Stern Review on the economics of climate change - 2006
Given the fact that adaptation to climate change already is happening, the authors urge the climate change research community to further study indigenous knowledge systems which
could prove to be valuable sources of information for Climate Change Impact, Adaptation and Vulnerability CCIAV assessments.
Part II
points out that on a global scale indigenous peoples with limited adaptive capacity as a result of their dependency on natural resources and their limited information access should
be specifically considered in climate change research and policy making processes as they are expected to be disproportionately affected by climate change impacts including health risks,
sea level rise, environmental hazards, etc. Furthermore, the authors emphasise that indigenous practices such as sustainable water use systems, traditional coastal management or erosion
control should be promoted. On a regional scale, the report specifically focuses on the fate of indigenous peoples living in
North America, Australia and New Zealand and the Polar Regions. In the chapter on Africa, the use of indigenous knowledge in mitigation and adaptation is described in several case
studies. Very little mention is given to indigenous peoples living in small island states and to Andean communities, and no specific mention is made of indigenous peoples living in the
Amazon or Asia, which are also areas highly vulnerable to climate change and of high cultural diversity see maps in chapter four. As far as small islands states are concerned,
indigenous and traditional knowledge systems are only mentioned in relation to the conservation of the bumphead parrotfish in the waters surrounding the Solomon Islands, while
no reference is given to the importance of traditional coastal management systems as an important strategy to cope with sea level rise. In Latin America, indigenous and traditional
peoples are only mentioned in the context of traditional, pre-Columbian coping strategies with scarce and unpredictable water resources in the Andes.
In Part III it is again pointed out that vulnerability to climate change differs considerably across socio-economic groups and that indigenous communities who are already affected by
other stresses are considered as being specifically vulnerable. In the closing chapter of the report the authors advocate for the promotion of innovative technology in response to climate
change impacts, while at the same time, they warn that improved technology may also have negative implications, and could, in the worst case, lead to a loss of indigenous cultures, as it
did occur in the past, e.g. through the green revolution. They therefore recommend including local and indigenous knowledge in adaptation and sustainability research and in the process of
public policy making to respond to climate change.