{"doi":"10.5304/jafscd.2025.141.024","title":"Understanding Indigenous knowledge of conservation and stewardship before implementing co-production with Western methodologies in resource management: A focus on fisheries and aquatic ecosystems","abstract":"<jats:p>In the face of an increasing global human popula­tion and multiple anthropogenic environmental stressors including climate change, the limitations of relying solely on Western science and ap­proaches to mitigating impacts, conserving bio­diversity, and managing resources sustainably is apparent. Many Indigenous Peoples have lived sus­tainably as part of their respective environments for millennia, passing conservation and manage­ment practices down generations despite coloniza­tion and genocide. Long-standing Indigenous knowledge and philosophies offer alternate world­views that can complement Western con­servation and resource management and may strengthen efforts to restore environmental integ­rity and conserve species and ecosystems. Researchers often tout the co-production of knowledge with Indigenous collaborators using frameworks like the Kaswentha (Two Row Wampum—Haudenosau­nee) and the Etuaptmumk (Two Eyed Seeing—Mi’kmaw) without first seek­ing to understand the foundations of Indigenous knowledge itself, and its deep roots in environmen­tal sustainability. We develop a thesis of the embed­ded relational nature of Indigenous knowledges and the unique strengths and perspectives that must be understood before effective and ethical co-production can be possible. We contend that Indigenous knowledge must be treated as a distinct framework to inform conservation and stewardship of biodiversity and nature, rather than selectively integrating it into Western science. Building rela­tionships with local Indigenous nations will help actualize sustainable practices that are rooted in millennia of empirical data. This will help to pro­mote a shift toward a holistic and relational worldview for more impact­ful conservation action.</jats:p>","journal":"Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development","year":2025,"id":648880,"datarank":0.29188652235829704,"base_score":1.9459101490553132,"endowment":1.9459101490553132,"self_citation_contribution":0.29188652235829704,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.29188652235829704,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":6,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":null,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":false,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":null,"fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":1691301,"name":"Jennifer Maracle","orcid":"0009-0005-8704-0623","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1499428,"name":"Stephen C. Lougheed","orcid":"0000-0003-1466-3668","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1691298,"name":"Stafford Maracle","orcid":"0009-0008-1193-2408","position":0,"is_corresponding":false}],"reference_count":0,"raw_metadata":{"citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-08-10T03:04:23.994501Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}