The significance and integration of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in resource management, including culturally significant sites and species, will be the focus of a Traditional Ecological Knowledge exchange workshop this month.
To be held at Aleipata, Samoa 24-28 July 2023, the workshop will be attended by traditional owner groups from Australia and reef custodians in Samoa as part of the ReefCloud initiative under the Coral Reef Innovation Project.
The workshop will also explore the role of traditional governance systems and their applicability to management, as well as the value of community communication channels for sharing information across the community.
The Pacific ReefCloud initiative was developed through a collaborative partnership funded by the Australian Government and is being implemented jointly by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the Government of Samoa Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE).
ReefCloud is a reef monitoring system which has been developed by AIMS that uses underwater photographs analysed by Artificial Intelligence (AI) in combination with traditional knowledge. The initiative is also in line with the Pacific Coral Reef Action Plan 2021-2030, developed and endorsed by 26 Member countries at the 30th SPREP Meeting in 2021.
To implement the Pacific Coral Reef Action Plan, SPREP is working with partners to promote long-term resilience of Pacific coral reefs by combining best available science with traditional knowledge. The Pacific ReefCloud initiative, currently being piloted in Samoa, will serve as the foundation for establishing a regional community of practice that will enable the development of a standardized coral reef monitoring methodology with future plans for expansion to other Pacific countries and territories.
SPREP Marine and Coastal Advisor, Dr. Peter Davies, who is also the lead facilitator of the project, said: “We are grateful and privileged in partnering with AIMS who are at the cutting edge of innovation and research when it comes to coral reef monitoring and management and together our vision fits in well with the Coral Reef Action Plan” He further stated: “It brings together science and traditional knowledge in a way to develop a fit for purpose coral reef monitoring framework capable of informing national and local conservation measures, which can be implemented by National Governments and communities.”
In the lead up to the cultural exchange workshop, AIMS in partnership with SPREP will also facilitate technical hands-on training on the ReefCloud methodology for reef monitoring from data collection to data analysis. Technical officers from MNRE and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) will be in attendance as well as participants from the local coastal communities in Samoa.
For further information please contact: Mr Peter Davis, Coastal and Marine Ecosystem Adviser, [email protected] Ph: +685 21929