Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Encyclopedia
"Traditional Ecological Knowledge" (TEK) is an academic term referring to aboriginal, indigenous, or other forms of traditional knowledges
regarding local environmental resources. TEK can be defined as "a cumulative body of knowledge, practice, and belief, evolving by adaptive processes and handed down through generations by cultural transmission. [It concerns] the relationship of living beings (including human) with one another and with their environment." TEK is commonly used in natural resource management as a substitute for baseline environmental data to measure changes over time in remote regions that have little recorded scientific data .
The use of TEK in management and science is controversial since methods of acquiring and accumulating TEK, although often including forms of empirical research
and experimentation, differ from those used to create and validate
Western scientific knowledge .
There is a debate whether holders of TEK (i.e., indigenous populations) retain an intellectual property
right over traditional knowledge and whether use of this knowledge requires prior permission and license . This is especially complicated because TEK is most frequently preserved as oral tradition
and as such may lack objectively
confirmed documentation
. Ironically, those same methods that might resolve the issue of documentation compromise the very nature of traditional knowledge.
TEK is often used to sustain local populations and maintain resources necessary for survival. However, it can be weakened or invalidated in the context of rapid climate change
, environmental impact
, or other situations in which significant alterations of ecosystems
render TEK weak or obsolete.
Traditional knowledge
Traditional knowledge , indigenous knowledge , traditional environmental knowledge and local knowledge generally refer to the long-standing traditions and practices of certain regional, indigenous, or local communities. Traditional knowledge also encompasses the wisdom, knowledge, and teachings...
regarding local environmental resources. TEK can be defined as "a cumulative body of knowledge, practice, and belief, evolving by adaptive processes and handed down through generations by cultural transmission. [It concerns] the relationship of living beings (including human) with one another and with their environment." TEK is commonly used in natural resource management as a substitute for baseline environmental data to measure changes over time in remote regions that have little recorded scientific data .
The use of TEK in management and science is controversial since methods of acquiring and accumulating TEK, although often including forms of empirical research
Empirical research
Empirical research is a way of gaining knowledge by means of direct and indirect observation or experience. Empirical evidence can be analyzed quantitatively or qualitatively...
and experimentation, differ from those used to create and validate
Validity
In logic, argument is valid if and only if its conclusion is entailed by its premises, a formula is valid if and only if it is true under every interpretation, and an argument form is valid if and only if every argument of that logical form is valid....
Western scientific knowledge .
There is a debate whether holders of TEK (i.e., indigenous populations) retain an intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
right over traditional knowledge and whether use of this knowledge requires prior permission and license . This is especially complicated because TEK is most frequently preserved as oral tradition
Oral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
and as such may lack objectively
Objectivity (science)
Objectivity in science is a value that informs how science is practiced and how scientific truths are created. It is the idea that scientists, in attempting to uncover truths about the natural world, must aspire to eliminate personal biases, a priori commitments, emotional involvement, etc...
confirmed documentation
Documentation
Documentation is a term used in several different ways. Generally, documentation refers to the process of providing evidence.Modules of Documentation are Helpful...
. Ironically, those same methods that might resolve the issue of documentation compromise the very nature of traditional knowledge.
TEK is often used to sustain local populations and maintain resources necessary for survival. However, it can be weakened or invalidated in the context of rapid climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
, environmental impact
Environmental degradation
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife...
, or other situations in which significant alterations of ecosystems
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
render TEK weak or obsolete.
External links
- Indigenous Peoples' Restoration Network (IPRN) - Working Group of the Society for Ecological Restoration