The role of local knowledge in assessments of biodiversity loss and climate change impacts

The integration of local knowledge of nature into assessments of biodiversity loss and climate change impacts is a vital and key challenge for a just and sustainable future.

The aim of this project is to develop the methodology for the integration of scientific and local knowledge in assessments of biodiversity loss and climate change impacts, in order to provide for more comprehensive and just assessments.

The project combines conceptual analysis and literature reviews with empirical case studies focusing on regulated rivers in Sweden, which provides a critical case for complex trade-offs between local biodiversity freshwater degradation and fossil free hydroelectric power benefits.

This project will i) catalogue, analyse, and critically examine concepts of local knowledge in the context of biodiversity and climate change in scientific and grey literature; ii) provide methods for outlining and capturing local knowledge in relation to biodiversity impacts in regulated rivers iii) uncover barriers and opportunities for the integration of local knowledge in assessments of biodiversity loss and climate change impacts.

Outcomes will advance the understanding and provide concrete guidance of the epistemic, practical and ethical conditions for how to assess and integrate local knowledge in biodiversity and climate governance.