Indigenous Knowledge
© B. Combes
ESD aims at promoting teaching which respects indigenous and traditional knowledge and encourages the use of indigenous languages in education. Indigenous worldviews and perspectives on sustainability should be integrated into education programmes at all levels whenever relevant.
Local knowledge and languages are repositories of diversity and key resources in understanding the environment and in using it to the best advantage. They foster and promote local cultural specificities, customs and values. The preservation of cultures is linked to economic development. However, tourism and cultural industries can run the risk of commodifying culture for outsiders. Cultures must be respected as the living and dynamic contexts within which human beings find their values and identity.
ESD and Indigenous Knowledge at UNESCO
In 2005, following the request of Mayangna leaders in Central America, UNESCO’s Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) programme launched a project to record and safeguard Mayangna knowledge and worldviews. The communities chose to focus the first phase of work on fish and turtles, which are their primary source of protein and a vital part of the Mayangna way of life.
After extensive community-level consultations, the LINKS Programme launched the Spanish-language edition of the book Conocimientos del Pueblo Mayangna sobre la Convivencia del Hombre y la Naturaleza: Peces y Tortugas in 2009. A Mayangna language edition is in preparation.
The publication captures in meticulous detail the breadth and depth of indigenous knowledge about the aquatic world, weaving together empirical observations on behaviour, habitat, reproduction and migration patterns, with social commentaries on sharing, learning and harvesting, as well as cosmological reflections on human-animal relations and local spirits. It provides a foundation for enhancing biodiversity management by bringing indigenous knowledge on board alongside science.