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49 Envtl. L. Rep. News & Analysis 10309 (2019)
Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Environmental Decisionmaking

handle is hein.journals/elrna49 and id is 323 raw text is: DIALOGUE Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Environmental Decisionmaking Summary Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) is defined as a deep understanding of the environment devel- oped by local communities and indigenous peoples over generations. In the United States, Canada, and around the world, indigenous peoples are increasingly advocating for incorporation of TEK into a range of environmental decisionmaking contexts, including natural resource and wildlife management, pollution standards, environmental and social planning, envi- ronmental impact assessment, and adaptation to cli- mate change. On October 31, 2018, ELI hosted an expert panel on TEK, co-sponsored by the National Native American Bar Association and the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources. The panel discussed the challenges that indigenous peoples face in defending the legitimacy of, and intellectual property in, TEK; how policymak- ers can modify existing laws and regulations to better incorporate TEK; and the potential for TEK to meet today's most pressing environmental challenges. Below, we present a transcript of the discussion, which has been edited for style, clarity, and space considerations. Greta Swanson (moderator) is a Visiting Attorney at the Environmental Law Institute. Minnie Degawan is Director of the Indigenous and Traditional Peoples Program at Conservation International. Kathy Hodgson-Smith is an Attorney and TEK Member of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation. Anthony Moffa is a Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Maine School of Law and former Staff Attorney with the Office of General Counsel of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Greta Swanson: A warm welcome to our panel of experts on the use of traditional ecological knowledge, or TEK, in the context of both national and interna- tional legal frameworks. Our first speaker will be Anthony Moffa, assistant pro- fessor at the University of Maine School of Law, who will be addressing TEK in the context of U.S. law and regula- tion. He has written extensively on TEK and environmen- tal law. Next, Kathy Hodgson-Smith, a Canadian attorney who is M~tis and an expert in aboriginal rights law and tradi- tional knowledge, and a member of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, will be discussing TEK in Canadian and indigenous law. She will also discuss its use in the context of the Commission, which supports coop- eration among North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners to address a multitude of environmen- tal matters. Finally, Minnie Degawan, the Director of the Indig- enous and Tribal Peoples Program at Conservation Inter- national, will be considering TEK and climate adaptation internationally. She has been an international leader in indigenous rights and is an indigenous Kankanaey Igorot from the Philippines. Today, we will explore how TEK can contribute to environmental policy and rulemaking. Before we dive in, what is TEK? According to the renowned expert Dr. Fikret Berkes, it is a holistic understanding of the envi- ronment and ecosystems that encompasses knowledge, practice, and belief acquired by people who have a close relationship with their ecosystem and have passed it down through generations.1 Why is there a growing interest in TEK by the Western world? Through accumulated long-term detailed observa- tions of ecosystems, TEK can provide essential informa- l. Fikret Berkes et al., Rediscovery of Traditional Ecological Knowledge as Adaptive Management, 10(5) ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS 1251- 62 (2000), available at https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ doi/10.1890/1051-0761%0282000%029010%05B1251%o3AROTEKAo5 D2.0.CO%3B2. NEWS & ANALYSIS 4-2019 49 ELR 10309

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