Indigenous people make up only 6% of the world’s population but manage over a quarter of the world’s land surface. These groups, descended from original occupants of a geographical place and identifying as culturally distinct, possess knowledge about adapting to social and environmental change. Yet their perspectives are rarely included when it comes to planning for a future affected by climate change or biodiversity loss. Researcher Julia van Velden was part of a team of scholars who looked at how Indigenous knowledge could create a shared understanding of a better future for our planet. The Conversation Africa spoke to her and her co-authors about Indigenous futures thinking.
What is Indigenous futures thinking and who does it?
Futures thinking involves imagining and describing different possible futures. It asks us to consider what we want society, the environment and the world to look like in 50 or even 500 years from now. The future we think up can then be used as the basis for strategies to achieve those visions.
