Climate change, traditional ecological knowledge, and riverine biodiversity conservation: a case in Aklan, Central Philippines

Ronald J. Maliao (), Ritchel C. Cahilig, Richard R. Cahilig and Beverly T. Jaspe
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Ronald J. Maliao: University of Debrecen
Ritchel C. Cahilig: Aklan Traditional and Ridge-to-Reef Ecological Key Knowledge for Environmental Resiliency and Sustainability, Inc. (Aklan TREKKERS)
Richard R. Cahilig: Aklan Traditional and Ridge-to-Reef Ecological Key Knowledge for Environmental Resiliency and Sustainability, Inc. (Aklan TREKKERS)
Beverly T. Jaspe: Community Resiliency and Environmental Education Development (CREED) Foundation

Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, 2025, vol. 27, issue 2, No 81, 4745-4767

Abstract: Abstract We framed climate change (CC) discourse through its disruptions to local culture and livelihood in a subsistence riverine fishing community in Central Philippines. Our main goal was contextualizing how local communities' traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) related to climate, fisheries, and taboos can strengthen freshwater fisheries management and biodiversity conservation. We adopted a mixed-method purposive sampling of the 126 fishing households in the Nabaoy River Watershed in the municipality of Malay in Aklan province. The high CC awareness was associated with the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme climatological events and erratic weather patterns. These CC-driven perturbations were primarily attributed to the ballooning human population and deforestation. These threats, in turn, were linked to the diminishing state of the Nabaoy River, heralded by the perceived marked decline of frog and dragonfly populations believed to be indicators of river health. Riverine biodiversity was also perceived as dwindling, with fish catch and their sizes shrinking. Furthermore, the observed fishing taboos guiding local informal (de facto) institutions corroborated formal (de jure) temporal and spatial fisheries management measures. Indeed, local communities have relevant long-term knowledge of management (e.g., TEK) and development-oriented structures and systems (e.g., informal institutions). These invaluable social capital assets are crucial in building resilient governance systems to address local conservation issues and concerns, particularly in data-deficient areas or lacking formal management contexts. Hence, formal management interventions should integrate TEK and the informal institution in which it is embedded and engage local TEK holders as partners in freshwater conservation efforts.

Keywords: Climate change; Indigenous knowledge systems and practices (IKSP); Local and indigenous knowledge systems (LINKS); Local ecological knowledge (LEK); Indigenous ecological knowledge (IEK); Citizen science (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s10668-023-04096-x

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