Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK): A Strategic Resource for Tribal Communities

Abstract

The term traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) denotes a subset of the broader termtraditional knowledgeencompassing comprehensively tribal/indigenous practical time-tested ecological knowledge accrued, preserved, and transmitted to succeeding generations with the self-sustaining ability generated from the interactions of tribal/ indigenous peoples with their directly associated natural climate and surroundings over multiple years through practices and sociocultural heritage where these tribal communities as institutions owning TEK, specific and unique to their areas, perform by virtue of being its repositories and primary beneficiaries of sustainable survival and development.