Rethinking Human–Nature Relations Through Indigenous Epistemologies | webinar
Organised by Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery and Biodiversity Network and co-hosted with WildCRU
04 July 2025, 16:15 – 17:30 BST
We invite you to join us in this webinar and Q&A session to rethink conservation through Indigenous knowledge.
Many Indigenous cultures offer a different way of engaging with nature—one based on relationships, respect, and reciprocity. From cultural fire practices that renew ecosystems to seeing animals as kin and teachers, these traditions challenge dominant conservation models that separate humans from nature.
In this webinar, we will discuss and share insights from long-term research with the Kattunayakan people of the Western Ghats in South India. The speaker will explore how their ethical and spiritual relationships with wildlife support coexistence, and how these understandings can reshape conservation. Drawing on ethnographic work in Asia and North America, she’ll show how conversations—rather than top-down approaches—can open space for more just and inclusive environmental futures.
Keynote Speaker
- Dr. Helina Jolly, Assistant Professor at the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont.
IPBES is improving your work with Indigenous and Local Communities, as well as the inclusion of diverse knowledge systems on the assessments. Register for the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IIFBES)
Let’s explore how we can rethink conservation by centering Indigenous knowledge and lived experience.
Photo by Vishruti Saini on Unsplash: view of the Pine Forest in Ooty, located in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu, India. Towering pine trees stretch skyward, this iconic forested landscape in the Western Ghats.