Including Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) in Mangrove Conservation & Restoration. A Best-Practice Guide for Practitioners and Researchers

Abstract

A guide to help mangrove researchers and practitioners include local ecological knowledge in their projects. Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) is the knowledge, practices, and beliefs gained through extensive personal observation of and interaction with local ecosystems which is shared among local resource users and is typically handed down through generations of local inhabitants, often indigenous. In a first of its kind study, the guide provides a greater understanding into how researchers have included LEK about mangroves specifically and provides best practices for engaging with and harnessing the power of LEK in mangrove restoration and conservation. It also features more than twenty case studies of mangrove projects engaging LEK around the world.