Principle 6 - Ecosystem restoration incorporates all types of knowledge and promotes their exchange and integration throughout the process.
Ecosystem restoration should strive to integrate all types of knowledge – including, but not limited to, Indigenous, traditional, local and scientific ways of knowing – and practices in order to achieve greater kinship with nature, cooperation and effectiveness. Such integration will foster inclusive and consensual decision-making throughout the process, while enabling full participation of local stakeholders and right-holders. Likewise, capacity-development efforts should be focused on promoting mutual learning, as well as knowledge-sharing among stakeholders and communities of practice at local, national and global levels. In particular, knowledge about effective practices and innovative approaches should be systematically captured and shared to develop, adapt and replicate successful experiences, and to avoid repeating mistakes. This will also allow for the identification of knowledge gaps and strategic research and capacity-development priorities. The incorporation of Indigenous, local and traditional knowledge should comply with the principles of free, prior and informed consent. To facilitate the exchange of knowledge and information, platforms and networks for documenting, integrating and sharing that knowledge and information should be developed and made widely available through regularly updated, easily accessible, understandable and culturally appropriate communication and dissemination channels (taking into account languages and literacy levels).
