GCRF Inclusive Societies: Indigenous-International Interactions for Sustainable Development

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This project seeks to explore and facilitate the ways in which indigenous knowledge can inform international responses to the adverse effects of climate change and resource extraction specifically, and support sustainable, equitable and inclusive growth and development generally. It will do so by engaging with indigenous communities in three developing countries, Bolivia, Uganda and Papua New Guinea (PNG). These countries were chosen as compelling case studies to demonstrate a diversity of geographical, historical and political contexts faced by indigenous groups, yet with shared experiences of rural poverty, particularly among marginalised indigenous populations. The majority of people in Bolivia, Uganda and PNG are dependent on subsistence-based livelihoods with agriculture and livestock as key components. Mining is endorsed as a main income generating activity to promote development in these mineral-rich countries, alongside markets for natural resources. Despite some benefit from associated livelihood opportunities, indigenous people remain one of the poorest social groups with indigenous women particularly marginalised from the benefits of economic growth. Most developmental projects with indigenous people have been paternalistic and failed to build on local knowledge and skills.We aim to support sustainable, inclusive and equitable development and growth by looking into the ways in which a strengthened international engagement with indigenous knowledge can inspire innovations in science and political practices and principles and to generate output and impact that can be replicated elsewhere. To do so, we will engage with, and examine the role of, indigenous peoples and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in delivering sustainable, equitable and inclusive development in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement and the 2016 EITI Standard.As a first step, we will a facilitate a local Assembly in each indigenous community (in Lomerio in Bolivia, in Karamoja in Uganda and in Ok Tedi in PNG) and participatory videos to develop guideline reports stating how the community wishes to address climate change and resource extraction, reflecting their ancestral and place-based knowledge and visions for the future. The results will be captured also through digital story-maps, which combine storytelling through text on photo or short video clips linked to a geographic location on a digital map, and communicated through a published book. Together, this can provide a powerful platform for sharing key results with stakeholders and broader publics. As a second step, the project will facilitate Roundtables in a nearby city among indigenous and government representatives to co-create governance responses to climate change and resource extraction. As a third step, the results from Step 1 and Step 2 will be discussed at international conferences on climate change and resource extraction to inform and influence international negotiating and governance processes. In this way, indigenous knowledge and visions can contribute to the delivery of sustainable, equitable and inclusive growth and development.