Forest of the Lost Child, Dus Ailal & Dahas: Recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Traditional Knowledge in Forest Management as Means for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation

Victoria TAULI-CORPUZa and Wilfredo V. ALANGUIb* aTebtebba Foundation bCollege of Science, University of the Philippines Baguio Keywords: climate change, adaptation, mitigation, traditional knowledge, forest management Language of original submission:English Paper:Will be available soon Presentation: Right-click to download pdf. Spanish version Abstract: This paper reports on the results of three case studies on traditional forest management as practiced by the indigenous peoples of Loita Maasai (Kenya), Miskitu (Nicaragua) and Dayak Jalai (Indonesia). These studies were done in 2010 partnership with Tebtebba Foundation under the project “Ensuring the Effective Participation of Indigenous Peoples in Global and National REDD+ processes”. Done by indigenous researchers, the studies aimed to document Indigenous Peoples’ Knowledge, Systems and Practices (IKSP) that are relevant in sustainable forest management, forest conservation, enhancement of carbon stocks and in the promotion of cultural and biological diversity in the context of climate change and REDD. The paper provides a summary of traditional knowledge in forest management and governance, the role of indigenous women, and how this knowledge is transmitted to the younger members of the communities. Challenges in the practice of the communities’ traditional knowledge as well as current threats to their forests and the various drivers of deforestation are also presented. [...]