Special Feature: Informing decision-making with indigenous and local knowledge and science.
Abstract
This special section, which contains 5 papers, highlights some of the many benefits which can occur when research and decision-making are informed by indigenous and local knowledge and science. Topics covered include: (1) the contributions of indigenous and local knowledge to the understanding of the relative influences of seasonal weather variables on the variation in seasonal body condition of caribou; (2) how the integration of indigenous and local knowledge can provide mechanisms for the conservation and ecosystem-based adaptation of pasture ecosystems; (3) the importance of indigenous people and local communities to global biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management; (4) how traditional herders integrate knowledge of cattle foraging preferences into their herding practice and to alter grazing behaviour through their traditional practices; and (5) how the integration of the Priority Threat Management framework with the perspectives and expertise of indigenous people and other experts can contribute to the conservation of Pacific salmon in Canada.