Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares

University of Helsinki | HY · Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS)

Several intergovernmental policy instruments, including the World Heritage Convention of UNESCO and the Convention on Biological Diversity, have proposed to develop integrated strategies to build bridges between biological and cultural diversity agendas. We contend that to succeed in this endeavor, it is crucial to link biocultural revitalization t...

Existing climate data for Bolivian Amazonia rely on observations from a few sparse weather stations, interpolated on coarse-resolution grids. At the same time, the region hosts numerous indigenous groups with rich knowledge systems that are hitherto untapped in the quest to understand local climate change. Drawing on an empirical dataset of climate...

Research on natural resource management suggests that local perceptions form the basis upon which many small-scale societies monitor availability and change in the stock of common-pool natural resources. In contrast, this literature debates whether local perceptions can be effective in guiding the sustainable management of natural resources. With e...

Agricultural intensification, an increase in per-area productivity, may spare forests otherwise lost to agricultural expansion. Yet which conditions enable such sparing or whether intensification amplifies deforestation through rebound effects remains hotly debated. Using a multilevel Bayesian regression framework, we analyse the effects of agricul...

Mineral extraction areas represent an environmental, social, and also a food sovereignty challenge for several countries. Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLC) are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of mining activities, particularly those that affect their lands and waters. At the global level, scientific evidence on the impacts of m...

Primates, represented by 521 species, are distributed across 91 countries primarily in the Neotropic, Afrotropic, and Indo-Malayan realms. Primates inhabit a wide range of habitats and play critical roles in sustaining healthy ecosystems that benefit human and nonhuman communities. Approximately 68% of primate species are threatened with extinction...

Confronted with the complex environmental crises of the Anthropocene, scientists have moved towards an interdisciplinary approach to address challenges that are both social and ecological. Several arenas are now calling for co-production of new transdisciplinary knowledge by combining Indigenous knowledge and science. This book revisits epistemolog...

Biological and cultural diversity are inextricably linked and rapidly eroding worldwide. As a response, many conservation efforts foster synergies between cultural and biological diversity agendas through biocultural approaches. However, such approaches do not always address biocultural conflicts, where certain cultural practices can lead to biodiv...

Traditional ecological knowledge enables pastoralists to cope with social-ecological changes, thereby increasing the sustainability of their practices and fostering social-ecological resilience. Yet, there is a significant knowledge gap concerning the extent to which pastoral traditional ecological knowledge has changed over time at the global leve...

Ethnobiology is the study of the relationships that different societies establish with nature, through the anlysis of knowledge, uses and perceptions. Bolivia is a country with great biological and cultural diversity. In the last two decades, Bolivia has initiated a political process in view to defend indigenous identity and governance, which inclu...

Indigenous Peoples’ (IP) stewardship has helped conserve biodiversity and maintain healthy ecosystems worldwide. Among many challenges to this role are mounting pressures from industrial development. By assessing the current ecological condition of Indigenous lands with their potential for future industrial development, we show that the ecological...

Indigenous Peoples’ (IP) stewardship has helped conserve biodiversity and maintain healthy ecosystems worldwide. Among many challenges to this role are mounting pressures from industrial development. By assessing the current ecological condition of Indigenous lands with their potential for future industrial development, we show that the ecological...

Purpose The plethora of contributions to social learning has resulted in a wide range of interpretations, meanings and applications of social learning, both within and across disciplines. However, advancing the concept and using social learning methods and tools in areas like disaster-shocks requires interdisciplinary consolidation of understanding...

Multicultural representation is a stated goal of many global scientific assessment processes. These processes aim to mobilize a broader, more diverse knowledge base and increase legitimacy and inclusiveness of these assessment processes. Often, enhancing cultural diversity is encouraged through involvement of diverse expert teams and sources of kno...

Pastoralism is a globally -important livelihood, with large social, environmental and economic importance across much of our planet. Yet, it is also a vulnerable practice with widespread crises, urgently calling for better systemic understanding. The current disciplinary compartmentalization of research not only hampers this but allows perpetuation...

The knowledge, values, and practices of Indigenous peoples and local communities offer ways to understand and better address social-environmental problems. The article reviews the state of the literature on this topic by focusing on six pathways by which Indigenous peoples and local communities engage with management of and relationships to nature....

The fast and widespread environmental changes that have intensified in the last decades are bringing disproportionate impacts to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities. Changes that affect water resources are particularly relevant for subsistence-based peoples, many of whom already suffer from constraints regarding reliable access to safe water....

The knowledge systems and practices of Indigenous Peoples and local communities play critical roles in safeguarding the biological and cultural diversity of our planet. Globalization, government policies, capitalism, colonialism, and other rapid social-ecological changes threaten the relationships between Indigenous Peoples and local communities an...

The academic publishing world is rapidly changing. These changes are driven by and have implications for a range of intertwined ethical and financial considerations. In this essay, we situate Journal of Ethnobiology (JoE) in the discourse of ethical publishing, broadly, and in ethnobiology, specifically. We consider it an ethical imperative of JoE...

While there is much debate on transformative change among academics and policymakers, the discussion on how to govern such change is still in its infancy. This article argues that transformative governance is needed to enable the transformative change necessary for achieving global sustainability goals. Based on a literature review, the article unp...

Pastoralism is globally significant in social, environmental, and economic terms. However, it experiences crises rooted in misconceptions and poor interdisciplinary understanding, while being largely overlooked in international sustainability forums and agendas. Here, we propose a transdisciplinary research approach to understand pastoralist transi...

The Convention on Biological Diversity is defining the goals that will frame future global biodiversity policy in a context of rapid biodiversity decline and under pressure to make transformative change. Drawing on the work of Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars, we argue that transformative change requires the foregrounding of Indigenous people...

While cross-cultural research on subjective well-being and its multiple drivers is growing, the study of happiness among Indigenous peoples continues to be under-represented in the literature. In this work, we measure life satisfaction through open-ended questionnaires to explore levels and drivers of subjective well-being among 474 adults in three...

Citizen science (CS) is receiving increasing attention as a conduit for Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) in ecosystem stewardship and conservation. Drawing on field experience and scientific literature, we explore the connection between CS and ILK and demonstrate approaches for how CS can generate useful knowledge while at the same time strengt...

Indigenous Peoples’ lands cover over one‐quarter of Earth's surface, a significant proportion of which is still free from industrial‐level human impacts. As a result, Indigenous Peoples and their lands are crucial for the long‐term persistence of Earth's biodiversity and ecosystem services. Yet, information on species composition on these lands glo...

Human-bat interactions are common in rural areas across the tropics. Over 40 bat species occur in Madagascar, most of which are endemic. Forest loss is changing the distribution of bats throughout the island, with potential increases in both the abundance of synanthropic species and human-bat interactions. We set out to study knowledge of, interact...

Although elusive due to their mostly nocturnal behavior, bats have fascinated humans for millennia. From their ubiquitous presence in Mayan mythology to being regarded as symbols of good fortune in the Middle-to-Late Qing Dynasty of China, bats have been both feared and celebrated across cultures from all over the world. The research articles inclu...

Multicultural representation is a stated goal of many global scientific assessment processes. These processes aim to mobilize a broader, more diverse knowledge base and increase legitimacy and inclusiveness of these assessment processes. Often, enhancing cultural diversity is encouraged through involvement of diverse expert teams and sources of kno...

Indigenous Peoples have shaped and managed vast tracts of the Amazon rainforest for millennia. However, evaluations of how much biodiversity is governed under Indigenous stewardship are scarce. Here, we integrate geospatial data of officially recognized ITs across the Amazon biogeographic boundaries with the distribution range of >200 Amazonian bat...

There is increasing recognition that diverse knowledge systems can work in mutually enriching ways and that Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) can enhance biodiversity conservation. However, studies using scientific knowledge and ILK in a complementary manner, and acknowledging convergent and especially divergent insights have remained limited. I...

Citizen science (CS) is receiving increasing attention as a conduit for Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) in ecosystem stewardship and conservation. Drawing on field experiences and scientific literature, we explore the connection between CS and ILK, and demonstrate approaches for how CS can generate useful knowledge while at the same time contr...

Synthesis of science to develop broad understandings requires integration of information from multiple scales and diverse sources. Inherent biases in scientific work favor English-language literature and Anglophone experts. This limits what is included as ‘knowledge’ and narrows our understanding of important issues. These data were collected to ex...

Including local and indigenous knowledge in the work of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Global Assessment: Outcomes and lessons for the future.

The current COVID-19 pandemics is having a major impact on our global health and economies. There is widespread recognition that ecosystem disruption, including land-use change and illegal wildlife trade, is linked to the increasing emergence of zoonotic diseases. Here, we emphasize that protected areas play a fundamental role in buffering against...

Full Text : https://rdcu.be/b66xM Although subsistence hunting is cross-culturally an activity led and practiced mostly by men, a rich body of literature shows that in many small-scale societies women also engage in hunting in varied and often inconspicuous ways. Using data collected among two contemporary forager-horticulturalist societies facing...

Indigenous territories represent ~45% of land categorized as wilderness in the Amazon, but account for <15% of all forest loss on this land. At a time when the Amazon faces unprecedented pressures, overcoming polarization and aligning the goals of wilderness defenders and Indigenous peoples is paramount, to avoid environmental degradation.

1. There have been calls for greater inclusion of Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) in applied ecosystems research and ecological assessments. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Global Assessment (GA) is the first assessment to systematically work with ILK and issues of concern to Indigen...

Human adaptation depends on the integration of slow life history, complex production skills, and extensive sociality. Refining and testing models of the evolution of human life history and cultural learning benefit from increasingly accurate measurement of knowledge, skills, and rates of production with age. We pursue this goal by inferring hunters...

Abstract There is growing evidence that wildlife‐based tourism can be a valuable pathway to transform the environmental knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of tourists, if complemented by effective conservation messaging and proactive interpretive experiences. Yet, such conservation messaging is not always a priority for many wildlife‐based tourism...

The past three decades have seen the emergence of myriads of initiatives focused on conserving, revitalizing, and maintaining Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) as part of biocultural approaches to conservation. However, the extent to which these efforts have been participatory has been often overlooked. In this chapter, we focus on five prominen...

Current research on the local impacts of climate change is based on contrasting results from the simulation of historical trends in climatic variables produced with global models against climate data from independent observations. To date, these observations have mostly consisted of weather data from standardized meteorological stations. Given that...

Throughout the Amazon, notions of ownership and mastership shape the use of natural resources among many Indigenous communities. These ideas are reflected in the figure of game masters (i.e. spiritual beings who own the animals), which are widespread among Indigenous peoples across the Amazon Basin. In this paper, we explore the diverse biocultural...

Due to an unprecedented expansion of infrastructure projects, extensive areas of the planet are opened to new environmental pressures. Infrastructure projects are often contentious and generate resistance, particularly in territories inhabited by Indigenous Peoples. In this work, we study local attitudes towards the construction of a controversial...

Intact Forest Landscapes (IFLs) are critical strongholds for the environmental services that they provide, not least for their role in climate protection. On the basis of information about the distributions of IFLs and Indigenous Peoples’ lands, we examined the importance of these areas for conserving the world's remaining intact forests. We determ...

Indigenous Peoples’ lands cover over one-quarter of the Earth’s surface, a significant proportion of which is still free from industrial-level human impacts. As a result, Indigenous Peoples’ lands are crucial for the long-term persistence of Earth’s biodiversity and ecosystem services. Yet, information on species composition within Indigenous Peopl...

Indigenous Peoples worldwide are confronted by the increasing threat of pollution. Based on a comprehensive review of the literature (N = 686 studies), we present the current state of knowledge on i) the exposure and vulnerability of Indigenous Peoples to pollution; ii) the environmental, health and cultural impacts of pollution upon Indigenous Peo...

Despite increasing scientific understanding of the global environmental crisis, we struggle to adopt the policies science suggests would be effective. One of the reasons for that is the lack of inclusive engagement and dialogue among a wide range of different actors. Furthermore, there is a lack of consideration of differences between languages, wo...

Local attitudes towards wildlife encompass environmental, political, sociocultural and psychological dimensions that shape human-wildlife interactions and conservation efforts. Although the political and sociocultural dimensions of these interactions have been extensively examined by political ecologists and cultural anthropologists, psychological...

The transmission of Indigenous Knowledge occurs in large part through the encoding of sociocultural performance of everyday activities, local speech, and other oral manifestations, like stories and songs. Here, we examine the role of traditional songs in transmitting Indigenous Knowledge among the Tsimane' Indigenous Peoples of Bolivian Amazonia. W...

Dedicated to Kwaxsistalla Wathl'thla Chief Adam Dick (1929–2018) “Music is our heartbeat exposed, lit up and choreographed—so it reaches us and touches us all at an ancestral level”—Ogwi'low'gwa (Kim Recalma-Clutesi, Qualicum Nation)

As Bolivia approaches presidential elections in October 2019, the country’s environmental leadership is at stake. We discuss urgent challenges and opportunities for reconciling conservation and societal needs in this mega-diverse country.

This report is a summary of the Dialogue across Indigenous, local and scientific knowledge systems reflecting on the IPBES Assessment on Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production that was held 21th to 25th January 2019, in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, Thailand. The Dialogue was co-convened and jointly designed by the Inter Mountain Peoples Educati...

Human adaptation depends upon the integration of slow life history, complex production skills, and extensive sociality. Refining and testing models of the evolution of human life history and cultural learning will benefit from increasingly accurate measurement of knowledge, skills, and rates of production with age. We pursue this goal by inferring...

The diets of contemporary hunter-gatherers are diverse and highly nutritious, but are rapidly changing as these societies integrate into the market economy. Here, we analyse empirical data on the dietary patterns and sources of foods of three contemporary hunter-gatherer societies: the Baka of Cameroon (n = 160), the Tsimane’ of Bolivia (n = 124) a...

Society’s understanding of a conflict is mediated by information provided in mass media, for which researchers stress the importance of analyzing media portrays of stakeholders in a conflict. We analyze information from the Bolivian press regarding the construction of a road crossing the Isiboro-Sécure Indigenous Territory and National Park (TIPNIS...

Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC) are affected by global environmental change because they directly rely on their immediate environment for meeting basic livelihood needs. Therefore, safeguarding and restoring ecosystem resilience is critical to support their wellbeing. Based on examples from the literature, we illustrate how IPLC par...

Despite growing policy interest in the conservation values of territories and areas conserved by Indigenous peoples and local communities (abbreviated to 'ICCAs') at the global level, our understanding of the ICCAs in East Africa is meagre at best. We explore the existence of ICCAs in East Africa, focusing on the case of the Daasanach pastoralists...

Despite increasing research interest on Indigenous Peoples' food systems, the specificities of Indigenous children's diets remain largely unexplored. We analyze data on food consumption of children from three Indigenous societies with relatively little involvement in the market economy: The Tsimane' (Bolivian Amazon), the Baka (Congo Basin), and th...

Understanding the scale, location and nature conservation values of the lands over which Indigenous Peoples exercise traditional rights is central to implementation of several global conservation and climate agreements. However, spatial information on Indigenous lands has never been aggregated globally. Here, using publicly available geospatial res...

Despite conservation discourses in Madagascar increasingly emphasizing the role of customary institutions for wildlife management, we know relatively little about their effectiveness. Here, we used semi-structured interviews with 54 adults in eight villages to investigate whether sacred caves and taboos offer conservation benefits for cave-dwelling...

In August 2017, the Bolivian government passed a contentious law downgrading the legal protection of the Isiboro-Sécure National Park and Indigenous Territory (TIPNIS, for its Spanish acronym), the ancestral homeland of four lowland indigenous groups and one of Bolivia's most iconic protected areas. Due to its strategic position straddling the Ande...