AFRICAN INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE AT THE INTERSECT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND LEGAL PRECEDENT
Standing
Undergraduate
Type of Proposal
Oral Research Presentation
Challenges Theme
Open Challenge
Faculty Sponsor
N/A
Proposal
The global consensus amongst the actively publishing community of scientists is that 97% of the climate crisis is human-caused (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2023). Yet, the current approach to solving climate change is paradoxical in nature as Western Eurocentric scientific knowledge systems are imposed across the world. Addressing such systemic limitations and exclusionary practices creates the research question of “how have humans interacted with nature prior to and independent from Western Eurocentric scientific knowledge systems?†By researching African Indigenous Knowledge systems, it becomes evident that 80% of global biodiversity is nurtured and protected by Indigenous Peoples (National Geographic, 2028). The findings lead to an intersectional analysis of African Indigenous Knowledge systems presented in a dual approach with environmental sustainability and legal precedent. The former is demonstrated through successful case rooted in local knowledge from: the nomadic Indigenous Mbororo pastoralist community in Chad, the Zaï (Tassa) farming irrigation technique originating in Western Sahel (Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali), as well as how Indigenous communities are able to forecast seasonal weather from the presence and sounds of migratory birds in East Africa (Kenya and Uganda). The latter highlights the South African Indigenous knowledge (IK) Act assented in 2019. The research from experts was summarised, including UN SDGs advocate and co-chair of International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, the 2016 recipient of the Research and Innovation award: Distinguished Women in Science Dr. Muthoni Masinde, and Howard University alumna Dr. Chika Ezeanya-Esiobu.
Grand Challenges
Viable, Healthy and Safe Communities
AFRICAN INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE AT THE INTERSECT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND LEGAL PRECEDENT
The global consensus amongst the actively publishing community of scientists is that 97% of the climate crisis is human-caused (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2023). Yet, the current approach to solving climate change is paradoxical in nature as Western Eurocentric scientific knowledge systems are imposed across the world. Addressing such systemic limitations and exclusionary practices creates the research question of “how have humans interacted with nature prior to and independent from Western Eurocentric scientific knowledge systems?†By researching African Indigenous Knowledge systems, it becomes evident that 80% of global biodiversity is nurtured and protected by Indigenous Peoples (National Geographic, 2028). The findings lead to an intersectional analysis of African Indigenous Knowledge systems presented in a dual approach with environmental sustainability and legal precedent. The former is demonstrated through successful case rooted in local knowledge from: the nomadic Indigenous Mbororo pastoralist community in Chad, the Zaï (Tassa) farming irrigation technique originating in Western Sahel (Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali), as well as how Indigenous communities are able to forecast seasonal weather from the presence and sounds of migratory birds in East Africa (Kenya and Uganda). The latter highlights the South African Indigenous knowledge (IK) Act assented in 2019. The research from experts was summarised, including UN SDGs advocate and co-chair of International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, the 2016 recipient of the Research and Innovation award: Distinguished Women in Science Dr. Muthoni Masinde, and Howard University alumna Dr. Chika Ezeanya-Esiobu.