Indigenous Peoples and local communities steward some of the world’s most biodiverse and ecologically intact landscapes. Their knowledge systems — built through generations of close interaction with ecosystems — offer tested solutions for biodiversity conservation, sustainable land management, climate resilience, and restoration.
As the Global Environment Facility advances integrated, systems-based approaches under the eighth GEF replenishment (GEF-8) and prepares strategic directions toward GEF-9, there is growing recognition that Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge is not only culturally significant — it is scientifically relevant, operationally valuable, and critical for transformative environmental outcomes.
However, the notion itself of Indigenous Peoples' knowledge can be difficult to define; the same way it is difficult to study, publish, and be recognized as a coherent knowledge system with its own epistemology, validation mechanisms, adaptive logic, and to avoid being reduced to anecdotal evidence, token consultation, or project “add-ons.”
This Brown Bag Lunch discussed these three following interconnected challenges:
- The need for clear definitions and typologies: Indigenous Peoples' knowledge is not a static body of evidence. It is a dynamic, place-based, relational, and embedded in governance systems, social institutions, and cosmologies. What constitutes Indigenous knowledge in operational terms for GEF programming? How do we distinguish it from general local practice? What are its core characteristics as a system of knowledge production and transmission?
- The structural difficulty of publishing Indigenous knowledge research in peer-reviewed journals: Many Indigenous Peoples' knowledge systems are transmitted orally, embedded in practice, and inseparable from spiritual or relational worldviews. Valuable knowledge often remains under-documented, with challenges of replicability, authorship, and academic standards of evidence.
- The emergence of a new research frontier aligned with sustainability science: There is growing convergence between Indigenous knowledge systems and sustainability science — particularly around systems thinking, resilience, adaptive management, and socio-ecological integration. This convergence may represent not merely inclusion, but the co-evolution of a new field of inquiry.
Moderator
- Jean-Marc Sinnassamy, Senior Environment Specialist, GEF
Speakers
- Edmond Dounias, Senior Researcher, Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD)
- Francisco Rosado-May, Full Professor, Universidad Intercultural Maya de Quintana Roo, Mexico
- Stephanie Rupp, Lehman College
- Tania Martinez-Cruz, Indigenous Peoples Focal Point, GEF
Closing Remarks
- Sandy Andelman, Biodiversity Advisor, GEF STAP
Documents
Document
Document