Climate-resilient food systems and Indigenous knowledge

Dr Adriana Portella, Heriot-Watt University, Research Centre for Urban Studies (UK)

Brazil contains approximately 60% of the Amazon rainforest and is home to more than 300 Indigenous Peoples whose knowledge systems have sustained forest ecosystems for millennia. Despite increasing recognition of Indigenous rights, climate governance in Brazil continues to rely predominantly on Western scientific approaches, often overlooking Indigenous ontologies, governance systems and ancestral knowledge. The Project "Amazon Indigenous Wisdom: Shaping Climate Solutions in Brazil", funded by the British Academy, addresses this gap by co-producing climate mitigation and adaptation strategies grounded in Indigenous worldviews and community-led practices.

Using a decolonising and participatory research framework, the project works collaboratively with six Indigenous communities representing four ethnic groups in the Brazilian Amazon: Yawanawa, Noke Koi Katukina, Shanenawa and Huni Kuin. Rather than treating Indigenous Peoples as research participants, the project positions them as knowledge holders and partners in shaping research questions, interpreting findings and developing policy recommendations. A combination of Indigenous methodologies, including storytelling, yarning circles, participatory mapping and knowledge-sharing practices, is integrated with interviews, GIS, drone mapping and collaborative workshops to document local experiences of climate change, environmental stewardship and territorial governance. It contributes to debates on climate justice, decolonising research and sustainable development while providing a model for collaborative knowledge production that can inform climate policy in Brazil and internationally. The project argues that effective climate solutions depend not only on technological innovation but also on recognising and empowering Indigenous leadership in shaping resilient and sustainable futures.