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Policy brief: Local and indigenous knowledge, science and technology
3.1 Context Coastal and small island (CSI) communities have local and indigenous knowledge and practices (LINK) that they use to predict hazards, for early warning, and to respond to and cope with emergencies and losses. LINK includes the observation of animal behaviour, celestial bodies and the environment, and local technologies and materials are used to mitigate hazards. Communities have traditional and faithbased beliefs and practices that are embedded in their day-to-day lives. When threatened with a disaster, they respond by making use of all this knowledge and practices, which has evolved over generations, and will continue to adapt to future changes. To collect, document and validate LINK related to hydro-meteorological hazards and climate change impacts, participatory action research and community organizing processes are necessary, and include participation in community activities, key informant interviews, workshops, focus group discussions (FGDs), and consultations with members of the community. In the Philippines, these activities yielded positive results, with traditional leaders becoming more open to the idea of sharing their knowledge to help CSI communities become resilient to hydro-meteorological hazards.
plays in their daily lives. For example, in communities whose interactions with their natural environment have lessened, LINK is not used to predict storms; instead, they rely solely on the radio or television for national weather forecasts, which may not be precise in their specific locations. People who closely observe environmental and weather changes daily, such as fisherfolk and farmers, are already experiencing the impacts of climate change; and thus many LINK being practised by these communities today will change. Local and indigenous knowledge is often best sustained in traditional communities which are family oriented. This knowledge is a way of projecting the identity of a community, and the wealth of LINK reflects their culture and identity, and can speak a lot about a society’s social system such as obligatory reciprocity and relationships with the divine. Having an established identity and unity is a community resource that can also be harnessed as a resource for disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA). Figure 3.1: A tagak (heron) perching on the back of a carabao (water buffalo). When these birds are observed gathering in the paddy fields and flying low, it means that the rainy season is approaching (practised in Rapu Rapu, Albay, the Philippines)
There were similarities in the LINK documented in the project sites across the three countries, particularly in the interpretation of their observations of celestial bodies. Since these areas are very prone to typhoons and storms, much of the LINK documented in the three countries relate to the prediction of bad weather through observations of celestial bodies, animal behaviour and the environment. This prediction is very important since fishing is the basic source of livelihood for people in CSI communities. Looking at the sky and stars helps them judge if it is safe to go fishing at night or not. The natural environment of a community and their relationship to nature determine the kind of role LINK
Š UNESCO/CDP
Policy brief: Local and indigenous knowledge, science and technology
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