Biographies of speakers at Planet Under Pressure panel

Indigenous knowledge and sustainable futures: community-based evaluations of climate change vulnerability, adaptation and innovations

A panel at Planet Under Pressure 2012

Wednesday 28 March 2012, 14:00, Room 11

Convened by: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD)

Presenter Bios:

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim
Coordinator, AFPAT
Sahel Region Representative, IPACC

Hindou is the coordinator of the Association des Femmes Peules Autochtones du Tchad (AFPAT), a community based organization of Mbororo women. She is the Sahel regional representative for the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC). With a background in indigenous peoples' rights, she is the indigenous peoples representative to the UN Environmental Programme's Major Group for Indigenous Peoples. Hindou will present her work on 'Linking African pastoralist and scientific knowledge: Mbororo in Chad.'

Carlos Mondragón
Associate Professor, Centro de Estudios de Asia y África, El Colegio de México
Vanuatu Cultural Centre, Vanuatu

Since 1998, Carlos Mondragón has carried out ethnographic fieldwork in Vanuatu, in the South West Pacific. He has focused on the study of human-environmental relations, including seasonal production and climate in relation to traditional knowledge, rituals and practices. He has been Associate Professor of Anthropology at the Centro de Estudios de Asia y África, El Colegio de México since 2006. Carlos will present his research on 'Local knowledge and environmental fluctuations in the Western Pacific: new approaches to sustainability and climate adaptation in Vanuatu.'

Margaret Hiza Redsteer
Project Chief, Geology, U.S. Geological Survey, USA

Margaret leads a research team that conducts studies on tribal lands, assessing regional geology, climate and land use history to provide information on climate change impacts to Native communities and the landscape they live on. This work provides a foundation for land use planning in the context of climate change. Margaret's presentation is on 'The observations of Navajo elders and the refining of our understanding of conventional scientific records.'

Lila Nath Sharma
Central Dept. of Botany, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Nepal

Lila Nath Sharma is a freelance researcher and works with various NGOs and research institutions in Nepal. He is interested in studying the impacts of global process like climate change and migration in the local environment in the geographically and politically marginalized areas. He has conducted research on insurance provided by wild tuber foods during the time of food shortage brought by crop failure and drought. He is currently undertaking research on socio-ecological impacts of global processes on local pastures. His presentation 'Supporting and Mainstreaming Transhumance-agropastoralism in Policy and Development: an Option for Climate Change Adaptation' discusses how mainstreaming knowledge of herders helps climate change adaptation.

Chaired by: Hans Thulstrup, Programme Specialist, UNESCO

Originally from Copenhagen, Denmark, Hans Thulstrup has worked with UNESCO's Division of Science Policy and Capacity-Building since 2008, focusing on interdisciplinary activities in small island developing states. Prior hereto, he spent 12 years as focal point for UNESCO's natural science programmes based in field offices in the Pacific islands and Southeast Asia. He holds a dual degree in science and development studies from Roskilde University in Denmark, and currently undertakes research towards a PhD in science communication with the Australian National University.

The panel agenda can be found here.

For more information on Planet Under Pressure, please go to: http://www.planetunderpressure2012.net. For the conference notification on this session, please go to http://www.planetunderpressure2012.net/pup_session.asp?19173