From Mismatch to Unity: Integrating Indigenous Wisdom into Environmental Policy for Biodiversity

Yuan Chen

Simen Owen Academic Proceedings Series, 2026, vol. 6, 155-164

Abstract: Indigenous Knowledge (IK) encompasses the profound, long-term observations, sustainable practices, and holistic management of the natural environment developed by indigenous communities over millennia. While this invaluable wisdom is highly beneficial for global biodiversity conservation, it remains significantly underutilized and rarely integrated into actual environmental policies. For instance, within the Pacific fishing industry, critical ecological knowledge is predominantly passed down orally within specific localized regions, rendering it largely inaccessible to external policy makers and scientific researchers. Concurrently, contemporary environmental management systems tend to prioritize short-term commercial interests and economic growth, frequently marginalizing or entirely ignoring the sustainable practices of indigenous populations. To address this critical mismatch, modern environmental policies must actively draw upon these traditional experiences to generate innovative, resilient strategies for contemporary ecological management. It is imperative that policy-making groups systematically learn from the accumulated wisdom of indigenous residents, thereby allowing their unique knowledge systems to provide a practical, culturally inclusive perspective for modern governance. International instruments, such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, have begun to formally incorporate IK into environmental protection paradigms. By fully embracing these frameworks, global stakeholders can ensure that nature is more effectively protected, the fundamental rights and sovereignty of indigenous peoples are respected, and environmental management systems become significantly more adaptive to ongoing climate changes.

Keywords: indigenous knowledge; environmental policy; biodiversity conservation; indigenous sovereignty; knowledge integration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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