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Knowledges Beneath the Canopy : Indigenous Knowledges for Forest Fauna Management in the Colombian Amazon

Hernandez Velez, Carlos LU orcid (2026)
Abstract
Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) is increasingly recognised for its importance in environmental governance. However, despite this recognition, most research on tropical forest fauna lacks the inclusion of Indigenous epistemologies. My thesis addresses what I refer to as the Inclusion Participation-Dialogue-Coproduction Gap through four years of Participatory Action Research (PAR) with two Indigenous communities in the Colombian Amazon: Tipisca and Ceima Cachivera. Guided by transformative science, decolonial theory, and the Multi-Evidence Base Approach, I draw on 42 community workshops to study the role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in wildlife management, its current state, and its potential to contribute to sustainability... (More)
Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) is increasingly recognised for its importance in environmental governance. However, despite this recognition, most research on tropical forest fauna lacks the inclusion of Indigenous epistemologies. My thesis addresses what I refer to as the Inclusion Participation-Dialogue-Coproduction Gap through four years of Participatory Action Research (PAR) with two Indigenous communities in the Colombian Amazon: Tipisca and Ceima Cachivera. Guided by transformative science, decolonial theory, and the Multi-Evidence Base Approach, I draw on 42 community workshops to study the role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in wildlife management, its current state, and its potential to contribute to sustainability transformations. Furthermore, I investigate how PAR can weave TEK and non-Indigenous knowledges for decolonial
forest fauna management. My thesis consists of four articles and a synthesis chapter, using the Exchanging Research Seats (ERS) methodology, which integrates Indigenous protocols such as ceremonies and territorial walks. My findings show that forest fauna within Indigenous Knowledge Systems is understood relationally, embedded in cosmology, ceremony, and governance, and functions as a sophisticated management system grounded in principles of shamanic knowledge. Moreover, the Exchanging Research Seats methodology redistributed epistemic authority and enabled Indigenous researchers to present TEK to regional authorities, thereby strengthening Indigenous self-determination and intercultural networks. My work offers empirical data on Amazonian TEK, a conceptual framing of ILK and the ERS methodology as a decolonial practice. Thus, I demonstrate that biocultural resilience depends on positioning Indigenous knowledge as a guiding force rather than merely data, thereby urging sustainability practitioners to become knowledge weavers. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Urfolks- och lokal kunskap (ULK) erkänns alltmer för sin betydelse inom miljöförvaltning. Trots detta saknar mycket forskning om tropiska skogsdjur ofta inkludering av urfolks epistemologier. Mitt examensarbete tar itu med det jag kallar för 'Inkluderings-Deltagande-Dialog-Produktionsgapet' genom fyra år av delaktighetsbaserad handlingsforskning (DHF) med två urfolksgemenskaper i den colombianska Amazon: Tipisca och Ceima Cachivera. Med vägledning av transformativ vetenskap, dekolonial teori och den multi-bevisbaserade metoden, baserar jag mig på 42 samhällsworkshops för att studera rollen av traditionell ekologisk kunskap (TEK) i viltvård, dess nuvarande tillstånd och dess potential att bidra till hållbarhetsförändringar. Dessutom... (More)
Urfolks- och lokal kunskap (ULK) erkänns alltmer för sin betydelse inom miljöförvaltning. Trots detta saknar mycket forskning om tropiska skogsdjur ofta inkludering av urfolks epistemologier. Mitt examensarbete tar itu med det jag kallar för 'Inkluderings-Deltagande-Dialog-Produktionsgapet' genom fyra år av delaktighetsbaserad handlingsforskning (DHF) med två urfolksgemenskaper i den colombianska Amazon: Tipisca och Ceima Cachivera. Med vägledning av transformativ vetenskap, dekolonial teori och den multi-bevisbaserade metoden, baserar jag mig på 42 samhällsworkshops för att studera rollen av traditionell ekologisk kunskap (TEK) i viltvård, dess nuvarande tillstånd och dess potential att bidra till hållbarhetsförändringar. Dessutom undersöker jag hur DHF kan väva samman TEK och icke-urfolkskunskaper för dekolonial förvaltning av skogsdjur. Mitt arbete består av fyra artiklar och ett synteskapitel, med hjälp av metoden 'Utbyte av Forskningsplatser' (UFP), som integrerar urfolksprotokoll som ceremonier och territoriella vandringar. Mina resultat visar att skogsdjur inom urfolkskunskapssystem förstås relationellt, inbäddat i kosmologi, ceremonier och styrning, och fungerar som ett sofistikerat förvaltningssystem grundat på shamanistisk kunskap. Dessutom omfördelade UFP-metoden epistemisk makt och möjliggjorde för urfolksforskare att presentera TEK för regionala myndigheter, vilket stärkte urfolks självbestämmande och interkulturella nätverk. Mitt arbete ger empiriska data om amazonisk TEK, en
konceptuell ram för ULK och UFP-metoden som en dekolonial praktik. Därmed visar jag att biokulturell resiliens är beroende av att positionera urfolkskunskap som en vägledande kraft snarare än enbart data, och uppmanar därmed hållbarhetsarbetare att bli kunskapsvävare. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
supervisor
opponent
  • Professor Reyes-Garcia, Victoria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
organization
alternative title
Kunskaper under baldakinen : Urfolkskunskaper för skötsel av skogsdjur i Colombias Amazon
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Indigenous Ways of Knowing, Wildlife management, Epistemic Justice, Transformative Sustainability, Weaving Knowledge Methods, Colombian Amazon, Indigenous Ways of Knowing, Wildlife management
pages
167 pages
publisher
LUCSUS, Lund University
defense location
Ostrom, Josephson building, Biskopsgatan 5, Lund
defense date
2026-09-18 13:00:00
ISBN
978-91-90202-47-0
978-91-90202-48-7
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
0007b5fd-6e3f-4287-9169-ddd09117bd13
date added to LUP
2026-08-21 13:38:15
date last changed
2026-09-21 15:05:57
@phdthesis{0007b5fd-6e3f-4287-9169-ddd09117bd13,
  abstract     = {{Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) is increasingly recognised for its importance in environmental governance. However, despite this recognition, most research on tropical forest fauna lacks the inclusion of Indigenous epistemologies. My thesis addresses what I refer to as the Inclusion Participation-Dialogue-Coproduction Gap through four years of Participatory Action Research (PAR) with two Indigenous communities in the Colombian Amazon: Tipisca and Ceima Cachivera. Guided by transformative science, decolonial theory, and the Multi-Evidence Base Approach, I draw on 42 community workshops to study the role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in wildlife management, its current state, and its potential to contribute to sustainability transformations. Furthermore, I investigate how PAR can weave TEK and non-Indigenous knowledges for decolonial <br/>forest fauna management. My thesis consists of four articles and a synthesis chapter, using the Exchanging Research Seats (ERS) methodology, which integrates Indigenous protocols such as ceremonies and territorial walks. My findings show that forest fauna within Indigenous Knowledge Systems is understood relationally, embedded in cosmology, ceremony, and governance, and functions as a sophisticated management system grounded in principles of shamanic knowledge. Moreover, the Exchanging Research Seats methodology redistributed epistemic authority and enabled Indigenous researchers to present TEK to regional authorities, thereby strengthening Indigenous self-determination and intercultural networks. My work offers empirical data on Amazonian TEK, a conceptual framing of ILK and the ERS methodology as a decolonial practice. Thus, I demonstrate that biocultural resilience depends on positioning Indigenous knowledge as a guiding force rather than merely data, thereby urging sustainability practitioners to become knowledge weavers.}},
  author       = {{Hernandez Velez, Carlos}},
  isbn         = {{978-91-90202-47-0}},
  keywords     = {{Indigenous Ways of Knowing; Wildlife management; Epistemic Justice; Transformative Sustainability; Weaving Knowledge Methods; Colombian Amazon; Indigenous Ways of Knowing; Wildlife management}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{LUCSUS, Lund University}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  title        = {{Knowledges Beneath the Canopy : Indigenous Knowledges for Forest Fauna Management in the Colombian Amazon}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/258674549/E-spik_Carlos.pdf}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}