TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE IN AGRICULTURE FOR ADAPTATION/ RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE: HIGH MOUNTAIN ASIA

Abstract: Mountain agricultural systems in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) are in a unique position to contribute to promoting nature-based solutions in adaptation and resilience to climate change since they are least impacted by the influence of commercial high-production agriculture. This study aims to explore currently available literature for evidence of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) based agriculture in the HKH region and analyse their contribution to region and location specific climate change adaptation. This is achieved by collection of TEK-based agricultural practices through a systematic literature survey and analysis of their contribution to climate change adaptation through the visualization of the distribution of TEK practices against potential climate change-related hazards for the region and evaluating them against climate adaptation priorities set by HKH countries. The results show that there is a multitude of TEK-based agricultural practices in the HKH region, the most common of which include indigenous soil and fertility management, agroforestry and traditional mechanisms of responding to agroecological shocks. The results also show that these TEK practices can directly contribute towards achieving climate change adaptation priorities of the HKH states. The highest contribution from the available records of TEK-based agriculture is towards the adaptation priorities of developing water and nutrient-efficient crop cultivation systems and improving soil organic matter. The study concludes that TEK-based agricultural practices are indeed significant contributors to climate change adaptation and resilience, except for when traditional practices are deformed due to multiple external stressors that could rather render them climate change aggravators. The study emphasises the need to conserve indigenous lands and indigenous ways of life in order to ensure sustainability of TEKbased agriculture and calls upon the integration of TEK in regional and local adaptation frameworks for climate change adaptation in HKH.