Local traditional knowledge for global governance: solutions for the multi-crisis of climate, water, biodiversity, health and food

Local traditional knowledge for global governance

Solutions for the multi-crisis of climate, water, biodiversity, health and food

This presentation explores how local traditional knowledge can contribute to addressing the interconnected global crises—climate change, biodiversity loss, water insecurity, health, and food systems—termed the "multicrisis." Drawing on interdisciplinary research and personal experience, Martha Isabel Gómez Lee argues that Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) offer vital, place-based knowledge systems that global governance must engage with more equitably. The talk identifies three foundational conditions for integrating traditional knowledge into international policy: ending biocolonialism, recognising Indigenous future temporalities, and promoting Traditional Knowledge Diplomacy (TKD). Through examples from Latin America, particularly the Andean region and organisations like FILAC, the presentation highlights how IPLCs’ lived, cyclical conceptions of time and diplomacy rooted in ancestral wisdom can shape resilient, inclusive global solutions. Ultimately, the presentation calls for a transformative shift in policy frameworks to ensure traditional knowledge is not only protected but also actively influences sustainable development pathways.

Martha Isabel Gómez Lee is a Colombian legal scholar at the Faculty of Finance, Government and International Relations (FIGRI), Universidad Externado de Colombia. She teaches environmental law, sustainability governance, and biodiversity policy at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Her research focuses on the intersection of environmental law, Indigenous knowledge, and sustainable development. She is also a member of a cutting-edge, FORMAS-funded project on climate, water, and biodiversity interactions (www.surco.info). She has served as a legal advisor to Colombian government institutions, a consultant for the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC), and has held fellowships in Sweden, Italy, and Germany, including a DAAD-supported doctoral stay at the Freie Universität Berlin (Summa cum laude). Professor Gomez Lee is a recipient of the Erasmus international mobility grant at LUSEM (Department of Economic History).