Compared with national and regional programmes, global level recognition of the importance of indigenous knowledge to scientific assessments has been lagging. But recently there have been signs of a shift in thinking among the organisations that help shape international agreements.
For starters, an indigenous expert has made it onto the UN secretary-general's board of science advisors. Plus, experimental projects are finding ways of making indigenous knowledge 'citeable' to ease its integration into scientific reports. And several important reports - including those from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - are recognising indigenous peoples' contributions. Some of these small steps could pave the way to a better use of indigenous knowledge in the forthcoming Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
...