Roundtable on Community Indigenous Knowledge and Climate Resilience at Odisha Vikas Conclave, 2025

Date(s): 26/11/2025 - 26/11/2025

Location : Odisha

The UNESCO Chair participated in a Roundtable at Odisha Vikash focused on strengthening community- and Indigenous-led research for climate resilience. The discussion brought together perspectives on the growing recognition of local and Indigenous knowledge in areas such as public health, food security, biodiversity, and climate action, while also examining the persistent power imbalances within research systems.

The Roundtable explored how community and Indigenous knowledge can be more meaningfully recognised, valued, and integrated into climate research, particularly in the context of Odisha’s vulnerable coastal and forest ecosystems. Discussions highlighted the need to move beyond extractive and consultative approaches towards research partnerships that are ethical, contextual, and based on shared ownership of knowledge.

Co-Chair Dr. Rajesh Tandon shared emerging insights from the global DECODE case studies, reflecting on how research processes can redistribute power and create greater space for communities as knowledge holders and co-researchers. Arjan de Haan also shared reflections on the DECODE project and discussed opportunities for disseminating and applying its emerging learnings more widely.

See the presentation here