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PERSPECTIVE article

Front. Water
Sec. Environmental Water Quality
Volume 6 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/frwa.2024.1363187
This article is part of the Research Topic Water Quality Monitoring and Sustainable Use of Ambient Freshwaters View all articles

The Contributions of Indigenous People's Earth Observations to Water Quality Monitoring

Yolanda López-Maldonado Yolanda López-Maldonado 1*Janet Anstee Janet Anstee 2Merrie Beth Neely Merrie Beth Neely 3Jérôme Marty Jérôme Marty 4Diana Mastracci Diana Mastracci 5Happyness Ngonyani Happyness Ngonyani 6Igor Ogashawara Igor Ogashawara 7Anham Salyani Anham Salyani 8Kabindra Sharma Kabindra Sharma 9Neil C. Sims Neil C. Sims 10
  • 1 Indigenous Science, Merida, Mexico
  • 2 CSIRO Land and Water, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
  • 3 Global Science and Technology, Inc., Greenbelt, Maryland, United States
  • 4 International Association for Great Lakes Research, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
  • 5 GEO Indigenous Alliance, Prague, Czechia
  • 6 Bayero University Kano, Kano, Kano, Nigeria
  • 7 Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Berlin, Berlin, Germany
  • 8 Other, Nairobi, Kenya
  • 9 Sikkim University, Gangtok, Sikkim, India
  • 10 CSIRO Environment, Melbourne, Australia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Indigenous Knowledge, observations and understandings of earth processes are not sufficiently included in global Earth Observations. Drawing on the results obtained during a three-day hackathon event, we present evidence, best practices and recommendations to water quality organizations seeking to engage and share information with Indigenous communities. The hackathon event revealed three key findings: First, Indigenous Peoples report precise and accurate observations of changes in various Earth systems, particularly the hydrological cycle. Second, this information can significantly enhance global Outreach and Engagement efforts, aiding in the understanding of hydrological cycle components, water quality, mapping water courses, and monitoring and mitigating the effects of climate change (i.e., floods, droughts, etc.). Third, enabling Indigenous Peoples to contribute their scientific knowledge and utilize Earth Observations is crucial for the protection of other vital components of the water cycle. We addressed crucial questions: What opportunities exist to include Indigenous Knowledge into Earth Observations and what are the main challenges in doing so?

    Keywords: Indigenous Science1, Water quality2, Earth Observations3, Water Monitoring4, Data sovereignty, GEO Indigenous Alliance6, indigenous knowledge7

    Received: 30 Dec 2023; Accepted: 20 Feb 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 López-Maldonado, Anstee, Beth Neely, Marty, Mastracci, Ngonyani, Ogashawara, Salyani, Sharma and C. Sims. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Yolanda López-Maldonado, Indigenous Science, Merida, Mexico

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.