About the Book

Sacred Ecology examines bodies of knowledge held by indigenous and other rural peoples around the world, and asks how we can learn from this knowledge and ways of knowing. Berkes explores the importance of local and indigenous knowledge as a complement to scientific ecology, and its cultural and political significance for indigenous groups themselves. This second edition is expanded and updated throughout, and places greater emphasis on "knowledge as process". It has two new chapters, Chapter 8 on climate change, demonstrating how indigenous communities "read" environmental signals, and Chapter 9 on how indigenous knowledge deals with complexity.