Scientists warn on the harmful implications of losing Indigenous and local knowledge systems
The study has been published in the Journal of Ethnobiology
2021-07-06
(Press-News.org) Five Simon Fraser University scholars are among international scientists sounding an alarm over the "pervasive social and ecological consequences" of the destruction and suppression of the knowledge systems of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
Their paper, published today in the Journal of Ethnobiology, draws on the knowledge of 30 international Indigenous and non-Indigenous co-authors, and highlights 15 strategic actions to support the efforts of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in sustaining their knowledge systems and ties to lands.
Study co-lead, SFU archaeology professor Dana Lepofsky, says, "We worked hard to find a balance between discussing the threats to Indigenous and local knowledge and highlighting how Indigenous Peoples and local communities are taking action to turn around these threats. Around the world, Indigenous Peoples and local communities are celebrating, protecting, and revitalizing their knowledge systems and practices.
"As scientists, policymakers, and global citizens, we need to support these efforts in our professional activities, in the policies of our governmental agencies, and in our personal choices."
The authors summarize how the knowledge systems and practices of Indigenous Peoples and local communities play fundamental roles in safeguarding the biological and cultural diversity of our planet. They also document how this knowledge is being lost at alarming rates, with dramatic social and ecological consequences.
"Although Indigenous and local knowledge systems are inherently adaptive and remarkably resilient, their foundations have been and continue to be compromised by colonial settlement, land dispossession, and resource extraction," says study co-lead Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares, a post-doctoral researcher from the University of Helsinki, Finland. "The ecological and social impacts of these pressures are profound and widespread."
The paper is part of the "Scientists' Warning to Humanity" series, which highlights threats to humanity caused by climate change, biodiversity loss and other global changes.
INFORMATION:
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2021-07-06
AMHERST, Mass. - Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently discovered that the ability of agricultural grasses to withstand drought is directly related to the health of the microbial community living on their stems, leaves and seeds.
"Microbes do an enormous amount for the grasses that drive the world's agriculture," says Emily Bechtold, a graduate student in UMass Amherst's microbiology department and lead author of the paper recently published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology. "They protect from pathogens, provide the grass with nutrients such as nitrogen, supply hormones to bolster the plant's health and growth, protect from UV radiation ...
2021-07-06
Veterinarians at the University of California, Davis, have found that a cat's DNA alters how it responds to a life-saving medication used to treat hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM, a heart disease that affects 1 in 7 cats. The END ...
2021-07-06
A new national study published in Psychiatric Services finds that over a quarter of US adults with depression or anxiety symptoms reported needing mental health counseling but were not able to access it during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers analyzed data from nearly 70,000 adults surveyed in the US Census Household Pulse Survey in December 2020.
"Social isolation, COVID-related anxiety, disruptions in normal routines, job loss, and food insecurity have led to a surge in mental illness during the pandemic," said lead author, END ...
2021-07-06
Des Plaines, IL - The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) is pleased to announce the release of the first publication in a series of Guidelines for Reasonable and Appropriate Care in the Emergency Department (GRACE), which focuses on low-risk chest pain. The article, titled " END ...
2021-07-06
People who receive mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are up to 91 percent less likely to develop the disease than those who are unvaccinated, according to a new nationwide study of eight sites, including Salt Lake City. For those few vaccinated people who do still get an infection, or "breakthrough" cases, the study suggests that vaccines reduce the severity of COVID-19 symptoms and shorten its duration.
Researchers say these results are among the first to show that mRNA vaccination benefits even those individuals who experience breakthrough infections.
"One of the unique things about this study is that it measured the secondary benefits of the vaccine," says END ...
2021-07-06
When traffic is clogged at a downtown intersection, there may be a way to reduce some of the congestion: Eliminate a few left turns.
According to Vikash Gayah, associate professor of civil engineering at Penn State, well-placed left-turn restrictions in certain busy intersections could loosen many of the bottlenecks that hamper traffic efficiency. He recently created a new method that could help cities identify where to restrict these turns to improve overall traffic flow.
"We have all experienced that feeling of getting stuck waiting to make a left turn," Gayah said. "And ...
2021-07-06
Using simple blood tests could help researchers identify children who have been misidentified as having severe malaria, according to a study published today in eLife.
Researchers are working to develop better ways to treat severe malaria, which kills about 400,000 children in Africa each year. The discovery could help expedite such research by helping them more accurately identify children with severe malaria. It also reinforces the importance of the World Health Organization's recommendation that all children being treated for severe malaria also receive antibiotics to ensure any misdiagnosed children receive life-saving care.
Diagnosing severe malaria in children in Africa is challenging because the ...
2021-07-06
HOUSTON - (July 6, 2021) - A small fungal enzyme could play a significant role in simplifying the development and manufacture of drugs, according to Rice University scientists.
The Rice lab of chemical and biomolecular engineer Xue Sherry Gao and collaborators isolated a biocatalyst known as CtdE after identifying it as the natural mechanism that controls the chirality -- the left- or right-handedness -- of compounds produced by the native fungal host.
The open-access study appears in Nature Communications.
Two chiral things are, like hands, alike in structure but cannot perfectly ...
2021-07-06
Researchers from HSE University and Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences have discovered how the theta rhythm of the brain and the gender differences in attitudes to risk are linked. In an article published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience, the researchers addressed which processes can be explained by knowing this connection. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2021.608699/full
By transmitting signals, the brain's neurons generate electromagnetic fields. The multiplicity of neurons makes these fields strong enough to be recorded on the surface of the head using magneto- and electroencephalography techniques. ...
2021-07-06
The future of cod stocks in the North Sea and the Barents Sea may be much easier to predict than before. This is the result of an international research project led by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon and its Institute of Coastal Systems - Analysis and Modeling. For the first time, the team has succeeded in predicting the development of stocks for ten years in advance, taking into account both changes due to climate and fishing. Traditionally, fisheries experts provide catch recommendations for about a year in advance, on the basis of which fishing quotas are negotiated and set internationally. This involves first estimating the size of current cod stocks and then calculating how much cod can be caught in the coming year without endangering the stocks ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Scientists warn on the harmful implications of losing Indigenous and local knowledge systems
The study has been published in the Journal of Ethnobiology
