Ecosystem-based Adaptation

1. • Discover what constitutes as human rights-based approaches and why they form a cornerstone
of EbA
• Understand the term Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs)
• Differentiate between Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) and traditional knowledge (TK)
• Learn how to consider ILK and TK in EbA
• Human rights-based approach: A conceptual framework based on international human rights
standards and operationally directed to promoting and protecting human rights. It empowers
rights holders, particularly the most marginalised, to participate in policy formulation and hold
accountable those who have a duty to act (UNSDG, n.d.).
• Indigenous Peoples: Those who self-identify and are peoples in independent countries who are
regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the populations which inhabited the
country, or a geographical region to which the country belongs, at the time of conquest or
colonisation and retain some or all of their own social, economic, cultural and political
institutions (ILO, 1989).
• Local Communities: Those who self-identify and have lifestyles linked to traditions associated
with natural cycles (symbiotic relationships or dependence), the use of and dependence on
biological resources and linked to the sustainable use of nature and biodiversity (CBD, 2012).
• Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK): The social and ecological knowledge practices and beliefs
pertaining to the relationship of living beings with one another and with their environments.
Such knowledge can provide information, methods, theory and practice for sustainable
ecosystem management (IPBES, 2019a).
• Traditional knowledge (TK): The knowledge, innovations and practices of Indigenous and local
communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and sustainable use
of biological diversity (CBD, 2019a).
• Free, prior and informed consent (FPIC): A principle regarding the right of all people to self-
determination to freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development (FAO, 2016).

2. 1. IPLCs have a long history of coping with environmental change and are rights holders. Their
knowledge, innovations, practices, institutions and values thus form an important basis for
adaptation, complementing existing knowledge, advancing it, and bridging gaps in information.
ILK and TK will continue to play a prominent role in sustainable development and managing
climate change impacts in the future.
2. Several international frameworks and policies underpin rights-based approaches to EbA,
including the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention (1989), the UN Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007), the Akwé: Kon Voluntary Guidelines (2004), and the Mo’
otz Kuxtal Voluntary Guidelines (2016).
3. ILK and TK can inform EbA, not only regarding local biodiversity knowledge but also on the
governance of resources, local customs, worldviews, values and spiritual beliefs that are integral
for adaptation. TK, ILK and other knowledge systems can be woven together through
knowledge co-production and cross-fertilisation to create an enriched tapestry of knowledge for
EbA. Established protocols and the respect for the free, prior and informed consent of IPLCs are
important in valorising and accessing ILK and TK.
4. Good governance, rights-based and participatory approaches, consideration of diverse
knowledge systems and fair distribution of benefits based on mutually agreed terms with IPLCs
are at the cornerstone of equitable EbA, and enhance the effectiveness and legitimacy of EbA
actions.
• Local Biodiversity Outlooks 2: The contributions of indigenous peoples and local communities to
the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and to renewing nature and
cultures (by the Forest Peoples Programme, in collaboration with the International Indigenous
Forum on Biodiversity, Indigenous Women’s Biodiversity Network, Centres of Distinction on
Indigenous and Local Knowledge and CBD, 2020). This document includes perspectives,
experiences, aspirations and case studies from IPLCs on biological and cultural diversity, as well
as their contributions to the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020.
• Working with Indigenous, local and scientific knowledge in assessments of nature and nature’s
linkages with people (by Rosemary Hill et al., 2020). This paper presents and analyses IPBES’
approach to recognising and working with ILK, adopted by member states in 2017. It defines key
concepts and includes a table with evidence-supported practices identified in the approach and
accompanying case studies.
• The Role of Indigenous and Traditional Knowledge in Ecosystem-Based Adaptation: A Review of
the Literature and Case Studies from the Pacific Islands (by Johanna Nalau et al., 2018). Nalau et
al. review EbA literature and case studies from Vanuatu and Samoa to determine how ILK and
TK are being defined and integrated into EbA projects. They also discuss the potential of
knowledge co-production in achieving more holistic and effective EbA.
• Weaving knowledge systems in IPBES, CBD and beyond – lessons learned for sustainability. (by
Maria Tengö et al., 2017). This paper presents a framework with five key enabling tasks –
mobilise, translate, negotiate, synthesise and apply – for actors, institutions and processes to
bridge knowledge systems. The authors draw examples from the IPBES and CBD to illustrate
each task and discuss their strengths and weaknesses.
• Recognizing Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ rights and agency in the post-2020
Biodiversity Agenda (by Victor Reyes-García et al., 2021). In response to preliminary discussions

3. on the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, the authors advocate for the rights and agency
of IPLCs and argue that transformative change and the accomplishment of the CBD’s 2050
vision for biodiversity will only occur if IPLCs are at the forefront of biodiversity policy.
• The Human Rights Based Approach to Development Cooperation: Towards a Common
Understanding Among UN Agencies (by the UN Practitioners’ Portal on HBRA). This reading
provides background on human rights-based approaches and their adoption in the UN, as well
as essential elements of human rights-based approaches in programmes.
• The Center for People and Forests (RECOTFC) Initiative (p. 75 in UNFCCC, 2021), the
Indigenous Navigator, and the Lower Fraser Climate Adapt Project (by the Lower Fraser
Fisheries Alliance). These provide further information on the examples highlighted in the insight
unit and demonstrate how ILK and TK have informed EbA.
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