Editing IPCC:AR6/WGII/Chapter-9 (section)

==== 9.4.4.3 Local Climate Change Laws and Indigenous Knowledge Systems ====

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The Paris Agreement acknowledges, in Article 7.5, that adaptation should be based on and guided by, among other things, ‘traditional knowledge, knowledge of indigenous peoples and local knowledge systems’. The accumulated knowledge within Indigenous knowledge systems is particularly important as it can assist governments in determining how the climate is changing, how to characterise these impacts and provide lessons for adaptation ( [[#Salick--2009|Salick and Ross, 2009]] ). In this context, Indigenous knowledge systems can play an important role in the effective design of local laws ( [[#Mwanga--2019|Mwanga, 2019]] ), as well as national laws. Doing so can contribute to the success of climate change response strategies, including enhancing local participation and the implementation of community-based and ecosystem-based adaptations ( [[#Chanza--2016|Chanza and de Wit, 2016]] ; [[#Mwanga--2019|Mwanga, 2019]] ). For example, the Makorongo Village Forest Management By-Law in Tanzania codifies local customary practices relating to forest management and sustainable harvesting with associated dual adaptation and mitigation benefits and includes all villagers in the decision-making processes relating to forest management ( [[#Mwanga--2019|Mwanga, 2019]] ). The inclusion of beneficial Indigenous knowledge systems within local by-laws is contingent on the active involvement of members of the Indigenous community and awareness of climate change considerations within the local sphere of government, and a willingness to foster such practices ( [[#Mwanga--2019|Mwanga, 2019]] ).

In addition to the advancement of Indigenous knowledge in adaptive responses, it has been suggested that the protection of the rights of Indigenous Peoples can have adaptive benefits, in particular through the protection of land tenure rights ( [[#Ayanlade--2016|Ayanlade and Jegede, 2016]] ). It has been argued that doing so will protect Indigenous Peoples’ lands and resources from overconsumption, secure the recognition of their cultural stewardship over the environment, provide the financial incentive for land stewardship and promote the application of their unique knowledge on the sustainable development of that land and its preservation ( [[#Jaksa--2006|Jaksa, 2006]] ; [[#Ayanlade--2016|Ayanlade and Jegede, 2016]] ). Not only can a lack of protection of Indigenous legal tenure undermine these objectives, but a number of African laws may actively work against them. For example, a review of Tanzanian and Zambian laws highlighted existing provisions that empowered the state to terminate or criminalise the occupation of vacant, undeveloped or fallow lands, which undermined the occupation by Indigenous peoples of forests and other uncultivated lands ( [[#Ayanlade--2016|Ayanlade and Jegede, 2016]] ).

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