Representatives of Indigenous Peoples, researchers, policymakers, and international organisations gathered in Trondheim to strengthen the role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in global biodiversity governance.
The French Museum of Natural History (MNHN) and the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) co-organised an international training session on Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in the context of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UN CBD) in Trondheim, Norway. The event, held on 11-12 June 2025 within the framework of the CO-OP4CBD Horizon Europe project, comes ahead of the first meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Article 8(j) under the UN CBD, which will take place in Panama City in October 2025.
The event gathered IPLCs from organisations such as the Forest Peoples Programme, Indigenous Science, and the ICCA Consortium, the representatives of the UN CBD Secretariat, UNESCO, European Commission, negotiators for Article 8(j) at the 16th Conference of the Parties to the CBD, the IUCN Cultural and Spiritual Values of Protected Areas Specialist Group, civil society, academia and research institutes.
Developed in close collaboration with TEK holders and experts, the training aimed to:
- Enable discussions about the role and importance of traditional knowledge for biodiversity policy
- Provide tools and insights into UN CBD governance, including the newly established permanent Subsidiary Body on Article 8(j) and regional Technical and Scientific Cooperation Support Centres
- Offer practical guidance for strengthening the involvement of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) in UN CBD processes.
In addition to the presentations and panels delivered by esteemed experts and followed by vibrant discussions, the attendees participated in a UN CBD-style negotiation simulation where they developed recommendations for improving TEK holder participation in the CBD processes and discussed indicators for IPLCs in the context of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
CO-OP4CBD will continue its work related to TEK through an upcoming workshop on mobilising European knowledge support for the UN CBD with traditional knowledge holders. Training materials from the Trondheim event will be published on the Training Corner of the CO-OP4CBD website in the coming months.
Read more about the project: CO-OP4CBD
Contact: Maja Vasilijević