GuidanceIndigenous and Local Knowledge
As climate, environmental, and humanitarian pressures intensify – particularly in fragile and conflict-affected settings – it is essential to recognize that Indigenous Peoples and local communities are not only among the most affected, but also among the most effective leaders in responding to these challenges. Their traditional knowledge systems, rooted in generations of close relationships with land and ecosystems, provide vital pathways for adaptation, risk reduction, and resilience. In line with Commitment 3 of the Charter, this guidance highlights the importance of centering Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) in humanitarian decision-making and ensuring inclusive, locally led approaches that respect, protect, and learn from Indigenous and local leadership.
This collection of guidance aims to support humanitarian organizations in integrating Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) into efforts to implement the Climate and Environment Charter and take meaningful climate and environmental action in crisis-affected contexts.
You can explore the guidance through the following categories:
Getting Started
Foundational resources to understand and begin engaging with ILK in climate and environmental humanitarian programming.
UNESCO Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) and the IPBES Definition of Indigenous and Local Knowledge Systems
The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is an independent intergovernmental body that provides policymakers with objective assessments about the state of knowledge regarding the planet’s biodiversity, ecosystems, and the benefits they provide to people, as well as the tools and methods to protect and sustainably use these vital natural assets. IPBES’s technical support unit, hosted by UNESCO LINKS, has facilitated and enhanced the participation of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Its definition of Indigenous and Local Knowledge Systems is an important reference and framing for this work.
The UNESCO LINKS Programme provides guidance for integrating ILK into global assessments, like IPBES, promotes ethical collaboration between knowledge systems, and strengthens Indigenous participation in multilateral mechanisms and processes. For humanitarian organizations, LINKS offers practical tools for incorporating ILK into climate adaptation, resilience, and disaster risk reduction efforts.
Languages: English, French, Spanish
Access: Free
Climate Centre Story Maps on Traditional Knowledge Systems
The Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre’s StoryMap on traditional knowledge systems, spanning 20 countries across six regions, weaves a story tapestry of scientific storylines, adaptive culture and practices, GIS data and art related to traditional knowledge systems that address climate change and extreme weather events.
Languages: English
Access: Free
ICVA Webinar/Podcast: Embracing the Leadership of Local Actors and Communities in Climate Action
Commitment #3 of the Climate and Environment Charter aims to embrace the leadership of local actors and communities by learning from traditional and indigenous knowledge on mitigation and adaptation measures, including nature-based solutions. ICVA and PHAP held a webinar on embracing the leadership of local actors and communities in climate action.
Languages: English
Access: Free
Free, Prior, and Informed Consent Manual for practioners
This Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) Manual is designed as a tool for project practitioners for a broad range of projects and programmes, by providing information about the right to FPIC and how it can be implemented in six steps. FPIC is a principle protected by international human rights standards that state, ‘all peoples have the right to self-determination’ and – linked to the right to self-determination – ‘all peoples have the right to freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.’ The manual contains a six-step procedure to facilitate the FPIC process while showing its benefits, as well as providing the regulatory framework to be used when mainstreaming Indigenous Peoples’ rights within organizations’ policies and standards. This manual on Free Prior and Informed Consent has been jointly prepared by UNFAO; Action Against Hunger; Action Aid, GiZ, IFRC; Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo; and World Vision International (WVI).
Languages: English
Access: Free
IFRC’s Community Engagement and Accountability Toolkit (add to mapping)
This toolkit contains tools that can help National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies – as well as other organizations – to assess, design, implement, monitor and evaluate community engagement and accountability activities in support of programmes and operations. The toolkit should be used in conjunction with IFRC’s Guide to Community Engagement and Accountability.
Languages: English (Guide in English, Spanish, French, and Arabic)
Access: Free, designed for RCRC National Societies
British Red Cross: The climate and humanitarian locally-led agendas (add to mapping)
This brief delves into how humanitarian and climate locally-led agendas intersect and their implications for financial flows aimed at enhancing climate adaptation and resilience. The brief provides a comprehensive analysis of barriers to accessing climate-related finance for local actors, across the climate and humanitarian systems, through the lens of locally-led approaches. It then proposes solutions to overcome these barriers and to enhance the role of local actors in climate adaptation and resilience efforts.
Languages: English
Access: Free
IUCN: What can communities teach us
Indigenous and Local communities are keepers of valuable environmental knowledge accumulated over generations. This knowledge is held individually and collectively, often orally transmitted and embodied. At least 25% of the world’s land area is owned, managed, used or inhabited by these groups. Yet Indigenous and Local communities struggle to have their voices meaningfully included. Much more work remains to be done on the integration of Indigenous and local knowledge within nature conservation. What can communities teach us? responds to this gap and the growing calls for de-colonising the conservation movement.
Languages: English
Access: Free
Training and Learning
Capacity-building opportunities and learning materials to support practitioners in working respectfully and effectively with ILK.
FAO’s Free Prior and Informed Consent Course (add to mapping)
This course focuses on how to practically operationalize the indigenous peoples’ right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) throughout all stages of the project cycle. The course describes each of the recommended six steps of the process and the related actions to be undertaken.
Languages: English, Spanish; French
Access: Access with Free FAO e-learning account
CARE Climate Resilience Academy Courses
The CARE Climate and Resilience Academy is an online learning platform and capacity-sharing initiative run by the CARE Climate Justice Center and supported by CARE experts. CARE offers a two-part courses on Responsive and to Locally Led Anticipatory Action:
- Anticipatory Action #1: Introduction to Gender Responsive & Locally Led Anticipatory Action : This course provides a basic understanding of Anticipatory Action, its role in the Disaster Risk Management Cycle, and its connections to resilience building. It identifies the key components that makeup Anticipatory Action and explains what Gender-Responsive and Locally Led Anticipatory Action is, as well as its importance in reducing the impact of various disasters.
- Anticipatory Action #2: Gender Responsive & Locally Led Anticipatory Action in Practice: This course will explore the three key components of Anticipatory Action: triggers, early action, and pre-arranged financing, along with MEAL for Anticipatory Action. It provides recommendations and examples to ensure these components are Gender-Responsive and Locally Led.
Languages: English
Access: Free Access
Global Awareness and Knowledge Hub, BES-Net, UNESCO
The BES-Net ILK Support Unit strives to create awareness on the importance and contributions of Indigenous and local knowledge, particularly on biodiversity conservation. This site includes interactive webinars, audio visual resources and human-interest articles for awareness on the importance and contributions of Indigenous and local knowledge for biodiversity conservation.
Languages: English
Access: Free
CABES e-learning Portal: Indigenous Peoples and local communities in Science-Policy-Practice Interfaces in Africa
The CABES e-learning portal is a global, open access online portal providing scheduled, interactive courses and self-learning resources for professionals in biodiversity-related fields. The portal aims to develop capacities of decision makers and other target groups to support the implementation of political decisions on nature-based solutions, ecosystem-based adaptation approaches and sustainable use of natural resources. Related to ILK, the following courses may be of interest: The Indigenous Peoples and local communities in Science-Policy-Practice Interfaces in Africa will be available in August 2025. Stay tuned for more information.
Languages: English and French
Access: Registration required (free)
Engagement Opportunities
Platforms, networks, and working groups for engaging with local communities on climate and environmental action in humanitarian contexts.
Anticipation Hub Working Group on Locally Led Anticipatory Action
The Anticipation Hub’s Working Group on Locally Led Anticipatory Action seeks to accelerate the mainstreaming and integration of locally led approaches in anticipatory action. It will do so by fostering collaboration and community exchange, generating implementation guidance and tools, strengthening the evidence base, and through advocacy.
Languages: English
Access: Membership includes organizations that are working on locally led anticipatory action and/or advocating for its better use, or have strong ambitions to do so. Read more in the working group’s terms of reference. Please get in touch Julia for more information on how to get involved: julia.burakowski@welthungerhilfe.de
Asian Disaster Reduction and Response Network
The Asian Disaster Reduction and Response Network (ADRRN) is a regional network of civil society organisations dedicated to promoting disaster risk reduction and resilience in the Asia-Pacific region. A central pillar of ADRRN’s work is supporting local community-driven resilience solutions. ADRRN also hosts a selection of specialized knowledge hubs within the network. The Localisation Hub, championed by SEEDS India, is a grounded, actionable approach to localisation rooted in community voice, shared decision-making, and context-driven solutions. The Localisation Hub works with local actors to lead, fund, and shape programmes based on their real needs.
Languages: English
Access: ADRRN accepts membership applications from national and local NGOs, national councils or network of NGOs whose objectives and/or functions are to serve in their own countries where their headquarters is also located and are associated with disaster risk reduction, humanitarian response and climate resilience activities in Asia and the Pacific.
weADAPT Community Based Adaptation Forum
weADAPT ‘Themes’ and ‘Networks’ act as hubs for people working on different aspects of climate change adaptation. The Community Based Adaptation (CBA) theme aims to support and connect people working to empower communities to adapt to climate change and features monthly collaborative learning CBA forums.
Languages: Forum discussions are in English with auto-translation available
Access: Free Account needed for participation
Indigenous Knowledge and Disaster Risk Reduction Network
The Indigenous Knowledge and DRR Network was created to facilitate and guide disaster risk planning and development processes of communities by encouraging collaboration within and between Indigenous communities. The network seeks to increase knowledge and understanding of the disaster risks faced by Indigenous populations and document their prior experience in building resilience to disasters. While the focus of the network will be on the health sector, all sectors and aspects of disaster risk reduction will be included.
Languages: English and Spanish
Access: Find more information about the network and how to get involved by contacting indigenousdrr@gmail.com
Pacific Islands Climate Action Network (PICAN)
The Pacific Islands Climate Action Network (PICAN) is an informal Network linking civil society organizations working on climate change. Since 2013, it has brought together civil society actors across the Pacific Island countries, advocating for climate justice and environmental integrity. As part of Climate Action Network (CAN) International, the worldwide network of over 1,500 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) across the world, PICAN works to ensure the Pacific Island civil society is represented at the international level.
Locally Led Adaptation
Guides, tools, and case studies demonstrating how ILK can inform locally led climate adaptation and resilience efforts.
Principles for Locally Led Adaptation
These eight principles for Locally Led Adaptation, endorsed by the Global Commission on Adaptation and now widely used across the climate adaptation and humanitarian sectors, are designed to guide funding, planning, and implementation of locally led climate actions. They aim to shift power and resources to local actors by promoting more inclusive, equitable, and context-specific adaptation approaches. The Commission now invites any organization to endorse these principles and join a community of practice on a journey of learning-by-doing on locally led adaptation
Languages: English
Access: Free
The Climate Action Journey and The Importance of Scaling Locally Led Adaptation
The IFRC and the Climate Centre have developed a seven-stage climate action journey with locally led adaptation as a central goal, providing an innovative framework for RCRC National Societies to create climate solutions through community wisdom, lived experience and climate science. Another Climate Centre resource, on the importance of LLA, argues that locally led adaptation should be the default approach of National Societies to channel climate finance and strengthen adaptation by directing flexible and targeted funding, information on climate risks, and technical support for local solutions.
Languages: English (with French, Spanish and Arabic summaries)
Access: Free, designed for RCRC National Societies
Global Center for Adaptation’s Locally Led Planning: A Guide for Building Climate Resilience in Urban Informal Settlements
This Guide provides resources for locally-led, inclusive, multisectoral upgrading for climate resilience in urban informal settlements. It pays particular attention to context and its variation across cities and countries — the principles, guides and methods in this document must be translated to each unique context. It can help replicate the approaches and roles taken by institutions and people for comprehensive, transformative upgrading — based largely on the experience from the Mukuru Special Planning Area (SPA) in Nairobi, Kenya — but not the specific plans themselves. While the focus is on Africa, the lessons can be applied elsewhere as well.
Languages: English
Access: Free
Adaptation Research Alliance’s Indigenous and Local Knowledge Systems and Finance for Locally Led Adaptation
Together with the Adaptation Research Alliance, Transitions Research have gathered insights from adaptation community members working with local and indigenous communities, to understand the nuanced challenges and effective strategies that support local climate action. The team has also identified the challenges and brainstormed creative strategies for financing effective climate adaptation.
Languages: English
Access: Free
Global Center on Adaptation Map of LLA Stories and Lessons Learned from LLA Practice
An interactive global map featuring hundreds of locally led adaptation projects submitted through GCA’s annual Stories of Resilience: Lessons from Local Adaptation Practice. These stories highlight community-driven climate action, covering diverse contexts across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and more. The projects reflect grassroots innovation, from ecosystem restoration to urban green adaptation, and from youth-led initiatives to Indigenous knowledge integration.
Languages: English
Access: Free
IIED Case Studies on Locally Led Action for poverty, climate, and nature
These case studies showcase where different approaches to locally led adaptation (LLA) have flourished around the world, providing examples of the eight principles of LLA in action.
Languages: English
Access: Free
Case Study: AIDMI’s Locally Led and Adapated Focus on Extreme Heat
Extreme heat is one of the most urgent and growing climate threats facing communities across India and South Asia. The All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI) has worked across urban and rural areas to develop locally led and adapted responses—ranging from heat action planning and early warning systems to small business support and cooling innovations. This webpage offers access to over a decade of knowledge, tools, and experiences that reflect AIDMI’s commitment to inclusive, community-driven solutions for extreme heat resilience.
Languages: English
Access: Free
CDKN Lessons on LLA and various case studies
The Climate and Development Knowledge Network is providing Knowledge-to-Action (K2A) grants in Africa, Asia and Latin America. In Africa, an open call for locally-led adaptation (LLA) initiatives and a comprehensive selection process led to five K2A projects being chosen to receive US$150,000 each. CDKN is ‘reflecting as we go’ and sharing insights from the selection process, as well as a series of case studies, such as:
- Bridging Indigenous and Western knowledge systems for inclusive forest-based resilience in Benin
- Voices of resilience: Amplifying women’s voices through songs for locally-led action and inclusion in Northern Ghana
- Enabling the success of locally-led water investments in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid counties
- Enhancing the resilience and sustainability of local communities through inclusive climate action in Senegal
Languages: English
Access: Free
ODI Stories of Resilience: Lessons from Local Adaptation Practice
The second edition of ‘Stories of Resilience: Lessons from Local Adaptation Practice’ t are based on over 200 stories – of progress and of gaps – submitted by champions of locally led adaptation, as well as deeper exploration of 19 locally led initiatives around the world. It finds that global and national systems are not changing fast enough in response to the needs of local communities, who are racing to adapt to climate change and secure their survival.
Languages: English
Access: Free
This study, by Humanitarian Advisory Group, Islamic Relief, GLOW Consultants, & BehaviourWorks Australia, explores the interaction between, and mutual complementarity of, LLA and humanitarian localisation to support climate, humanitarian and development actors, policymakers and funders to consider how to more closely align these approaches and produce better outcomes for at-risk communities.
Languages: English
Access: Free
Case Study: Climate variability and indigenous adaptation strategies by Somali pastoralists in Ethiopia, various researchers
Pastoralism is a fragile livelihood system for millions of people around the world and a significant number of that is found in Africa. Proper documentation and understanding of indigenous knowledge and strategies on pastoralism are limited and this study sheds light on location-specific indigenous knowledge and corresponding perceptions of local communities with the support of metrological patterns of weather and climate variability. This is an exploratory study that draws on orally existing indigenous knowledge of adaptation from qualitative data sources, analyzes climate data, and matches it with communities’ oral records of major climatic events to validate the accuracy of their perceptions.
Languages: English
Access: Free
ILK in Risk Reduction & AA
Guides, tools, and case studies on integrating ILK into disaster risk reduction, early warning systems, and anticipatory action.
The Climate Centre’s Minimum Standards for Local Climate-Smart DRR
The Minimum Standards for local climate‐smart disaster risk reduction were developed as a practical checklist to help local community leaders and DRR practitioners ensure their risk reduction efforts are climate‐smart and contribute to climate change adaptation, meaning that these efforts consider the future risk patterns induced by a changing climate, often including rising uncertainties. Each Minimum Standard is supported by practical ‘actions’ to guide implementation.
Languages: English
Access: Free Access; Designed for Red Cross Red Crescent Societies
CARE Climate Resilience Academy Resources
1) Landscape Approach to Disaster Risk Reduction in 7 Steps
This guide synthesises the main characteristics of the landscape approach and suggests seven steps when adopting a landscape approach. For disaster risk reduction purposes, the approach facilitates an inclusive and participatory learning process for shared risk understanding and risk intervention scenario planning. An inclusive and participatory process allows for more innovative and integrated, and therefore more impactful, solutions to risk (e.g. ecosystem-based or hybrid measures and optimised initiatives on water governance as part of disaster risk management strategies and investments).
2) Practical Guide to Participatory Scenario Planning (English and French)
Participatory Scenario Planning (PSP) for seasonal climate forecast decision making is an approach to collaborative design and delivery of seasonal user-centred climate information services developed by CARE International’s Adaptation Learning Programme (ALP)
3) Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis Handbook
The Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis (CVCA) is a CARE tool used to gather and analyze information on community-level vulnerabilities to and capacities for climate change. It informs the identification of actions, at the community level or more broadly, that support communities in increasing their resilience to climate change.
4) Indigenous Knowledge Identification and use in Community-Based Adaptation Practices
These guidelines are a step-by-step description of the way in which CARE in Vietnam staff sought to integrate indigenous knowledge into a community-based adaptation (CBA) program. These guidelines are of use to any practitioner hoping to use the existing wealth of local knowledge and practices to shape and support their project activities.
Languages: English, Spanish, French, Vietnamese
Access: Free Access
Anticipation Hub: The Benefits and Importance of Locally Led Anticipation
This briefing provides examples of the benefits of locally led anticipatory action and explains its importance. It draws on evidence from existing projects, as collected by organizations that work closely with local actors and the communities who are leading and implementing anticipatory action. It also sets out the steps needed for this approach to become fully embedded across anticipatory action practice, rather than being seen as a parallel process to, or an add-on or ‘tick box’ for, existing projects.
Languages: English
Access: Free
Welthungerhilfe’s P-FIM People First Impact Method for Anticipatory Action
Much of today’s humanitarian assistance is still delivered in a top-down manner, where crisis-affected communities often have little or no say in decisions that directly affect their lives. This conventional approach tends to view communities as passive recipients rather than active agents of change. The People First Impact Method (P-FIM) offers an alternative. It is built on the belief that communities know best what matters to them and should be engaged from the start, not just as informants, but as co-creators of solutions to their issues. This briefing offers an introduction into the concept and explains how it can be applied to anticipatory action.
Languages: English
Access: Free
Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction Guide and Toolkit on Locally Led Anticipatory Action
The purpose of the guide is to support civil society organisations to engage with communities and other actors and structures at the local level; to play a central role in planning and establishing local mechanisms for anticipatory action and drive the process of scaling up anticipatory action. The guidance is presented to be applicable to a wide range of hazardous events. This resource outlines an overall process and the three main approaches applied in locally led anticipatory action:
- Community-led early action: Empowering local structures and community groups to plan and implement their own early actions
- Locally led early action: Early action planning by local actors using available forecasts or predictive analysis and local decision-making
- Enhanced participatory contingency planning: Engagement in localising the use of forecast-based action planning in multi-stakeholder contingency planning connected from the local to national level
Languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic
Access: Free
The primary audience for this publication is national and local government entities and communities interested in promoting the use of local and indigenous knowledge and willing to take actions to integrate such knowledge with science and technology to increase coastal community resilience. Experts, academics and practitioners working in the fields of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation will also find the tools and recommended actions in the policy briefs useful, in their efforts to integrate local and indigenous knowledge in their work.
Languages: English
Access: Free
Start Network Locally Led Climate Risk Financing
Humanitarian actors within the Start Network membership have long observed the tension between growing humanitarian needs caused by climate disasters, and the fact that humanitarian funding is just not keeping pace. Start Ready was born out of this frustration. It was designed to be one of the practical ways that civil society can more effectively address loss and damage caused by climate change. The document explores how Start Ready works, and how it drives locally-led climate risk financing.
Languages: English
Access: Free
Risk-informed Early Action Partnership Reframing Indigenous and Local Knowledge in Early Warning Systems
The future of early warning isn’t one system, it’s many. It’s scientific forecasts and spiritual signs. Satellites and elders. Models and memory. Risk alerts that come via app, word of mouth, or indirectly through the behaviour of nesting birds. This blog summarizes reflections on the continued value of indigenous and local knowledge for early warning systems.
Languages: English
Access: Free
Case Study: Seeds India and UNDRR Local Leadership for Disaster Resilience: Profiles from Asia and the Pacific:
This publications aims to highlight some of the countless success stories across Asia-Pacific, and the local champions behind them who have engaged with their communities to educate, empower, and build skills that contribute to long-term community resilience.
Languages: English
Access: Free
Case Study: WFP: Zimbabwe – Forecast-Based Finance Grounded in Indigenous Climate Services
This study includes an overview of indigenous knowledge system indicators for climate forecasting in these districts, as well as key recommendations on using climate-related indigenous knowledge services to support anticipatory action in Zimbabwe.
Languages: English
Access: Free
Case Study: Uganda Red Cross and Netherlands Red Cross Joint development of Early Action Protocol for Flooding in Uganda and the Climate Centre’s Feedback Loops and WhatsApp Forecasting (add to mapping)
The Netherlands Red Cross and the Uganda Red Cross Society present a personal and interactive reflection given by the key stakeholders involved on how they experienced the process of the EAP development. The stakeholders have reflected on specific memories, moments or situations throughout the process of jointly developing the EAP.
Languages: English
Access: Free
Case Study: Indigenous knowledge for climate disaster mitigation
Across four districts in Zimbabwe, researchers have documented indigenous knowledge, methods and technologies that have enhanced vulnerable communities’ ability to reduce disaster risk, while supporting food security and positive health outcomes, through nature-based interventions.
Languages: English
Access: Free
Case Study: Advancing Tribal Nature-Based Solutions
To support climate action that addresses adaptation and disaster preparation, this Climate initiative project supports Tribes and Native organizations in Advancing Tribal Nature-Based Solutions through traditional knowledge.
Languages: English
Access: Free
ILK and Advocacy
Insights and case studies that promote recognition and inclusion of ILK in climate and humanitarian policy and advocacy.
The Loss and Damage Collaboration
The Loss and Damage Collaboration (L&DC) hosts a global Knowledge Hub that acts as an interactive network and engagement platform, bringing together over 300 experts – practitioners, negotiators, researchers, activists, artists and youth leaders – to amplify the voices of communities most affected by climate-related loss and damage. Through thematic working groups (such as on finance, human mobility, non-economic loss, and human rights), the Hub curates thought‑leadership, key messages and policy briefs, and hosts real-world stories and case studies—many multilingual—for both advocacy and technical audiences. It offers practical tools and living documents tracking UNFCCC negotiations (e.g. COP processes, the Santiago Network, Warsaw Mechanism reviews, fund board meetings), along with side‑event coverage, media monitoring, and a resource library. The L&DC recognizes Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) as a critical component of understanding, addressing, and responding to climate-related loss and damage—especially non-economic losses like culture, identity, spirituality, and connection to land.
Languages: English
Access: Free
Lutheran World Federation: Climate Justice Advocacy Good Practices – From Local to Global Action (add to mapping)
This resource is a selection of good practices in climate action by LWF member churches, World Service country programs and partner faith-based organizations. The goal of sharing these exemplary initiatives is to inspire collective efforts to create a more just and sustainable world.
The report is adapted from its interactive version on this LWF website.
Languages: English
Access: Free
Oxfam Empowering Local Voices in the Fight Against Climate Change (add to mapping)
This blog argues that the climate crises hinges on localization and elevation of frontline voices. It describes a 2021 initiative, supported by the Ford Foundation, to amplify marginalized communities’ perspectives in national and global climate forums by investing in small, community-based organizations, particularly those led by Indigenous women and youth. The project emphasizes practical, locally grounded messaging and alternative narratives, rather than imposing external solutions. Oxfam also supported these groups with tailored tools and media capacity-building to bridge digital and advocacy gaps. Additionally, the initiative fostered networks by using Oxfam’s convening power to connect local actors with global media like Mongabay, expanding the reach of their stories and influencing broader climate debate
Languages: English
Access: Free
Case Study: ICCCAD: Addressing Climate-Induced Loss and Damage in South Coastal Bangladesh: Bridging Local Insights and National Policy Interventions
This policy brief captures the key findings from Loss and Damage Policy Labs (LDPLs), a series of local and multi-level national policy dialogues held in Bangladesh in 2024. The LDPLs involved diverse stakeholders seeking to address climate-induced loss and damage (L&D) in Bangladesh, by fostering community-driven approaches and connecting local needs with the national policy landscape. The brief emphasizes local experiences in Bangladesh, particularly in its southern belt. It illustrates a case study from Barisal Division, which is representative of the wider vulnerable coastal region of Bangladesh.
Languages: English
Access: Free
Case Study: Help Age International Grey and Green Road Map for Climate Action
In 2022, HelpAge International launched the Grey and Green Manifesto to promote the inclusion of older people in climate solutions. To support this, a 2023 consultation with 50 experts from its global network explored the climate challenges facing older people and their vital roles in community resilience. The process resulted in a roadmap outlining key actions to ensure older people are included in climate mitigation and adaptation efforts. This initiative showcases how targeted advocacy is used to amplify the voices of a marginalized group and influence inclusive climate policy and practice.
Languages: English
Access: Free
Case Study: Participatory 3-Dimensional Modelling in Kenya
This case study documents how three Indigenous hunting‑gatherer communities in Kenyan used Participatory 3D Modelling (P3DM) to map their ancestral territories, cultural heritage, and ecological knowledge. The aim was to create a visible manifestation of oral knowledge and a platform for dialogue concerning mobilising TEK for advocacy, asserting territorial rights based on historic usage and management of the resources, strengthening intergenerational solidarity, and exploring how TEK could be connected with formal education.
Languages: English
Access: Free
ILK and Data-Driven Action
Guides, tools, and case studies exploring how ILK can shape and complement data-driven approaches to climate resilience and environmental programming.
Confronted with the complex environmental crises of the Anthropocene, scientists have turned to interdisciplinarity to grapple with challenges that are at once social and ecological. Indigenous knowledge holders have contributed critical observations and understandings and in doing so, have gained global recognition. Most recently, several arenas are calling for co-producing new knowledge by bringing together Indigenous knowledge and science. This new call to arms is rapidly gaining momentum, but little guidance is offered on how co-production can be achievedL
Languages: English
Access: Free
Participatory 3-Dimensional Modelling: Guiding Principles, Handbook, and Applications
Participatory 3D modelling (P3DM) is a participatory mapping method integrating indigenous spatial knowledge with elevation data to produce stand-alone, scaled, and geo-referenced 3D models. This handbook is intended to assist activists, researchers and practitioners to bring the power of GIS to the grassroots level through the use of P3DM. It provides comprehensive, hands-on guidelines on how to organise and implement a P3DM exercise.
Languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Amharic
Access: Free
UNDRR, Enhancing the science–policy linkages using traditional and Indigenous knowledge
This paper underlines that traditional and indigenous knowledge has demonstrated adaptability and resilience, allowing communities to thrive in challenging environments by developing context-specific disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies. Traditional and Indigenous Knowledge (TIK) has evolved over centuries and is deeply rooted in the practices and behaviors of indigenous and local communities worldwide. Despite ongoing debates about the dichotomy between TIK and modern scientific knowledge, evidence suggests that these systems are not mutually exclusive. This paper presents a science-based approach that respects and incorporates TIK in a participatory, multi-stakeholder framework.
Languages: English
Access: Free
This paper discusses potential of earth observation (EO) in providing simplistic and operational tools for the systemic risk analysis to complement Indigenous Knowledges covering nature-based solutions (NBS). This approach helps to address the techno-cultural complexities and provide robust baselines to meet the 2030 Sendai Framework Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) targets. It describes relevant international frameworks and instruments in the context of role of Indigenous communities in building disaster resilience
Languages: English
Access: Free
Joint Action for Water Guidance on the Intersection of Traditional Wisdom and Modern Solutions
This blog explores how local, traditional wisdom can be harmonized with modern science to strengthen resilience against disasters. Combining Indigenous Knowledge of local weather patterns, natural hazard signals, and sustainable land use, with advanced Earth Observation (EO) tools like satellite imagery and GIS, enables more effective hazard mapping, risk assessment, and early warning systems tailored to community realities.
Languages: English
Access: Free
Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction Guide on Localising Climate Projections
This guide provides practical advice on how to ensure local actors are part of climate change projection processes. Through the meaningful participation of local actors, especially communities most at risk in accessing and using climate projection data, their decision to adapt, or plan for, emerging disasters and complete development actions are significantly more informed. The approach to this climate risk narrative process is guided by GNDR’s overarching risk-informed development approach.
Languages: English, Spanish, French, Arabic
Access: Free
UNESCO: Weathering Uncertainty: Traditional Knowledge for Climate Change Assessment and Adaptation
This report provides an overview of the published scientific literature (primarily peer-reviewed, but also grey) relating to the contribution of traditional/indigenous knowledge to our understanding of global climate change: observations, impacts and opportunities for adaptation.
Languages: English
Access: Free
This IISD blog argues that nature-based solutions (NbS) can only be effective and equitable if they center Indigenous Peoples and local communities as leaders and rights-holders. Drawing on examples like clam gardens and Indigenous Guardian programs, it highlights the risks of exclusionary or extractive approaches and calls for co-creation, respect for traditional knowledge, and fair benefit-sharing from the outset.
Languages: English
Access: Free
Case Study: Indigenous communities outline their climate data priorities
This article from Eos highlights how Indigenous communities in the U.S. Southwest are identifying their own climate data priorities through a collaborative survey with researchers. The findings reveal that water quality, not quantity, is a top concern, and that Traditional Knowledge must be central to climate resilience planning. The article underscores the importance of locally driven, culturally relevant data and decision-making in responding to climate impacts.
Languages: English
Access: Free
Do No Harm & Environmental Sustainability
Guidance to ensure humanitarian operations respect ILK, lands, and environment and avoids reinforcing harm.
Forthcoming – if you have any resources relevant to this theme, please contact secretariat@climate-charter.org