Presentation short abstract

IPLCAD are struggling to defend their cultures and territories. Local Ecological Knowledge is part of the ressource they have to do so. The lack of adequate tools, such as databases, difficults even more their fights. We will here present some of these tools and the current debates surrounding them.

Presentation long abstract

The connections between political ecology and ethnobiology can be numerous. By trying to understand past and present local and Indigenous peoples’ agencies in the genesis of contemporary landscapes, ethnoecology serves as an important provider of local ecological data. But the data itself, as well as the way it is sourced, is often the object of conflicts. In most parts of the world, local and Indigenous knowledge holders are currently struggling for recognition of their cultures and territories. All the local ecological knowledge they hold, while potentially helpful in achieving this recognition, is also valuable — and sometimes valued in inappropriate ways — for other purposes, such as nature conservation, bioeconomy, or the pharmaceutical industry.

To address such pitfalls, the Nagoya Protocol has established guidelines, and some countries are leading efforts to implement regulatory measures, but their concrete application remains challenging. One difficulty is the lack of adequate technical tools, and ongoing discussions are taking place in various working groups regarding databases.

This short communication will offer an opportunity to present and advocate for some of these tools, as well as to provide an overview of the debates surrounding them. If knowledge is power, databases are one of the most valuable weapons.