WiserEarth Governance

Our vision is that Indigenous and Tribal communities and peoples determine their own, and participate fully in their country’s development through utilisation of Indigenous Knowledge and perspectives. We strive for mutual support and cross-border relationships between Indigenous and tribal peoples and communities throughout the region.

In 2002, as a follow up of the III MMSEA Conference on Indigenous Knowledge, Biodiversity and Local Governance in Mountain Areas of SE-Asia in Lijiang, China, 15 of the participants from Vietnam, Lao PDR, Thailand and SW-China established a regional network to support the retention and revitalization of Indigenous Knowledge within ethnic communities. The network founders created a proposed action plan aiming for capacity building of indigenous peoples and IK-facilitators and trainers over the next 3 years.
          
By capacity building we refer to improving the capacities of ethnic mountain communities and their support organisations (development projects) to recover their indigenous knowledge and to control and use their natural resources through application of this knowledge. Such capacities will be built by means of information, exchange of experiences, use of participatory planning methods, training courses and advocacy for the needs, visions and rights of mountain communities.

Since the establishment of the network, network members in each of the member countries have been working to generate understanding and interest in the network within their own countries, and an IKAP Secretariat has been established to coordinate network activities, hosted by IMPECT Association in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

In October 2003 the delegates from each country and local network met in Chiang Mai to plan network activities, and to coordinate and share information about the different capacity building activities in each country and in the region. Early in 2004 IKAP will begin to train a group of 20 facilitators-trainers from the region who will be involved in the training events for ethnic communities in each country with support from the network secretariat.
          
The central motivation of the network is the documentation, revitalization and continued utilization of Indigenous Knowledge, as well as working towards increased legitimization of IK as a valuable, or indeed single appropriate, source of knowledge within a local area. Within this focus on IK, the network plans to implement a range of activities, at local, national, regional and international levels, to build the capacity of local IK holders.