Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Natural Resource Management examines how traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) is taught and practiced today among Native communities. Of special interest is the complex relationship between indigenous ecological practices and other ways of interacting with the environment, particularly regional and national programs of natural resource management. Focusing primarily on the northwest coast of North America, scholars look at the challenges and opportunities confronting the local practice of indigenous ecological knowledge in a range of communities, including the Tsimshian, the Nisga’a, the Tlingit, the Gitksan, the Kwagult, the Sto:lo, and the northern Dene in the Yukon. The experts consider how traditional knowledge is taught and learned and address the cultural importance of different subsistence practices using natural elements such as seaweed (Gitga’a), pine mushrooms (Tsimshian), and salmon (Tlingit). Several contributors discuss the extent to which national and regional programs of resource management need to include models of TEK in their planning and execution. This volume highlights the different ways of seeing and engaging with the natural world and underscores the need to acknowledge and honor the ways that indigenous peoples have done so for generations.

A collection of essays on the ways Native communities have interacted with the environment and how traditional ecological knowledge is taught and practiced.

Sacred Ecology examines bodies of knowledge held by indigenous and other rural peoples around the world, and asks how we can learn from this knowledge and ways of knowing. Berkes explores the importance of local and indigenous knowledge as a complement to scientific ecology, and its cultural and political significance for indigenous groups themselves. This third edition further develops the point that traditional knowledge as process, rather than as content, is what we should be examining. It has been updated with about 150 new references, and includes an extensive list of web resources through which instructors can access additional material and further illustrate many of the topics and themes in the book. Winner of the Ecological Society of America's 2014 Sustainability Science Award.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Concepts and cases

This book highlights the different ways of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) practices that conserve natural resources sustainably. Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), along with synonymous or closely related terms like indigenous knowledge and native science, originates in the literature on international development and adaptive management. Against the backdrop of unprecedented global degradation and reduction in ecosystem services with impacts on human well-being over the last 50 years, there is a growing interest in the role of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) practices and systems of local communities in ensuring the sustainable utilization and management of resources. In this context, this book comprehensively analyzes the important aspects of natural resources in Asia. This book covers a detailed study of the different aspects of natural resources. It is divided into three sections, which deal with varying dimensions of indigenous ecological knowledge of resource management in Asia. The first part reflects upon the concept of traditional ecological knowledge, the second part analyzes the systematic documentation of TEK practices, and the third part deals with policy for governance. This book critically describes and explains the indigenous knowledge about resource management. This book is the ideal text for undergraduate, postgraduate, and research scholars in India and abroad. This book is designed in such a manner that it covers all the aspects of natural resources. It also helps the administrator and policymakers use indigenous knowledge in resource management.

Dr Berkes approaches traditional ecological knowledge as a knowledge-practice-belief complex. This complex considers four interrelated levels: local knowledge (species specific); resource management systems (integrating local knowledge with practice); social institutions (rules and codes of behavior); and world view (religion, ethics, and broadly defined belief systems). Divided into three parts that deal with concepts, practice, and issues, respectively, the book first discusses the emergence of the field, its intellectual roots and global significance. Substantive material is then included on how traditional ecological and management systems actually work. At the same time it explores a diversity of relationships that different groups have developed with their environment, using extensive case studies from research conducted with the Cree Indians of James Bay, in the eastern subarctic of North America. The final section examines traditional knowledge as a challenge to the positivist-reductionist paradigm in Western science, and concludes with a discussion of the potential of traditional ecological knowledge to inject a measure of ethics into the science of ecology and resource management.

Indigenous Knowledge (IK) reviews cutting-edge research and links theory with practice to further our understanding of this important approach's contribution to natural resource management. It addresses IK's potential in solving issues such as coping with change, ensuring global food supply for a growing population, reversing environmental degradation and promoting sustainable practices. It is increasingly recognised that IK, which has featured centrally in resource management for millennia, should play a significant part in today's programmes that seek to increase land productivity and food security while ensuring environmental conservation. An invaluable resource for researchers and postgraduate students in environmental science and natural resources management, this book is also an informative read for development practitioners and undergraduates in agriculture, forestry, geography, anthropology and environmental studies.