International Polar Year 2007-2008 Projects

This site contains a host of resources about projects in the North Pole on atmosphere, ice, land, oceans, people, and space. To the right are a list of IPY science projects that rely on indigenous knowledge as a primary source in their research.

Sea Ice Knowledge and Use (SIKU) Project - Documents indigenous observations of sea ice changes and ice-covered habitats

Inuit Sea Ice use and Occupancy Project (ISIUOP) - Canadian component of SIKU that works to document and map the sea ice information of local communities

Traditional Indigenous Land Use Areas in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Northwest Russia (MODIL-NAO)

Community Adaptation and Vulnerability in Arctic Regions: CAVIAR

CIYCP: Circumpolar Youth Conservation Network

BSSN: Bering Sea Sub-Network of Community Based Environmental Monitoring

LINKS - Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems

A part of UNESCO, this project "builds dialogue amongst traditional knowledge holders, natural and social scientists, resource managers and decision-makers to enhance biodiversity conservation and secure an active and equitable role for local communities in resource governance." LINKS offers resources, publications, field project examples, and events related to indigenous knowledge, with a strong emphasis on its relationship to science. Peruse the site for extensive information on the benefits of indigenous knowledge as applied to climate change, fisheries, and biodiversity. See their page dedicated to IK & Science projects.

Forests and Oceans for the Future: Integrating Local Ecological Knowledge with Natural Resource Management

This project seeks to locate, record, and integrate indigenous knowledge regarding forests and oceans in British Columbia. See research, articles, and education materials resulting from the project.

"Synergy Between Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Conservation Science"

Dr. Becker is working with local people to preserve a garda forest in Ecuador. For more information, see online article and publications.

"Combining Science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge": The Titi Project

Based in several islands near New Zealand, this project "assesses the sustainability of a traditional harvest of Titi by Rakiura Maori."

Documentation and Application of Indigenous Knowledge in Charan (Tangail), Bangladesh

This projects seeks to "explore, identify and document indigenous knowledge and practices relating to fisheries in Charan (a village in the Tangail district of Bangladesh); to analyze the collected data according to local people’s socio-economic positions; and to prepare policy recommendations for the application of such knowledge and practices in development initiatives."

Here are additional sources related Indigenous Knowledge & Science written by Paul Sillitoe, project manager of the Bangladesh project:

• Indigenous Knowledge Development in Bangladesh: Present and Future. Sillitoe, Paul, ed. London: Intermediate Technology Publications, 2000.
• Indigenous Knowledge Inquiries: A Methodologies Manual For Development. Sillitoe, P., Dixon, P., and Barr, J. London: Intermediate Technology Publications and Dhaka University Press , 2000.

For a list of additional works on Indigenous Knowledge and Science by Sillitoe, click here.