Indigenous Ecological Knowledge
Science · Rainforests · conceptual
Understand that indigenous peoples of the rainforest have developed deep ecological knowledge over thousands of years — using plants for medicine, food, and building materials, practising sustainable farming methods like shifting cultivation, and understanding animal behaviour and forest ecology in ways that modern science is only beginning to appreciate
What mastery looks like
- Give at least two examples of indigenous knowledge, such as using specific plants as medicine or practising sustainable farming
- Explain what shifting cultivation is and why it is less harmful to the forest than permanent clearing
- Describe how indigenous knowledge and modern science can work together to protect rainforests
Check your understanding
Can Indigenous Ecological Knowledge explain that indigenous rainforest peoples know an enormous amount about forest plants and animals — like which plants cure illnesses — and that scientists are learning from this knowledge?
Prerequisites
Required first