Online Knowledge Dialogue: “Applying Indigenous Knowledge in Water Management: Models of Best Practices”
Water is an essential resource for life, health, the eradication of poverty and hunger, combating desertification and biodiversity loss, and to promote a socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable, resilient, equitable, peaceful, and inclusive future for all.
Water conservation and management is not an easy task. Daily, our freshwater sources face contamination, over-exploitation, and mismanagement, among many other problems due to human activities. Indigenous peoples´ traditional cultures and knowledge systems are globally recognized as holding critical information related to achieving sustainable practices in water management. Indigenous communities have successfully used such knowledge for the benefit of their territories and for society generally. Therefore, appreciation of Indigenous peoples´ perspectives is essential to advancing inclusive and diverse sustainable environmental management approaches to meeting global goals, and to institutionalizing the inclusion of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) in science and policy spheres.
In this regard, the CEC Knowledge Dialogue “Application of Indigenous Knowledge in Water Management: Best Practice Models” will present selected cases from North America to show the use, application, and importance of Indigenous knowledge (tools, approaches, and methods) in the context of freshwater management. The Knowledge Dialogue will serve as a space for exchanging and sharing experiences and to influence policymaking.
