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ILO Indigenous peoples and climate change - Emerging Research on Traditional Knowledge and Livelihoods

Gender, Equality and Diversity & ILOAIDS Branch

Conditions of Work and Equality Department

International Labour Organization (ILO)

4, route des Morillons

CH-1211 Geneva 22

Switzerland

Tel: +41 22 799 6730

Email: ged@ilo.org

Website: www.ilo.org

Indigenous peoples

and climate change

Emerging Research on Traditional

Knowledge and Livelihoods

In collaboration with:ISBN 978-92-2-132935-0

9 78 9221 32935030 years

Convention 169

Indigenous Peoples and Climate

Change:

Emerging Research on Traditional Knowledge

and Livelihoods

Gender, Equality and Diversity & ILOAIDS Branch

Copyright © International Labour Organization 2019

First published (2019)

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4.08

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III

Preface

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change have reinvigorated the international community"s commitments towards an inclusive and environ- mentally sustainable form of development. Indigenous and tribal peoples have an important role to play in realizing the ambitious goals of these global frameworks and meaningfully combatting climate change. Their traditional knowledge, which cuts across numerous aspects of sustain- ability and resilience - from forecasting weather patterns, improving agricultural practices, to customary institutions for improved management of natural resources - has increasingly gained recognition at the international level as a vital way forward. The practice of traditional knowledge in the everyday lives of indigenous women and men is yet to be adequately understood, however, with many research gaps confronting policy-makers. Prominent among these is an understanding of the interplay of traditional knowledge systems, rooted in indigenous ways of life, cultural approaches and traditional occupations, with the transformations being experienced in societies, economies, institutions, technologies and the climate. As the ILO celebrates its Centenary, as well as the 30 th anniversary of the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169), this publication shares some glimpses into traditional knowledge at work, against a backdrop of the multiple transformations underway. It highlights the unique role played by indigenous women and men in shaping a low-carbon economy and a sustainable future of work. It builds on the ILO"s previous work on traditional occupations as well as indigenous peoples and climate change, and takes forward the ILO"s strategy on indigenous peoples" rights for inclusive and sustainable development. The ILO has been supporting traditional livelihood activities among indigenous peoples, which are largely based on a unique relationship with their lands and natural resources. The ILO also promotes new forms of income generation, if so chosen by the communities, including through supporting community contracting mecha- nisms, entrepreneurship, small businesses and cooperatives. A collaboration between the ILO and the School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, this publication draws on recent and emerging research conducted directly with com- munities across Asia and the Paci?c, Africa, and the Americas. In so doing, it aims to bridge the academic and policy worlds, sharing the experiences gained by researchers and the communities themselves with policy-makers and key stakeholders, including trade unions, employers" organi- zations and governments. This publication seeks to inspire greater discussion and research in the ?eld of traditional knowledge, seen through the dual lens of the world of work and social justice.

Shauna Olney

Professor Heather Viles

Chief Head of School

Gender, Equality and Diversity & ILOAIDS Branch

School of Geography and the Environment

International Labour Organization

University of Oxford

V

Contents

Preface ........................................................III Acknowledgements ..............................................VII Abstracts ......................................................IX

1. Introduction ..................................................1

By Rishabh Kumar Dhir (ILO) and Ariell Ahearn

(University of Oxford) 2. Surviving Extreme Weather: Mongolian indigenous knowledge, local institutions and governance innovations for adaptation ...............9

By Ariell Ahearn (University of Oxford)

3. Traditional water management as an adaptive subsistence practice:

A case study from coastal Timor-Leste

.............................21

By Vanessa Burns (University of Oxford)

4. The role of customary institutions in climate change adaptation among Afar pastoralists in north-eastern Ethiopia .............35 By Mulubrhan Balehegn (Mekelle University) and Selam Balehey (Mekelle University) 5. Witsaja iki, or the good life in Ecuadorian Amazonia:

Knowledge co-production for climate resilience

.......................51 By Seble Samuel (CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change,

Agriculture and Food Security)

6. Seeing like the herder: Climate change and pastoralists' knowledge - insights from Turkana herders in northern Kenya ............65

By Greta Semplici (University of Oxford)

7. The revitalization of shamanic health care in Suriname ..................83

By Daniel Cooper (University of Oxford)

8. Pastoralist journalists: Producing reports, knowledge, and policy from the pastures .....................................97

By Allison Hahn (City University of New York)

9. Augmented realities: The digital economy of indigenous knowledge ........107 By Daniel Cooper (University of Oxford) and Nina Kruglikova (University of Oxford) 10. Sustaining and preserving the traditional knowledge and institutions of indigenous communities: Re?ections on the way forward .............121

By Uma Rani (ILO) and Martin Oelz (ILO)

VII

Acknowledgements

This publication has been prepared through a collaboration between the International Labour Organization (Gender, Equality and Diversity & ILO AIDS Branch of the Conditions of Work and Equality Department) and the School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford. The edited volume (or compendium of case studies) was envisioned and prepared by Ariell Ahearn (University of Oxford), Martin Oelz (ILO) and Rishabh Kumar Dhir (ILO). It bene?ted from studies by Vanessa Burns (University of Oxford); Mulubrhan Balehegn (Mekelle University); Selam Balehey (Mekelle University); Seble Samuel (CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security); Greta Semplici (University of Oxford); Allison Hahn (City University of New York); Daniel Cooper (University of Oxford); Nina Kruglikova (University of Oxford); and Ariell Ahearn (University of Oxford). Special thanks to Uma Rani (ILO) for reecting on the studies and contributing towards the concluding remarks, and also to Professor Dawn Chatty for facilitating the engagement between the ILO and the University of Oxford. The publication further bene?ted from the English language editing by Richard Cook and his team. Special thanks also to Professor Heather Viles for her support for the publication. Finally, the publication would not have been possible without the encouragement of Shauna Olney, Chief, GED&ILOAIDS Branch, and Manuela Tomei, Director of the Conditions of Work and Equality Department. IX

Abstracts

Surviving Extreme Weather: Mongolian indigenous knowledge, local institutions and governance innovations for adaptation

By Ariell Ahearn (University of Oxford)

This case study discusses the role of traditional environmental knowledge and forms of local gov- ernance in grassland stewardship in Mongolia. Herders in this region face increasing temperatures and unseasonable weather in a region already characterized by an extreme environment. The case examines the intersections between traditional environmental knowledge, local institutions and practices, and government policies and programmes to encourage adaptation. In particular, the Mongolian Index Based Livestock Insurance programme and the role of local governing bodies are discussed. Traditional water management as an adaptive subsistence practice:

A case study from coastal Timor-Leste

By Vanessa Burns (University of Oxford)

This case study presents research on traditional water management and adaptive subsistence practices in two coastal communities in Timor-Leste. Situated in the Indonesian archipelago in the midwestern Paci?c, Timor-Leste is highly vulnerable to environmental change. Extreme weather, such as ood and drought, puts additional pressure on subsistence resources and worsens the poverty and malnutrition prevalent in rural Timor-Leste. Using ethnographic and participatory methods, this study investigates how communities are adapting to the increasing severity of droughts and poor access to water. The aim of the research is to investigate the impacts of environmental change on custodial water practices and traditional environmental knowledge. In addition, it asks how women"s custodial practices are contributing to successful adaptive strate- gies. Research evidence shows that custodial water practices have two main adaptive responses to environmental change. First, the increased vulnerability of the coastal environment to changes in the environment places a greater emphasis on the success or failure of women"s highland water practices. Secondly, women"s environmental knowledge of the highland is at the forefront of a slow retreat by agriculture, grazing and new housing away from the coast and towards highland sites. The role of customary institutions in climate change adaptation among Afar pastoralists in north-eastern Ethiopia By Mulubrhan Balehegn (Mekelle University) and Selam Balehey (Mekelle University) Traditional weather forecasting is a method applied by many indigenous communities worldwide to forecast the weather and guide daily livelihood decisions and climate change adaptation meas- ures. The aim of this study was to investigate and document traditional weather forecasting prac- tices among the Afar pastoralists of north-eastern Ethiopia, using focused group discussions and individual interviews. The Afar traditionally predict weather and climate by observing diverse bio-

physical entities including livestock, insects, birds, trees and other wildlife. In addition, traditional

seers, when consulted by local communities or individuals, also make “probabilistic predictions". The biophysical indicators used in weather prediction are of different types. No single prediction X Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change: Emerging Research on Traditional Knowledge and Livelihoods is taken at face value; weather forecasting is a dynamic process whereby information is collected by traditional observation and prediction and triangulated with alternative sources of knowledge, including the formal meteorological weather forecasting system, 1 so as to make the safest and best informed livelihood decisions. Before any forecasting information is applied, it ?rst passes through three important traditional institutions that collect, share and analyze the information presented. These institutions are: (1) the“Edo", or range scouting, where traditional rangeland scouts are sent out on a mission to assess the weather and other spatially and temporally variable

factors, such as rangeland condition, security and others; (2) the “Dagu", a traditional secure and

reputable network where weather information is shared; and (3) the “Adda", a group of village elders within the traditional Afar governance system who evaluate and weigh the pros and cons of the forecasting information before making livelihood decisions on behalf of the community. Witsaja iki, or the good life in Ecuadorian Amazonia: Knowledge co-production for climate resilience By Seble Samuel (CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security) Contemporary narratives of climate change have been recounted predominately through the lens of western sciences. However, indigenous and traditional knowledge systems are increasingly ?nding their voices echoed within the ?eld of climate change, as the limitations of a purely scien- ti?c discourse are revealed. Through the stories and perspectives of the Sapara Nation, located in the Ecuadorian Amazon, this research illustrates local insights and perceptions of environmental change, as well as the onset of the external drivers - natural resources extraction and ecological conservation programmes - inuencing the livelihoods and territories of this region. Through participatory resilience workshops, grounded in the framework of the Indigenous Peoples Biocul- tural Climate Change Assessment Initiative (IPCCA), this research explores themes of territory, hunting and ?shing, medicinal plants and agriculture, spiritual worlds and climate prediction. This journeying into traditional ecological knowledge systems illustrates perceptions of time that are cyclical, relational and rooted in the environment; predictions of climate grounded in the insights of dreams, surrounding temperatures and the presence of ora and fauna; and autonomous, resilient Indigenous knowledge systems. These approaches reveal a radically altered environment, one of unpredictable winds and rains, altered wildlife patterns, disappearing species, destroyed habitats and the onset of new illnesses, complicating food sources, traditional livelihoods and

mobility. In response, the Sapara Nation is crafting its own vision for its livelihoods and territories,

in the midst of a changing climate. Seeing like the herder: Climate change and pastoralists' knowledge - insights from Turkana herders in northern Kenya

By Greta Semplici (University of Oxford)

As debates about climate change intensify and call for the attention of an international commu- nity rushing to ?nd solutions and remedies to protect our common future, it is of vital importance to pause, take a step back from global meetings, round tables and forecasting metrics, and to ask: what climate features are embedded into local knowledge, in what practices is this knowl- edge performed, and how does local knowledge account for changes in the climate? This case 1

Afar pastoralists follow local news and politics though local radio, therefore almost every family has a radio which is also a source

of meteorological weather information.

Abstracts

XIstudy explores indigenous knowledge of climate change in drylands, drawing upon ethnographic research among Turkana herders in northern Kenya. It warns against the danger of a univocal and acritical focus on climate change, de-contextualized from local knowledge, practices and performances. It argues that a good starting point for understanding changes in the climate is to incorporate local perceptions into analysis by exploring local meanings of space and time, how people and places relate to each other, and how local knowledge is built, transmitted and, most importantly, changed over time. By taking these elements into account, not only may views of climate change differ to include longer-term and multifactorial explanations, but the views and understandings of local strategies may also acquire a renewed value. The revitalization of shamanic health care in Suriname

By Daniel Cooper (University of Oxford)

Climate change poses signi?cant health risks for indigenous peoples. Traditional medicine can play an important role in mitigating these risks, especially in remote areas detached from national health-care systems. Recognizing the challenges and opportunities for intervention, the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) is working to revitalize shamanic healing in the rainforests of Suriname, a small country on the north-east coast of South America. After a review of the literature on climate change, the physical and human geography of Suriname, traditional and intercultural medicine, and shamanism, this paper draws from ?eldwork, interviews, and other sources to analyse the ACT"s Shamans and Apprentices Program. Not only does this partnership combine traditional and modern medicine, but it also works to empower indigenous communities through mapping, training, and the documentation, transfer, and preservation of indigenous knowledge integral to the maintenance of this fragile and abundant Amazonian biome. Ultimately, the case study serves as a model for other indigenous and local communities and policy-makers who aim to improve health care by blending traditional and modern knowledge and technology. Pastoralist journalists: Producing reports, knowledge, and policy from the pastures

By Allison Hahn (City University of New York)

How do pastoralists participate in the production, analysis and discussion of their own communi- ties via new and social media? This paper examines the concept of citizen journalism as applied to pastoralists and argues that the media productions made by pastoralists must be recognized as meaningful work on par with other citizen journalist work. From this argument, the paper examines the ways that national and international development organizations have incorporated the work of pastoralists in their reports, media productions and future development projects. Augmented realities: The digital economy of indigenous knowledge By Daniel Cooper (University of Oxford) and Nina Kruglikova (University of Oxford) The integration of indigenous knowledge with modern science, technology, and innovation is increasingly seen as a means to address emerging climate realities. After a review of the literature on indigenous knowledge and the digital economy, this paper draws from diverse sources and personal communications to evaluate an indigenous tech start-up called Indigital. This Aborigi- nal-owned and operated social enterprise uses cutting-edge digital technology to translate and augment cultural landscapes within the Kakadu World Heritage Area in the Northern Territory of XII Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change: Emerging Research on Traditional Knowledge and Livelihoods Australia. It aims to create a platform to showcase local sacred sites, knowledge, and technology in compelling ways that contribute to the preservation of heritage and the creation of jobs in the digital economy. Participatory approaches and prot-sharing mechanisms improve the ethical dimension of augmenting cultural assets, but signicant risks remain. This case study demon- strates the potential and challenges of creating partnerships intended to empower indigenous individuals and communities through the introduction of digital devices and software applications that store, transmit, and augment reality. 1

1. Introduction

By Rishabh Kumar Dhir (International Labour Organization) and Ariell Ahearn (University of Oxford) Climate change has emerged as one of the de?ning challenges confronting the world today. Its impacts, together with the measures required to address climate change (climate action) - through mitigation and adaptation - have many implications for the economy and for society (IPCC,

2018). Floods, droughts and extreme weather events, for instance, are already putting social

and economic relations under stress in many areas, while changes in such sectors as energy and forestry are transforming the world of work for countless women and men throughout the world (ILO, 2018). However, climate impacts and climate actions both have particular implications for those groups already confronted by social and economic vulnerabilities. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2014, p. 54) has stated explicitly that:

[p]eople who are socially, economically, culturally, politically, institutionally or otherwise margin-

alized are especially vulnerable to climate change and also to some adaptation and mitigation responses [...] This heightened vulnerability is rarely due to a single cause. Rather, it is the product of intersecting social processes that result in inequalities in socio-economic status and income, as well as in exposure. Such social processes include, for example, discrimination on the basis of gender, class, ethnicity, age, and (dis)ability. In this regard, indigenous and tribal peoples are uniquely at risk of being placed at the forefront of the direct impacts from both climate change and climate-related mitigation and adaptation actions, despite being among those who have contributed the least to climate change (ILO,

2017a; IPCC, 2018; IPCC, 2014).

Research by the International Labour Organization identi?es six characteristics that are shared by indigenous peoples 1 in the context of climate policies and impacts, which, in combination, are not present in any other group, thereby posing unique risks: First, indigenous peoples are among the poorest of the poor, the stratum most vulnerable to climate change. Second, they depend on renewable natural resources most at risk to climate variability andquotesdbs_dbs28.pdfusesText_34

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