UDTR Global Rights of Nature Radar

Scientists' Warning to Humanity on Threats to Indigenous and Local Knowledge Systems

Identification

Public canonical key

doi:10.2993/0278-0771-41.2.144

Authors

Álvaro Fernández‐Llamazares · Dana Lepofsky · Ken P. Lertzman · Chelsey Geralda Armstrong · Eduardo S. Brondízio · Michael C. Gavin · Phil O’B. Lyver · George Nicholas · Puaʻala Pascua · Nicholas James Reo · Victoria Reyes‐García · Nancy J. Turner · Johanna Yletyinen · E. N. Anderson · William Balée · Joji Cariño · Dominique David-Chavez · Christopher Dunn · Stephen Thomas Garnett · Spencer Greening · Shain Niniwum Selapem Jackson · Harriet V. Kuhnlein · Zsolt Molnár · Guillaume Odonne · Gunn‐Britt Retter · William J. Ripple · László Sáfián · Abolfazl Sharifian Bahraman · Miquel Torrents‐Ticó · Mehana Blaich Vaughan

Reported year

2021

Reported language

en

Source type

article

First detected

2026-11-09T19:04:47.801852+00:00

Last metadata observation

2026-11-09T19:04:47.801852+00:00

Last HTTP verification

Not checked

Institutions reported by the source

American Museum of Natural History · Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Charles Darwin University · Colorado State University · Cornell University · Dartmouth College · Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources · HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research · Ifremer · Indiana University · Indiana University Bloomington · Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats · Laboratoire écologie, évolution, interactions des systèmes amazoniens · Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research · Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology · McGill University · Oregon State University · Saami Council · Simon Fraser University · Tulane University · Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona · University of Arizona · University of California, Riverside · University of French Guiana · University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa · University of Helsinki · University of Victoria

Reported affiliation countries

AU · CA · DE · ES · FI · FR · GF · HU · IR · NO · NZ · US

Documentary abstract — original language

The knowledge systems and practices of Indigenous Peoples and local communities play critical roles in safeguarding the biological and cultural diversity of our planet. Globalization, government policies, capitalism, colonialism, and other rapid social-ecological changes threaten the relationships between Indigenous Peoples and local communities and their environments, thereby challenging the continuity and dynamism of Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK). In this article, we contribute to the “World Scientists' Warning to Humanity,” issued by the Alliance of World Scientists, by exploring opportunities for sustaining ILK systems on behalf of the future stewardship of our planet. Our warning raises the alarm about the pervasive and ubiquitous erosion of knowledge and practice and the social and ecological consequences of this erosion. While ILK systems can be adaptable and resilient, the foundations of these knowledge systems are compromised by ongoing suppression, misrepresentation, appropriation, assimilation, disconnection, and destruction of biocultural heritage. Three case studies illustrate these processes and how protecting ILK is central to biocultural conservation. We conclude with 15 recommendations that call for the recognition and support of Indigenous Peoples and local communities and their knowledge systems. Enacting these recommendations will entail a transformative and sustained shift in how ILK systems, their knowledge holders, and their multiple expressions in lands and waters are recognized, affirmed, and valued. We appeal for urgent action to support the efforts of Indigenous Peoples and local communities around the world to maintain their knowledge systems, languages, stewardship rights, ties to lands and waters, and the biocultural integrity of their territories—on which we all depend.

Identifiers

OPENALEX

W3185863955

DOI

10.2993/0278-0771-41.2.144

HAL

hal-03281949

HANDLE

10138/332525

Documentary context

Documentary family

Scholarship

Source-reported types

article

Natural entities mentioned

Territory

Entity mentions are not evidence of legal recognition. Jurisdiction studied is separate from author affiliation country.

Sources

OpenAlex · Record 1 · Record 2 · Record 3 · Record 4

• DOI · https://doi.org/10.2993/0278-0771-41.2.144
• Handle · https://hdl.handle.net/10138/332525
• HAL · https://hal.science/hal-03281949
• OpenAlex · https://openalex.org/W3185863955

Documented bibliographic relations

Source-declared references and links; they do not establish legal support or UGLC qualification. Up to 20 outgoing references are displayed.

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• openalex:w1969041685 · CITES
• openalex:w1972253930 · CITES
• openalex:w1984639904 · CITES
• openalex:w2021767523 · CITES
• openalex:w2022397850 · CITES
• openalex:w2032562586 · CITES
• openalex:w2039321139 · CITES
• openalex:w2046549309 · CITES
• openalex:w2058923887 · CITES
• openalex:w2067022468 · CITES
• openalex:w2068971408 · CITES
• openalex:w2070841852 · CITES
• openalex:w2072322456 · CITES

12 incoming references within the detected corpus

Documentary status

Relevance pending

Library

This identity is not yet included in the Legal Library.