University of Oxford
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OX1 3SZ
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Recognising and rewarding the contribution of Indigenous knowledge for the sustainable management of biodiversity
Research Overview:
Indigenous communities in Cambodia have safeguarded biodiversity for generations through practices such as rotational farming, protection of sacred forests, and sustainable harvesting of forest products. Their practices—deeply interwoven with cultural, spiritual, and economic systems—have sustained some of the nation’s most vital ecosystems. Despite this, conservation policies have often overlooked their contributions, limiting the effectiveness of biodiversity management strategies.
This three-year initiative, funded by the Global Centre on Biodiversity for Climate, seeks to address these gaps. At its heart lies a commitment to placing Indigenous leadership and knowledge at the forefront of conservation. In doing so, the project aims to refine governance frameworks by embedding participatory and community-led approaches, pilot innovative financial incentives such as procurement auctions, and align scientific understanding with traditional knowledge to make biodiversity management sustainable and effective.
The project will work with the Indigenous Bunong people, who have stewarded the Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary (KSWS) forests for centuries. KSWS is among Cambodia’s most biodiverse landscapes, with over 1,000 recorded species, 85 of which are globally threatened. This project will bring together conservation practitioners, Indigenous organizations and communities, and academic institutions from the Global North and South to document Bunong resource management practices and co-develop new governance models and financial mechanisms to promote sustainable land use. These efforts aim todeliver measurable socio-ecological outcomes by demonstrating the interconnectedness of biodiversity, climate, and livelihoods through local community natural resource management and encouraging the uptake of evidence to inform policies, practices, and investment strategies for inclusive, climate-resilient poverty reduction.
The project will build strong and equitable partnerships between Indigenous communities, academic researchers, and conservation practitioners, providing training opportunities and the tools to engage policymakers effectively. It will also provide these groups with actionable strategies to establish an equitable, inclusive, durable model of conservation governance.
Research questions
- How do Indigenous Bunong communities manage land and resources, and how have they done so historically?
- What governance models could better recognize Indigenous knowledge, practice, and sustainable use of biodiversity?
- How do Indigenous agroecological management practices contribute to the sustainable use of biodiversity and climate mitigation?
- How do different land uses, such as rotational agriculture, contribute to biodiversity and climate mitigation?
- How effective are current policy arrangements, such as Indigenous Collective Land Titles and Community Protected Areas, at maintaining forest cover and biodiversity?
- How can funding mechanisms for sustainable biodiversity management be (re)designed to support Indigenous practices better?
- What preferences do communities have for participating in incentive mechanisms, and how could innovative payment systems, such as procurement auctions, reflect these preferences? How would different incentives perform in terms of effectiveness and equity?
Planned outcomes and outputs
Generate robust evidence for governance and incentive models that better recognize and reward Indigenous knowledge in sustainable biodiversity management. Documentation of Bunong sustainable use practices and proposals for improved
governance models shared through a technical report, scientific paper, and policy brief. An action research manual will guide Indigenous communities in applying findings.
Empower Indigenous communities to advocate for recognizing traditional knowledge and practices when engaging with sustainable financing mechanisms. Quantification of the contributions of Indigenous management practices to biodiversity and
carbon storage, communicated through two scientific articles, two policy briefs, and a technical report.
Inform the implementation of the Keo Seima REDD+ program by providing evidence-based designs for incentive mechanisms rooted in Indigenous knowledge and sustainable use. Evaluation of innovative incentive mechanisms to support Indigenous management practices, with lessons for redesigning REDD+ payments shared in two scientific articles, a policy brief, a technical report, and a community toolkit.
Strengthen capacity for transdisciplinary research that bridges policy and practice in Cambodia. Development of transdisciplinary research partnerships between five Global South and North institutions and Indigenous communities. This includes training, workshops, mentorship, and exchange visits to Monash University and the University of Oxford. Dissemination of research findings to national and international audiences through scientific and policy documents.
Page image: Pygathrix nigripes, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Project overview
Researchers
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