“Knowledge was always systematized”: Community-based participatory research case studies focused on understanding community and/or indigenous knowledge used to address climate change issues and develop climate resiliency

Abstract

This working paper is about DECODE's approach to community-based participatory research on climate resiliency. It examines six case studies from Malaysia, India, Uganda, Colombia, the Arctic, and Western Canada, looking at how community and Indigenous knowledge is being used to address climate change. Each case study follows a four-step research cycle of partner engagement, data collection, sharing and analysis, and knowledge mobilization, guided by a knowledge democracy framework. Preliminary findings are organized around two areas: what the case studies reveal about research processes, and what they reveal about community knowledge cultures, including trust-building, women's leadership, capacity building, and co-governance. It closes by outlining ten key messages emerging from the case studies, offered for further review and discussion on how academic and community knowledge systems can work together to support climate resilience.