Advancing Indigenous and diverse knowledge systems in global assessments

Webinar

This webinar saw participants discuss how to meaningfully and ethically engage Indigenous and diverse knowledge into global assessments, with insights from IPCC/IPBES authors.

Online
Last updated 29 May 2026
Indigenous women’s groups perform a Tlalmanalli ceremony in Mexico. They are sitting in a circle, wearing traditional clothing and grabbing colorful cloths and pulling them.

Indigenous women’s groups perform a Tlalmanalli ceremony in Mexico (Credit: UN Women, via Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Global environmental assessments, such as those conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), increasingly recognise the importance of engaging Indigenous and diverse knowledge systems.

However, translating this recognition into meaningful and ethical practice remains a complex challenge.

This webinar created a space to reflect on these issues. Building on findings from a recent study on authors’ perspectives, the session explored real experiences of engaging Indigenous and diverse knowledge systems into global assessments.

It examined both the persistent barriers and enabling conditions identified by contributors involved in past processes.

Through interactive audience engagement, participants reflected on how the insights and recommendations from the study and the expert panel resonate with their own experiences and how they can inform future work.

Speakers

  • Obed Ogega, IIED engagement lead for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
  • Rosario Carmona, researcher on Indigenous Peoples’ rights and international climate policy processes
  • Karen Wong Pérez, senior researcher, IIED
  • Graeme Reed, strategic advisor, Assembly of First Nations (AFN)
  • Sandra Diaz, senior researcher, CONICET, Multidisciplinary Institute of Plant Biology
  • Pasang Yangjee Sherpa, assistant professor of lifeways in Indigenous Asia, University of British Columbia
  • Janita Gurung, programme lead, improved governance and respect for rights, RECOTC, Nepal
  • Deborah McGregor, professor, Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Indigenous Planetary Well-Being, University of Calgary
  • Dilys Roe, principal researcher, IIED

Structure and outcome

The webinar consisted of a:

  • Presentation of key findings and recommendations from the recent IIED study on authors’ perspectives (IPCC and IPBES)
  • Panel of speaker reflections from authors involved in global assessments, and
  • Interactive discussion, audience engagement and idea sharing to arrive at shared insights from authors and practitioners and the identification of practical approaches to improve future global assessment processes.

Event coverage

A full recording of the event in English is available below and on IIED's YouTube channel, where there are also timestamped links to each of the speakers' contributions.

Translations of this recording are also available in Portuguese, French and Spanish.

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Contact

Larissa Schneider-Kim ([email protected]), internal communications and events manager, Communications Group

Indigenous Peoples Indigenous knowledge Traditional knowledge Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Related project

Further reading