Diverse Indigenous Knowledge for Sustainability

A global synthesis of how diverse Indigenous Knowledge systems can help address sustainability, governance, and environmental management.

An interdisciplinary volume examining how Indigenous Knowledge shapes sustainability, governance, and environmental management. Featuring global case studies and policy debates, this book offers critical insights for students, researchers, and policymakers in environmental science, Indigenous studies, sustainable development, and political ecology.From Ainu knowledge in Japan and Adivasi foodways in India, to Maasai pastoral systems in East Africa, Iñupiat climate resilience in Arctic Alaska, and Wet'suwet'en forest governance in Canada, Indigenous Knowledge systems are essential to sustainable futures. This volume explores how Indigenous Knowledge operates in diverse contexts, highlighting its adaptability and potential for addressing pressing environmental challenges. Interweaving theory, global case studies, and governance debates across five continents, the book engages critically with rights-of-nature frameworks, ecological sovereignty, carbon markets, and water governance. It also examines the challenges Indigenous communities face in preserving their knowledge systems and ways of life amidst land encroachment, climate change, industrialization, and other pressures. Bridging multidisciplinary scholarship and lived experience, this book positions Indigenous Knowledge as central – not peripheral – to sustainability science and policy transformation. It will be particularly valuable for students, researchers, and policymakers in environmental science, Indigenous studies, sustainable development, and political ecology.