Indigenous knowledge in adaptation to climate change across Africa

This Rest is Climate podcast examines the critical role of Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) in climate change adaptation in Africa. They highlight how ILK, encompassing traditional wisdom, practices, and observations, is crucial for African communities, particularly smallholder farmers, in forecasting weather patterns, managing natural resources, and ensuring food security. The texts also acknowledge the challenges to ILK's continued use, such as urbanisation, colonial influences, and a lack of formal recognition and documentation, while stressing the importance of integrating ILK with modern scientific approaches for more effective and inclusive climate adaptation strategies across the continent.

It is based on research from the Climate Risk lab covering:

• Role of Indigenous and local knowledge in seasonal forecasts and climate risk preparedness: a case study of smallholder farmers in Chiredzi, Zimbabwe, Environmental Science and Policy, 145, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2023.03.017
• Is indigenous knowledge serving climate adaptation? Evidence from various African regions, Development Policy Review, https://doi.org/10.1111/dpr.12664
• The Role of Indigenous Knowledge in Climate Change Adaptation in Africa, Environmental Science and Policy, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2022.06.004
• The role of indigenous knowledge and local knowledge in water sector adaptation to climate change in Africa: A structured assessment, Sustainability Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-022-01118-x
• Understanding responses to climate-related water scarcity in Africa, Science of The Total Environment, 806(1), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150420