Informing decision‐making with Indigenous and local knowledge and science

There is an increased focus on the role of Indigenous and local people and organizations in knowledge gathering, knowledge synthesis and decision-making. This is occurring at a range of scales from international policy formation to local and regional management and decision-making (Hausner, Engen, Brattland, McElwee et al., 2020; Rayne et al., 2020; Tengö et al., 2017, all this feature). There have been calls for both more and deeper partnerships between Indigenous knowledge holders and scientists (see Box 1), to address the multifaceted issues facing conserved areas and those experiencing environmental change (Mistry Nuñez et al., 2019). Shifting governmental policies, funding priorities and national political situations can influence the degree and focus of conservation research and seek to impact the focus on different drivers of ecological change (Pettorelli et al., 2019). The values of scientists can also influence what and where they study and their chosen methods (Roebuck Wall, McNie, Molnàr et al., 2020, both this feature). An understanding that Indigenous and local knowledge, cultures and practices adapt to changing conditions and are not static can help clarify their potential to address stewardship issues and change. and (2020, this feature) that in to to local Indigenous practices can also adapt to increased to their Indigenous and local knowledge systems are also to address the between natural and cultural systems et al., 2020, this feature). the the of Indigenous and local knowledge for decision-making is and in the between Indigenous and local knowledge, science and decision-making. and identifying where to may help these in the often between the multiple and of different rights holders and The role of scientists in informed decision-making is as one of a of many in this that in informed management and decision-making may be to address from the parts of the process over which scientists have such as how knowledge and information is and synthesized and how different worldviews are in this there is a role of scientists to about their processes of knowledge and how they engage with Indigenous and local people and governance systems, which can affect between in the informed decision-making example, could from the research and how they are the research processes in to the use of information and knowledge in decision-making. believe that research on or in areas which affect local communities, on the potential of each of the from research to decision-making. information and knowledge can affect the and in the between Indigenous knowledge holders and scientists and the power relationships between knowledge holders and that Indigenous knowledge holders are in the research from the and development of through to their is to be important to progressing partnerships in the and et al., 2020, this feature). This collaboration from the of a has been in the conservation of and by Rayne et al. (2020, this involving and and implementation by research and management are through the of or which multiple ways of the et al., 2020, this feature). A key of this is that different knowledge systems are by to the than one to the and of the other. we Indigenous peoples as or can also affect the role and of scientists and Indigenous knowledge holders in research & 2020). have been to not only with Indigenous peoples as their and processes but also and Indigenous research, this (Simpson, et al., 2020, this feature). information and knowledge is can have on local communities that may between scientists and Indigenous and local knowledge holders. example, Indigenous knowledge may be to inform environmental policies, environmental can with Indigenous to their traditional practices on their land and the for adaptation to environmental change & & 2017). the of Indigenous people sometimes has over how the knowledge and information they provide is can for their often the of limited over how their research is by policy and Indigenous and local knowledge is by in ways that are to knowledge the close association with the place in which decision-making occurs is more likely to more or impact the and livelihoods of those knowledge holders and their the that science has a environmental management scientists may be in a to or for fair and just processes for integrating Indigenous and local knowledge advance and collaboration between Indigenous and local knowledge holders and scientists, we need to not only be aware of the potential between Indigenous and local knowledge, science and decision-making but also the many ways in which Indigenous and local knowledge holders and scientists have to produce research and help inform decision-making. The in this the between people and nature and the conservation outcomes that can be through collaboration of Indigenous knowledge holders and effective between knowledge and can be when the knowledge and information synthesized to inform decision-making is and et al., working with multiple knowledge systems, this can be a as the values different of knowledge may (Simpson, 2004). example, the of in many natural science could be with the of society and in many Indigenous systems. An Indigenous or local knowledge to and of or may be more on approaches than down these across knowledge systems might be as different knowledge holders may systems is different be information and knowledge need to be by all knowledge & be information and knowledge be and can lead to of and different knowledge systems. be information and knowledge be as fair and & example, and (2020, this feature) multiple of the of the are which are and by Indigenous and this that are both to the Indigenous and to a scientific a scientific of the cultural practices of Indigenous the shared knowledge is to both through the of and it is as in different contexts to the participation of Indigenous people and scientists in creating the and of and can occur from in to issues such as how of a given are example, the Indigenous people a caribou herd to with different and which not by at that time These may be important to the practices and system understandings of the people and therefore to but of to their is when and approaches to research, to that new processes or outcomes may need to be or they may need to have a example, the to which form of is for data may be to data in different ways to a of between to on a of or to use both existing by when research it is important to what of knowledge and are and in the local as as to between knowledge and and management and decisions are often with relationships between information and knowledge and decision-making. These processes involving many political actors and groups which may be either in or from knowledge and synthesis. The influence of scientists on these processes may be limited in some and more in on the system of governance in which they the role which scientists in their research can affect the access and opportunity for knowledge holders such as Indigenous and local people to inform decision-making and the nature in which their knowledge is therefore seek to some of these of informed management and decision-making and their for the role of Indigenous and local There are a of approaches to knowledge and information for environmental decision-making within the of and social–ecological research of these have been to the of Indigenous and local people have from a more natural to synthesis. These in the for and of potential Indigenous and local in the degree to which they address of social–ecological systems or cultural and Indigenous and local knowledge can contribute to all of these the of may affect the and with which this knowledge synthesis and decision-making processes are by all synthesis has on from the natural This is based on of and to conservation & 2004). Indigenous people can contribute information to this this information is in a natural such as through of a Indigenous and local knowledge is often systems and knowledge and practice (Berkes, & Folke, example, some are able to which is its condition, its and its of from and The knowledge is their but this integrates an understanding of the they are and its and an of and & & 2018). might this knowledge in the form of on and which their own decisions and from knowledge such as this and it a natural as might occur in is the of information that is and not the benefit of the nature of many Indigenous and local knowledge systems. is when scientists and local actors the knowledge for its to their and this knowledge with Indigenous and local knowledge and which is decision-making & 2017). has been for its natural to with Indigenous and local knowledge only being knowledge natural scientific has been 2018). This an of knowledge systems, scientific knowledge could be in some contexts for reasons scientific information has been synthesized and resources are but the reasons for so be and for the of power between different actors and knowledge systems be and where be is on the that knowledge and are & 2018). a more collaboration between from different knowledge systems and with different These the research process from to research is often to feed through to decision-making and through collaboration with and Research in often multiple methods such as focus and field Berkes, & The to management in Canada highlights the of knowledge where and communities research and there is research and monitoring which includes Indigenous and local knowledge at and research policy that for the to adapt to management through and for of and et al., A benefit of and research is that they can change the focus of research so that it is and on natural science by Rayne et al., 2020, this feature) this a in some of & This the that Indigenous and local are conservation practice to address the of both biological and cultural based on the that they are et al., conservation can which may be based on knowledge As the of both biological and cultural diversity are values within conservation shared governance systems, which are long and and address the multiple of different or knowledge systems. is an example of the of the the Indigenous are the and the of the and its in collaboration with of the land and the of which has a local The a range of with different and operating at a range of scales. The includes research on Indigenous knowledge and and to help in their local and to the conservation of the cultural of conservation & By the of Indigenous and local alongside biological approaches to knowledge and practices that conservation people and communities that can increasingly their cultures and livelihoods from conservation to not only use sets of knowledge but both conservation and within practices and technologies in with cultural values et al., et al., The conservation of cultural diversity cultures to in adaptation to change Berkes, & 2014). and information for conservation will understanding values and between and human et al., 2017). example, in or and practices are based on of knowledge of the and et al., 2020, this feature). The that Indigenous and local knowledge are not to of climate conflicts and of traditional management can lead to of and degradation & This is and to the of a and its or economic are and have been of Indigenous and local example, a from towards might new economic and this is an within the 2018). knowledge approaches can be with certain and often there are also In some knowledge and have been of Indigenous knowledge in of scientific knowledge, in there have been of Indigenous knowledge There are that can also in outcomes by the of and power for example, by of power or conflicts between groups or outside decision-making over local issues & these issues are greater in than when knowledge and synthesis and decision-making are or these issues are common to a range of approaches to inform decision-making, has not been opportunity for more in the research process can with a wider more and sometimes conflicting of to not so may to the decision-making of research and decision-making, and inequities in power is important to on such are the outcomes of one knowledge or inherent to a of approaches to informed decision-making. the often between knowledge and and decision-making all of decision-making, it likely that between are common to many decision-making the between different of informed decision-making is where different are research scientific knowledge, processes of knowledge and information synthesis are often from decision-making By Indigenous and local knowledge systems often knowledge and practice (Agrawal, 1995). The of knowledge and information synthesis and decision-making may scientists to a greater of scientific by to a from the of decision-making. some that all scientists are in their role as and the more important is to address values or biases in a more and way & is not by scientists, it may be inherent in their of where and they their et al., 2019). In of knowledge and information to decision-making, knowledge holders scientists might a range of and ensure this is and to the of the and those of the knowledge et al., 2018). of knowledge and decision-making is common through practice within Molnàr et al. (2020, this how knowledge of their practice and to through their traditional the on more and to creating conservation et al. this also that in knowledge of systems is local decision-making. their use of as as to their the local can be as a to from land between the knowledge by and that which is in decision-making, outside areas (Hausner et al., 2020, this feature). As processes of knowledge towards more social–ecological and greater collaboration with Indigenous and local to towards more knowledge and and decision-making mechanisms of conservation such as community-based conservation and development and et al., and ecosystem-based adaptation (Hausner et al., 2020, this feature). as the information and knowledge to inform decision-making more multiple systems of values and knowledge systems, so the of example, in process that to and over resources and that both to and human et al., may be approaches such as conservation which both in and knowledge et al., 2017). to the of multiple are an there will also be situations where are and of and their nature and to they Indigenous and local a of understandings and and therefore approaches those understandings and the local contexts in which they are This Special Feature highlights a range of approaches to inform decision-making with Indigenous and local knowledge and science and that approaches be and to the local where they are and approaches in this decision-making for conservation management in et al., 2020, this ecosystem-based adaptation and land use et al., 2020, this understanding the role of Indigenous and local practice in conservation and conservation Molnàr et al., 2020, this understanding the conditions that adaptation to change communities and et al., 2020, this and adaptation of Indigenous knowledge and practice to (Congretel & Pinton, 2020, this feature) and conservation et al., 2020, this feature). knowledge approaches understanding of between and (Gagnon et al., 2020, this feature) and of Indigenous and local knowledge to through the on and McElwee et al. (2020, this feature) in their of the processes that different and of different knowledge systems may with some than and the of from knowledge systems might their with different of these issues are in et al. (2020, this feature) who of process and to the use of Indigenous knowledge and science in decision-making. and collaboration processes will how knowledge is and that is to all The approaches and to with Indigenous and local knowledge and science to inform decision-making have stewardship and conservation has and and it is that the best information possible decision-making to and reduce and with between where of and are to working with multiple knowledge systems, a is how knowledge is and that knowledge systems are in a fair and equitable A to the conservation is that not all cultural practice this is just like not all conservation have it has been that it is to Indigenous and local knowledge from but this is not to knowledge all of which in a decision-making natural can be with beliefs and with Indigenous and local knowledge and science is not to the of information and but to it in to the knowledge system in which it is The and of scientific knowledge is to scientists, the and of Indigenous or local knowledge is to Indigenous and local knowledge holders. who can these knowledge systems have value in this The when working with multiple knowledge systems to inform decision-making is what will best these knowledge systems to be and This be to each specific approaches such as conservation which conservation and cultural conservation and research with practice might have greater to with Indigenous and local knowledge in a form more with Indigenous and local knowledge systems. The for scientists is to their role in this In some Indigenous communities might Indigenous scientists may have to decision-making processes which are processes involving many the way in which they their research and engage with systems of governance can have for the role of Indigenous and local knowledge in research and decision-making. In these decisions about how to research, through working to the use of Indigenous and local knowledge and with Indigenous and local people and scientists can the knowledge base and contribute to societal goals of and would like to for on the and and for this in creating this Special also and for on an of the are from in the and in the