Indigenous peoples across the globe have lived in harmony with their traditional lands for generations, living off the land and its resources while maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem itself. For indigenous peoples, sustainability is a necessity, for without it their own livelihoods are at risk. Traditional ecological knowledge and practices have been so successful that, although indigenous lands account for less than 22 percent of the world’s land area, their traditional territories are home to approximately 80 percent of the world’s biodiversity. This has led to a growing appreciation for the value of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) in promoting sustainable land management and scientific discovery and in providing environmental data to support climate adaptation strategies.

~ Hannah Rundle

Canyon de Chelly, Navajo Nation, AZ – photo by Paul Brady, bigstockphoto.com