WIOMSA has recognised for some time that we need to have a better understanding of what is known as Indigenous and Traditional Knowledge (ITK), and how this can help in strengthening the management of our marine and coastal resources. This knowledge has developed over many hundreds of years and can add an important dimension to the more modern, high quality scientific information and understandings that have been developed in the WIO.
The WIOMSA MPA Management Training materials are currently being updated and we believe that these would be greatly enhanced by the inclusion of ITK. As a first step we have developed a simple Google Survey Form to see what understanding of ITK we already have among the WIOMSA and WIOMPAN members. Please share what understanding you have on the form. You don’t need to respond to every question, but please do what you can. We would like as many people as possible to join us on this exciting journey to combine the many different understandings into the care for our resources.
Also please remember that: IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT YOU DO NOT SHARE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT PEOPLE OR PROVIDED BY THEM WITHOUT THEIR PERMISSION, so you will need to obtain this before sharing their information.
This is an exciting initiative which we intend to build on over the years, with the aim of developing all our understandings in this area, using these to improve our resource management. The longer-term goal is to produce a publication on ITK in the WIO in the not-too-distant future.