Traditional and Local Knowledge in Chile: Review of Experiences and Insights for Management and Sustainability

Abstract

Scientific interest in traditional and local knowledge (TLK) has grown in recent decades, because of the potential of TLK for improving management and conservation practices. Here, we synthesize and evaluate TLK studies in Chile, discuss how this progress compares to the international scientific literature in the field, and contextualize our results according to the multiple evidence base approach. We found 77 publications on the subject, a steady increase since 1980, and a peak production in the 1990s and the 2010s decades. Publications most often provide basic information on species names and lists of resource uses in terrestrial rather than marine ecosystems. Papers had an emphasis on natural, rather than social sciences. Work was concentrated on the extreme northern and southern regions of Chile where more indigenous populations are found. Indigenous ethnic groups received greater attention than non-indigenous people. Future work in Chile must broaden its attention to local and urban communities and focus on how TLK can contribute to management and sustainability, rather than only acquiring the basic knowledge contained in local and traditional communities. To better comprehend TLK's contribution to policy measures, an interdisciplinary approach must be present to address these knowledge gaps.knowledge can provide a more detailed perspective of the ecosystem rather than using only scientific information [14,15].Traditional ecological knowledge has been broadly defined as a "cumulative body of knowledge, practices, and beliefs about the relationship between humans and their environment, which changes over time through an adaptive process" [15]. TLK has been the focus of diverse disciplines including conservation biology or environmental anthropology [8]. Two major perspectives have prevailed in the literature: one focusing on the millennial knowledge accumulated by indigenous people, called traditional knowledge, but also imbricated with other concepts, such as indigenous knowledge, indigenous traditional knowledge, and indigenous environmental knowledge, among others [1]. The second perspective focuses on the knowledge held by local communities with a majority of non-indigenous people, termed local ecological knowledge. In this review of the literature, we refer to both perspectives as TLK.This type of collective knowledge of nature rooted in social history can offer alternatives to enhance the compatibility of biodiversity and ecosystem conservation with productive uses of nature [16,17]. The contributions to locally acceptable conservation measures are also a benefit derived from local knowledge [18]. However, differences in epistemological approaches, context, motivation, and conceptual underpinnings have obstructed the integration of traditional forms of knowledge with formal scientific understanding [8,15]. A common language is necessary to ascertain how these two approaches can lead to knowledge accumulation [15]. This is particularly relevant in global scenarios where scientific knowledge is expanding,...

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