Ecological knowledge of indigenous people: A guide to meet sustainable development goals (2030)

The human race worldwide is currently grappling with several interconnected issues, including gender inequality, poverty, hunger, health issues, educational disparities, climate change, and environmental degradation. The Millennium Development Goals (2015) and subsequently the Sustainable Development Goals (2030) were established by UN nations to address these issues comprehensively. These goals suggest various means to address the numerous interrelated concerns for the welfare of people and the environment. The authors in this paper aim to highlight the relevance of understanding, documenting, accepting and using indigenous knowledge as a means of achieving these set goals. It also presents a brief introduction to various indigenous communities and their contribution to ecology preservation.

Additionally, this paper raises a concern of preserving this knowledge to meet the challenges and perils of the modern world. An effort to draw attention to the growing necessity of reviewing the understanding that indigenous people once possessed and practised is also made through this article. This paper makes a call for action to different stakeholders to advocate for including tribal perspectives in decision-making processes, particularly those that affect their lands and resources, and to raise awareness of the value of indigenous knowledge.