Indigenizing conservation science for a sustainable Amazon

Abstract

Western science has a history of appropriating and neglecting Indigenous knowledge, but there has been a surge in the reevaluation of the relations between Indigenous and Western scientific communities worldwide (1). Indigenous theoretical framings and practices have been in dialogue with scientific ecological theories and practices in conservation sciences for more than four decades and are gaining traction (2). Scientific communities should make serious attempts to establish procedures for transdisciplinary and intercultural collaboration, engaging Indigenous peoples and their theories and practices to effectively augment and improve conservation research, policy, and action. Our collaborative research involving Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars from diverse backgrounds identified consonances and dissonances between Indigenous and Western scientific knowledge systems on ecological sustainability of the Amazon. We suggest alternative pathways for opening spaces for dialogues between Western science–based conservation and restoration strategies and knowledges and practices of Indigenous peoples.