WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS
A structured survey of 421 Indigenous adults found strong positive relationships between age and several traditional ecological knowledge indices, suggesting that older participants retain more recorded knowledge of local ecology, ancestral resource practices and contemporary conservation engagement.
WHY IT MATTERS / OUR READ
The conservation risk is not just whether knowledge exists but whether institutions support intergenerational transmission and meaningful integration into management. Knowledge erosion can be a governance failure as much as a cultural one.
CAVEATS / UNCERTAINTY
The questionnaire also reported gender differences, but structured survey instruments may under-sample gender-specific knowledge domains. The results should not be interpreted as a universal ranking of ecological knowledge between men and women.
SOURCE
Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine · Original evidence
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