Indigenous Approaches to Disaster Risk Reduction, Community Sustainability, and Climate Change Resilience

Abstract

Indigenous forms of science and practices pertaining to disaster risk reduction and climate resilience are increasingly recognized within the disaster resilience sector and drawn on to inform international policy frameworks (reference SFDRR, 2015), government strategies (DPMC, 2019), and the practices of local authorities. The 2015 Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction specifically highlights the importance of adopting diverse and socially inclusive approaches toward managing emergency contexts, such as harnessing local community risk mitigation practices that are informed by traditional knowledges. Yet, perusal of the research and gray literature, suggests that conceptualizations of indigenous disaster risk reduction concepts and approaches to mitigating the impacts of climate change are primarily developed by policy specialists and researchers using an ‘etic’ gaze informed by the Western European science paradigm. The absence or ‘othering’ of ‘emic’ perspectives regarding the application of Indigenous knowledges and practices to reduce disaster risks and address climate change concerns may undermine nations’ abilities to create disaster resilient communities that will endure in the longer term. Epistemological tensions also exist between Western European science and Indigenous understandings of traditional DRR approaches, which may give rise to the misinterpretation of traditional knowledges and practices. Due to ongoing tensions associated with knowledge appropriation, there is also a growing incidence of Indigenous collectives instigating legal challenges in relation to data sovereignty issues. This chapter is solely coauthored by Māori, and Pacifica researchers, and contributes to addressing the literature gap by presenting Indigenous perspectives on disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, environmental resilience, and sustainable development.