Yu, R.; Mu, Q. Integration of Indigenous and Local Knowledge in Policy and Practice of Nature-Based Solutions in China: Progress and Highlights. Sustainability2023, 15, 11104.
Yu, R.; Mu, Q. Integration of Indigenous and Local Knowledge in Policy and Practice of Nature-Based Solutions in China: Progress and Highlights. Sustainability 2023, 15, 11104.
Yu, R.; Mu, Q. Integration of Indigenous and Local Knowledge in Policy and Practice of Nature-Based Solutions in China: Progress and Highlights. Sustainability2023, 15, 11104.
Yu, R.; Mu, Q. Integration of Indigenous and Local Knowledge in Policy and Practice of Nature-Based Solutions in China: Progress and Highlights. Sustainability 2023, 15, 11104.
Abstract
China promotes nature-based solutions (NbS) as key approaches to addressing climate change, ecosystem damage, and biodiversity loss. However, indigenous and local knowledge (ILK), which is recognized by international scholars as an essential element of successful NbS, has not been thoroughly studied in the Chinese context. By conducting a comprehensive review of Chinese central governmental policies and semi-structured interviews with typical cases, this study finds out diversified sources of ILK and five pathways of ILK integration, including education, supervision, participation, knowledge preservation, and knowledge adoption. An increasing emphasis on community engagement has been driven by central policies such as the ecological civilization, carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. From a practical perspective, consistent core ideas of ILK exist in selected typical Chinese cases and studies in other countries, namely co-existence and reciprocity with nature. While supportive central policies can set the scene, ILK integration could not be realized without local governmental endorsement, context-based implementation, and long-term multi-stakeholder participation. Furthermore, this study also figures out a potential deficiency in terms of realizing effective ILK integration in mainstream and conventional practices, which can be further investigated by future studies.
Keywords
nature-based solutions; indigenous and local knowledge; China
Subject
Environmental and Earth Sciences, Other
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
