Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) is knowledge, skills, and beliefs that have been developed over many years through observation, experience, and cultural traditions. This knowledge is passed from one generation to the next and explains how people, animals, plants, and the environment are connected.
Some people debate whether TEK should be used in modern ecological management. Unlike Western science, which often uses experiments and numbers to study the environment, TEK is based on long-term observations, cultural practices, and hands-on learning. These differences have led to discussions about how to include TEK in scientific studies and environmental planning. For example, some tribal governments have partnered with non-tribal agencies, like the U.S. EPA, to use TEK in environmental plans and climate change tracking. However, TEK is not a single set of rules that works everywhere. Instead, it varies based on culture, location, and the way different communities understand the natural world.
There is an ongoing discussion in international law about whether Indigenous peoples have the right to protect their traditional knowledge. Some laws, like the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources, and Associated Traditional Knowledge, require people to share information and benefits when using traditional knowledge or genetic resources in scientific work. This can be difficult because TEK is often shared through stories and oral traditions, which may not have written records that can be proven. Methods used to meet legal requirements might change the way traditional knowledge is shared or understood.
Traditional knowledge helps Indigenous communities grow plants and care for animals in ways that support their survival. Even though TEK and the people who hold it are often overlooked in scientific and social systems, their knowledge provides important insights that help explain changes in the environment.
History
The earliest organized studies of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) were conducted by anthropologists. Ecological knowledge was examined through ethnoecology, a method that looks at how different cultures understand the relationships between living things and their environments. This approach helped researchers learn how various groups developed their knowledge systems. Harold Colyer Conklin, an American anthropologist, led efforts to record how indigenous people understood the natural world. Conklin and others found that traditional communities, such as Philippine horticulturists, had thorough knowledge of the plants and animals in their areas. Their daily activities, like gathering, making tools from, and using local plants and animals, created a close connection between the natural world and their culture. The field of TEK includes many questions about how human societies interact with nature, how people adapt to their environments, and how social structures help groups survive in specific places. It also focuses on the practical skills that support these relationships and cultural practices.
In 1987, the United Nations published a report titled Our Common Future by the World Commission on Environment and Development. The report noted that achievements in the 20th century, such as lower infant death rates, longer life spans, more people who can read and write, and increased food production, led to problems like environmental harm in a world with more pollution and fewer natural resources. The report stated that the lifestyles of tribal and indigenous peoples could offer valuable lessons for managing resources in complex ecosystems like forests, mountains, and drylands.
Fulvio Mazzocchi, a scientist from Italy’s National Research Council, described the features of TEK as follows:
Some anthropologists, such as M. Petriello and A. Stronza, caution that labeling TEK as an "indigenous" concept may lead to favoring certain types of TEK over others. This could limit recognition of groups like campesinos, who are not usually considered "indigenous" but still have TEK. The term TEK has been criticized for being a form of intellectual appropriation, which changes traditional or indigenous knowledge to fit the structure of Western modern science.
Aspects of traditional ecological knowledge
Nicholas Houde, in an article published in Ecology and Society, describes six parts of traditional ecological knowledge: factual observations, management systems, past and current uses, ethics and values, culture and identity, and cosmology. These parts show how "cooperative management [can] better identify areas of difference and convergence when trying to bring two ways of thinking and knowing together."
The first part of traditional ecological knowledge includes factual, specific observations made by recognizing, naming, and classifying parts of the environment. This kind of "knowledge based on observations made over time and supported by the experiences of others who share this knowledge" helps people understand the environment better.
The second part focuses on the ethical and sustainable use of resources through management systems. This includes topics like controlling pests, using resources wisely, growing multiple types of crops, and methods for checking the health of natural resources. It also involves how these systems can change to fit local conditions.
The third part looks at the time dimension of traditional ecological knowledge, highlighting how past and present uses of the environment are passed down through oral history. This includes stories about how people used land, where they lived, how many resources they used, and how they harvested. Oral history helps share cultural traditions, such as knowledge about healing plants and the locations of historical places, and strengthens family and community connections.
The fourth part refers to values and how belief systems influence how facts are organized. In traditional ecological knowledge, this includes environmental ethics that prevent overuse of resources. It also covers how people view their relationship with nature and the importance of protecting the environment and the animals that live in it.
The fifth part involves the role of language and stories from the past in shaping culture. This includes the traditions, values, and relationships that help Aboriginal cultures and identities survive and grow. It also highlights how natural places can help people heal and feel renewed.
The sixth part is a culturally based system of beliefs and ideas that explain how the world works. This system helps people understand how different parts of the world are connected and where humans fit in. Traditional knowledge differs among cultures and is shared through language, especially through myths and symbols that explain how humans, animals, and nature interact and how life exists.
Ecosystem management
Ecosystem management is a complex method for managing natural resources that uses science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) to collect long-term data that might not otherwise be available. This can happen when scientists and researchers work with Indigenous peoples through a process where everyone agrees on decisions, while also meeting the needs of people today and in the future, including their social, political, and cultural requirements. Some people have raised concerns about situations where Indigenous knowledge has been used without permission, credit, or payment.
Ecological restoration is the process of helping a damaged ecosystem recover through human actions. There are strong connections between ecological restoration and ecosystem management practices that include TEK. Because of the unequal power between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, fair partnerships in these situations can help reduce existing unfairness, such as when Indigenous Peoples lead ecological restoration projects.
In some places, environmental damage has caused a loss of Traditional Ecological Knowledge. For example, in the Aamjiwnaang community of Anishnaabe First Nations people in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, residents report a significant drop in the number of baby boys, which they believe is linked to living near chemical factories.
Climate change
Climate change affects Indigenous people in different ways based on where they live, and these differences require specific actions to adapt and reduce harm. For example, to respond to changing conditions, Indigenous people may change when and what they harvest, as well as how they use natural resources. Climate change can make traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), which Indigenous people use to understand nature and plan activities, less accurate. Many Indigenous groups rely on natural signs to predict weather and plan tasks. Because unusual weather patterns are becoming more common, some Indigenous cultures have been disrupted, and people have been forced to move from their homes. This has caused a loss of connection to their ancestral lands and the traditional knowledge they once used to live in balance with the environment. Climate change solutions can sometimes harm Indigenous rights. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has committed to including traditional ecological knowledge in plans to address climate change.
Rising temperatures harm ecosystems, such as where plants grow, when insects appear during the year, and how animals use seasonal habitats. Many Indigenous groups now begin harvesting months earlier than before because of climate change, and these adjustments are becoming more important as the climate changes rapidly. Climate change can also reduce the availability and quality of natural resources for Indigenous people. For example, in Alaska, Native communities have faced changes in daily life as sea ice decreases. Thawing frozen ground has damaged homes and roads, and clean water is becoming harder to find. Activities like fishing, transportation, and economic stability are being affected. Additionally, higher temperatures increase the risk of wildfires. In Australia, one Indigenous group recently regained control of their land and restarted a traditional practice of controlled burning. This method helped increase biodiversity and reduce the spread of wildfires. Traditional ecological knowledge can provide valuable information about climate change across different regions and generations. The National Resource Conservation Service, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has used Indigenous methods to help address climate change challenges.
Examples
Examples of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) being used in research are described below.
Environmental researcher Kirsten Vinyeta and tribal climate expert Kathy Lynn wrote about the Karuk Tribe in California: "Traditional burning practices have been important to the Karuk for many generations. For the tribe, fire is a tool to manage the land and a spiritual practice." Environmental studies professor Tony Marks-Block, ecological researcher Frank K. Lake, and tropical forester Lisa M. Curran explained how the Karuk and Yurok Tribes used controlled burns and fuel reduction methods in their ancestral lands to lower the risk of wildfires and "restore natural and cultural resources that had been harmed by years of not using fire." Sociology professor Kari Norgaard and Karuk member William Tripp suggested that this method "be used and grown in other communities in the western Klamath Mountains and beyond" to help achieve the positive results seen in these tribes' land management.
Indigenous philosopher and environmental justice expert Kyle Powys Whyte wrote that the Anishinaabek/Neshnabék people in the Great Lakes region are leading efforts to protect native species and restore ecosystems. These projects aim to learn from and use local traditions and stories that connect Anishinaabe history with challenges from industrial activities.
Ecological researchers Paul Guernsey, Kyle Keeler, and Lummi member Jeremiah Julius described in a paper how "In 2018, the Lummi Nation traveled across the United States in a Totem Pole Journey to ask for the return of their relative 'Lolita' (a Southern Resident Killer Whale) to her home waters. They also asked NOAA to help feed the whales until the chinook salmon populations in Puget Sound can support them."
In India, traditional knowledge about farming and forests has been shared for many years. One study suggests that using old farming methods could help reduce harm caused by past and recent land management practices by companies and colonial governments.
One traditional farming method is jhum, also called shifting cultivation or "slash and burn." This is common in northeastern India, where land is burned and used for farming until the soil loses its nutrients. After that, the land is left to recover. Jhum farming helps store carbon and protect plant and animal life. When jhum is combined with natural pesticides made from plants, it creates a farming system that does not need chemical fertilizers or pesticides.