Abstract

This research is about wetlands as nature-based solution (NBS) in the Global South. It aims to explore the content of gendered traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) around wetlands and also identify forms, pathways and processes through which this gendered TEK can be utilized for policy and action towards restoration, conservation and management of wetlands.

The research is important because local communities in several low income countries depend on and live in close association with wetlands and consequently possess rich relevant TEK. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands recognizes the importance of TEK in wetland protection, but there remains a wide gap between policy and practice, these remaining undocumented and unutilized.

Wetlands are an important NBS that support water sustainability through multiple pathways and given a worsening context of degraded and disappearing wetlands, and water quality and quantity-related challenges in global South, water-related sustainability becomes the key to poverty reduction and sustainable development.

The research will be carried out through a comparative case study analysis based in India where 3 case studies located in diverse geo-climatic and hydro-ecological settings will be explored through an empirical multi-disciplinary methodology combining ethnographic community based research with participatory GIS and other tools. Finally, findings will be validated in neighboring low-income country Bangladesh through stakeholder workshops.