Mission
The mission of the LINKS programme is two-fold:
- to support Indigenous Peoples and local communities to be able to bring their knowledge, values, understandings and beliefs into decision-making at different scales for the well-being of people and the planet
- to promote recognition of and respect for complex oral knowledge systems so that that their transmission, safeguarding and institutional integrity is supported locally, nationally and through the multilateral system.
Another major area of intervention for LINKS is to help scientists and policy makers appreciate the complexity, validity and pertinence of Indigenous and local knowledge systems, particularly in relation to United Nations’ mandates, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Agenda 2063 of the African Union.
What is Indigenous and local knowledge
UNESCO does not have a fixed definition of what is meant by Indigenous and local knowledge. In part, this is because there has been no need for a formal decision, and in part because people understand their knowledge systems in different ways, they produce knowledge in different ways for different purposes, and knowledge production occurs in different world views and cosmovisions.
Whereas science strives to be universal and replicable anywhere, Indigenous and local knowledge systems are specific to the holders of the knowledge, crafted for their purposes, and they require membership in a particular social structure to educate knowledge holders in complex language-based memory tools and taxonomies which are distributed between men and women, across generations, and across their territory, whether that be a small island, a mountain chain or on routes of up to 2,000 km of nomadic transhumance.
UNESCO LINKS contributes to the work of the , where the following working definition is in use:
Indigenous and local knowledge systems are social and ecological knowledge practices and beliefs pertaining to the relationship of living beings, including people, with one another and with their environments. Such knowledge can provide information, methods, theory and practice for sustainable ecosystem management.
For LINKS, local and Indigenous knowledge refers to the practices, understandings, skills and competencies, as well as the philosophies and cosmovisions developed by societies with long histories of interaction with their natural surroundings and a continuing dependence on natural resources. Though Indigenous and local knowledge can apply to vast territories, they are by definition site specific, where meaning is created from the sustained interface of human usage and governance of natural resources, the available resources in the landscape (e.g. the density of biodiversity), and the social and cultural systems of the different peoples reliant on the territory.
These knowledge systems are integral to a cultural complex that also encompasses language, systems of classification, resource use practices, food systems, social structure, community institutions and systems of intergenerational transmission, including mythology, storytelling, performances, rituals and spirituality.
Knowledge systems are not static or frozen in time. For rural local communities and Indigenous Peoples, decision-making is informed by reliable knowledge that has been handed down over generations, and which is constantly being modified by innovations, changing conditions and new information.
For LINKS, local and Indigenous knowledge refers to the practices, understandings, skills and competencies, as well as the philosophies and cosmovisions developed by societies with long histories of interaction with their natural surroundings and a continuing dependence on natural resources.
LINKS’ mandate
UNESCO’s operations are set out within an 8-year Mid-term strategy that is negotiated by the Member States in dialogue with partners and the Secretariat and shaped by the mandates of its Conventions and Intergovernmental Programmes.
The LINKS programme works primarily on the knowledge of biodiversity, ecosystems, disaster risk reduction and climate change, within the context of the overall institutional strategy. This is enhanced by LINKS interactions with programmes within the Organisation as well as its cooperation within the UN system, and notably with the four concurrent UN Decades:
- the International Decade for Action "Water for Sustainable Development" (2028-2028),
- the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030),
- the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), and
- the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032).
LINKS also aligns with the UNESCO-wide priorities, for Africa and Gender Equality, as well as the priority groups: Small Island Developing States and youth.
has upgraded the importance of Indigenous and local knowledge systems in the delivery of UNESCO’s mandate.
This new framework for action, designed to enable the Organization to provide an integrated response to complex issues, will translate, during the first four-year period, in the pooling of expertise and resources in cross-cutting thematic areas - such as environmental education; media and information literacy and digital skills; artificial intelligence; culture in education; Indigenous knowledge, cultures and languages - in order to strengthen synergies and joint programming, in the service of in-depth unity of action.
Indigenous Peoples and local communities are on the frontlines of environmental changes and are the primary actors in protecting natural resources and ensuring nature-based solutions.
Indigenous and local knowledge systems are holistic constellations of knowledge, cultural practices, livelihoods, resource governance, technical skills, intergenerational exchange and social rules for sustaining productivity and carrying capacity of natural systems, landscapes and seascapes. Through the combination of science and Indigenous and local knowledge, new insights into phenomena are possible, including improved under- standing of causality, linkages between abiotic and biotic indicators, scales of ecosystems, predictive capacities, modelling and scenarios.
Together, the combined capacity of the different knowledge systems can stimulate more robust solutions and appropriate policy responses, while promoting a culture of peace, respect and inclusivity. United Nations agencies dealing with climate and the environment have taken cognizance of the importance of Indigenous and local knowledge; however, there is a major gap in methods and facilitation of synergistic ways of mobilizing and applying this knowledge.
91Â鶹¹ú²ú¾«Æ·×ÔÅÄ a unique capacity in the UN system to help address these gaps and facilitate national uptake of new transdisciplinary knowledge processes linked to climate adaptation, biodiversity and ecosystems conservation.
Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research and cooperation, including mobilizing local and Indigenous knowledge as well as sustainability science, is essential to scale up efforts for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and hydrological systems, and to implement binding targets for the restoration of degraded ecosystems and water basins.
91Â鶹¹ú²ú¾«Æ·×ÔÅÄ an important track record in advancing hydrological sciences as well as pioneering work in the ecological and earth sciences on ecosystems and the use of natural resources, biodiversity, geodiversity, scientific assessments and onsite capacity-building, including policy briefs to assist decision-makers. UNESCO designated sites, including biosphere reserves, World Heritage properties and UNESCO Global Geoparks, play an essential role to develop andapply this expertise at the local level, and foster the sharing of knowledge.
UNESCO will further support the study and observation of biodiversity in the ocean, arid zones, mountains, wetlands and agricultural systems, in addition to remote sensing in support of World Heritage sites, biosphere reserves and UNESCO Global Geoparks, and will work in the area of biotechnology and related capacity-building.
At national level, UNESCO will continue to mobilize Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) expertise and capacities in order support countries in undertaking National Ecosystems Assessments.
As a host of the IPBES Technical Support Unit on Indigenous and local knowledge, UNESCO will endeavour to ensure that all assessments undertaken by the IPBES will include transdisciplinary cooperation and the contributions of Indigenous and local knowledge holders. Most international mechanisms on environment, biodiversity, ecosystems, soil, water and climate now include a component on contributions from Indigenous and local knowledge, as well as enhanced participation of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
Engagements with Indigenous Peoples will build upon the recognition of the central role of local and Indigenous knowledge streams coupled with natural sciences in achieving sustainability, within the framework of, inter alia, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN Convention on Biological DIversity (CBD), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Ramsar Wetlands Convention, the UN Decade on Ecosystems Restoration, the UN Decade on Ocean Science, the UN instrument on Marine Biodiversity of areas Beyond National Jurisdiction and Future Earth.
The implementation strategy will be placed within the context of the Intersectoral Programme Promoting Indigenous Knowledge, Culture and Languages as a Pathway to Inclusion and will be informed by the UNESCO Policy on Engaging with Indigenous Peoples (2018), as well as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007), and through UNESCO’s role as lead agency for the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032).
Rights-based approach
UNESCO programming is aligned with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), a decision that was consolidated in 2017 in
UNDRIP makes specific reference to the rights of Indigenous Peoples in relation to their knowledge, technologies and cultural expressions.
The Declaration is the most comprehensive instrument detailing the rights of Indigenous Peoples in international law and policy, containing minimum standards for the recognition, protection and promotion of these rights.
Article 31 1. Indigenous Peoples have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, as well as the manifestations of their sciences, technologies and cultures, including human and genetic resources, seeds, medicines, knowledge of the properties of fauna and flora, oral traditions, literatures, designs, sports and traditional games and visual and performing arts. They also have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their intellectual property over such cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, and traditional cultural expressions.
For LINKS, the rights-based approach to working with holders of Indigenous and local knowledge is critically important. Many communities complain about being the subjects of research in a manner that is alienating, inappropriate and sometimes extractive in its intention and conduct. Some Indigenous and local knowledge is sacred or secret within the society and thus not to be shared, some knowledge is commercially valuable, and some refers to highly endangered species or valuable minerals.
Inappropriate, unethical or illegal behaviour by outside researchers can leave communities with a bad impression of knowledge cooperation and potentially damage long-term relationships with scientific bodies, conservation organisations or even national policy making processes.
Some communities have experienced trauma through the processes of colonisation, displacement, language loss, armed conflict, health crises and contamination of water or soil, racism and various forms of discrimination and stigmatisation. Sensitivity to the community history and their attention to healing, recovery, reconciliation and in some cases restitution, is part of the context in which knowledge sharing takes place.
LINKS works with scientists, researchers and scientific assessment processes to promote an understanding of human rights, gender equality and respect for the cultural and intellectual rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) has emerged as a centrally important principle, with other supportive frameworks including Biocultural Protocols and the Collective benefit, Authority to control, Responsibility, and Ethics (CARE) principles related to data sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples.
LINKS continues to work with its partners on principles of respectful engagement, safeguarding of knowledge systems, appropriate application of FPIC and other rights-based tools and principles.
Using our website
The LINKS website is designed for you to access and understand mission and mandate through our areas of expertise in global policy processes and the setting of international norms and standards. Our regional pages provide you with regional and nationally specific examples of our work. Our partnerships page will give you access to our work on IPBES and BES Net, as well as our cooperation with the UN system. Our impact page provides an insight into our effectiveness and recent evaluation.