Towards a forward-looking ethnobiology : envisioning and co-creating biocultural futures
Fernández-Llamazares, Álvaro (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia)
Teixidor-Toneu, Irene (Mediterranean Institute of marine and terrestrial Biodiversity and Ecology)
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals

Date:	2025
Abstract:	In the face of accelerating environmental and socio-political changes, there is value in expanding the temporal scope of ethnobiology to more actively engage with the future. This perspective explores the potential of a forward-looking ethnobiology that incorporates methods from Futures Studies to co-envision and co-produce sustainable biocultural futures in partnership with Indigenous Peoples and local communities. We highlight different methods and tools that can be repurposed to create inclusive, transdisciplinary spaces for community-led imagination, experimentation, and learning. By embedding futures thinking into the fabric of ethnobiological practice, the discipline can further enrich its longstanding role in fostering biocultural resilience. We argue that the time has come not only to imagine the future of ethnobiology, but to actively co-create it through culturally grounded, future-oriented, and ethically engaged methodologies. This shift repositions ethnobiology as a central force in advancing just and sustainable pathways.
Grants:	European Commission 101117423 Agencia Estatal de Investigación RYC2021-034198-I Agencia Estatal de Investigación CEX2024-001506-M
Note:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Biocultural resilience ; Futures thinking ; Participatory action ; Transformative change
Published in:	Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine, Vol. 21 (October 2025) , art. 72, ISSN 1746-4269

DOI: 10.1186/s13002-025-00820-1
PMID: 41146222

7 p, 789.9 KB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles