Diverse Knowledge Systems Vital for Effective Climate Adaptation, Researchers Argue

Researchers synthesising evidence from climate adaptation programmes across multiple regions find that projects which systematically incorporate Indigenous and local ecological knowledge achieve better on-the-ground outcomes than those relying exclusively on modelled climate data. The key advantage is granularity: communities hold decades or centuries of observation about local water table behaviour, species seasonal patterns, and microclimate variability that remote sensing and global models cannot replicate at the spatial and temporal scales that local decisions require.

The political obstacle is institutional. Most adaptation finance — from the Green Climate Fund, bilateral donors, and multilateral development banks — flows through project cycles, reporting requirements, and technical standards designed by and for Western scientific institutions. Incorporating Indigenous knowledge requires restructuring these processes to recognise non-written, community-held information as valid project input, which conflicts with audit and accountability norms that donors are reluctant to relax.

The emerging test case is whether the post-2025 global adaptation framework agreed under UNFCCC processes includes binding language on knowledge system pluralism, or whether it remains a procedural aspiration that project implementers can ignore. The researchers note that where integration has worked — notably in Pacific Island adaptation planning and Andean water management — it required explicit policy mandates, not just goodwill.