Tapping traditional knowledge

The first United Nations conference on indigenous peoples was held this week in New York and we use the chance to focus on how tribal communities and their knowledge of the land they have lived on for generations are playing a growing role in conservation. In Peru, a conservation group is trying to strike a balance between native people’s needs and the rising pressures on the ecosystem to protect the Manú National Park. But, it’s not easy with some local tribes living in self-imposed isolation as Carl Gierstorfer discovered in his television report. In our background article, Louise Osborne spoke with an advocate of indigenous peoples’ rights who says more needs to be done to ensure tribal perspectives are an integral part of conservation projects.