGO’s Forum) and the Co-Chair of the African Caucus on climate Wilfredo Alangui is a professor of mathematics at the University of change. He is engaged in the UNFCCC process and the monitoring of the Philippines Baguio. An Indigenous person from the Philippines, the GCF projects in Tanzania. his research interests and advocacy are in ethnomathematics, math- Address: Pastoralists Indigenous NGO’s Forum (PINGO’s Forum), ematics education, Indigenous Peoples’ education, and Indigenous P.O.Box 14437, Sakina kwa Iddi, Arusha, Tanzania. knowledge. e-mail: gsanago@pingosforum.or.tz Address: Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, College of Science, University of the Philippines Baguio, Governor Pack Andrew Wilson is a doctoral candidate at Columbia University and Road, Baguio 2600, Philippines. an associate fellow at the Global Policy Laboratory at UC Berkeley. e-mail: wvalangui@up.edu.ph His research interests include environmental health, urbanization, and climate change. Rosario Carmona is an anthropologist working as a postdoctoral Address: School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia researcher at the University of Bonn, Germany, and the Research University, 420 West 118th Street, New York, NY 10027, USA. Center for Integrated Disaster Risk Management (CIGIDEN), Chile. Address: Global Policy Lab, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA. Her work focuses on climate change policy and Indigenous Peoples’ e-mail: ajw2206@columbia.edu rights and participation.  The Author(s) 2023, corrected publication 2023 www.kva.se/en 123