Integrating indigenous and traditional knowledge into our Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) toolkit offers numerous benefits. This knowledge stems from communities' close relationships with their environment and their accumulated experience in predicting hazards by reading signs in the sea, skies, and wildlife.
People and communities have learned about the duration, location, time, frequency, intensity, predictability, onset, and possible behaviour of hazards through direct experience with disasters.
Traditional knowledge and practices, evolved through trial and error, are highly resilient due to the traditional knowledge that has enabled these technologies to manage local hazards and use local materials. Many traditional buildings have survived earthquakes, floods, cyclones, and other disasters because of the embedded traditional knowledge.
Traditional knowledge is also passed down through intangible heritage like performing arts and local management systems, maintaining practices and technologies that have proven effective over time. Indigenous social, economic, and institutional coping skills offer valuable mechanisms for disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.
Contrary to common misconceptions, traditional knowledge is dynamic, continuously evolving through internal creativity and external influences, enabling it to blend with modern science and technology. This integration fosters innovation and enhances local acceptance of new risk-reduction initiatives. Partnerships with disaster managers, local communities, and technical specialists can play a key role in integrating diverse knowledge systems to reduce risk.
Dave Paul Zervaas, former Programme Management Officer at the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), championed the development of the 'Words into Action (WiA) guide on using traditional and indigenous knowledges for disaster risk reduction,' prepared through collaboration between UNDRR and ICCROM. These guidelines, based on global expertise and networks of DRR practitioners, provide practical advice on implementing a people-centred approach to DRR in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.
In Zervaas's view, dismissing knowledge from diverse sources is a significant loss. Indigenous and traditional knowledge, based on holistic and ecologically viable cognitive schemes, can be invaluable. While not always constructed using positivistic scientific methods, this does not disqualify its validity. Traditional and indigenous knowledge systems, through careful observation and integration, offer distinct ways of understanding and interacting with reality.
Current scientific approaches can document and share traditional knowledge, ensuring its practical application. Understanding and integrating diverse knowledge systems enriches our approach to complex issues like climate change adaptation, sustainable development, and human rights. In the DRR field, rigid and reductionist mindsets fall short in addressing multifaceted problems. Instead, integrative approaches that embrace diverse perspectives are necessary.
Not all knowledge is equally useful in every context, but dismissing indigenous and traditional knowledge outright is a grave mistake. These systems offer fresh insights and can democratize how we understand and address disaster risks. Integrating traditional knowledge with modern science is challenging but beneficial:
- Ecological Responsibility: Traditional knowledge promotes a respectful and sustainable relationship with the environment.
- Pragmatic Insights: Indigenous methodologies, grounded in lived experiences, offer practical and sustainable solutions.
- Innovative Approaches: Traditional knowledge can provide forgotten or overlooked strategies that are highly effective.
- Holistic Understanding: Traditional methods offer valuable observations and solutions, even without detailed microscopic analysis.
- Inclusive DRR Strategies: Indigenous communities contribute significantly to inclusive, people-centred DRR plans and mechanisms, crucial for early warning and recovery efforts.
This new website is dedicated to showcasing valuable insights, practices, and case studies in indigenous and traditional knowledge for disaster risk reduction.
