Guest Editorial: Integrating Indigenous Ecological Knowledge and Science in Natural Resource Management: Perspectives from Australia

Abstract:

Ecology and Society’s 2004 special feature on Traditional Knowledge in Social-Ecological Systems (http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/issues/view.php/feature/13) marked one of the first efforts to view traditional, local, and Indigenous knowledge and their roles in managing ecosystems through the lens of social-ecological systems (SES) resilience. This view acknowledges the importance of experimentation, learning, and pluralism to cope with uncertainty in complex adaptive systems. As a frame for understanding knowledge, SES resilience provided new inspiration for scientists seeking to understand Indigenous livelihoods and resource management, increasingly against the backdrop of rapid global change.