User:Aditoaster12/Wetland

Traditional Ecological Knowledge applied to Wetland Restoration

Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) or local ecological knowledge (LEK) is a detailed knowledge of the interactions between the environment that has been accumulated by generations of indigenous or local peoples who has shared a direct relationship with the environment. This includes expertise on flora, fauna, and natural phenomena, as well as the development of technologies needed for survival such as fishing, agriculture, and forestry. This base of knowledge can be compared to ecology or adaptive management disciplines in Western science.

The ideas from traditional ecological knowledge can be applied using a holistic approach to the restoration of wetlands. These ideas focus more on responding to the observations detected from the environment considering that each part of a wetland ecosystem is interconnected. Applying these practices on specific locations of wetlands increase productivity, biodiversity, and improve its resilience. These practices include monitoring wetland resources, planting propagules, and addition of key species in order to create a self-sustaining wetland ecosystem. In a study of a community of wetland plant harvesters in the Pátzcuaro wetlands used local ecological knowledge to control the invasive and protect a native species present in that wetland habitat. It was found that the eldest and most experienced harvesters knew the native species and practices to remove the invasive such as using animal fat as a "poison". The spread of knowledge of these management practices from the elders in that community controlled the invasion of the non-native to restore the wetland as well as benefit the people living there.