Ancestral Knowledge and Sustainability: Indigenous Anthropization as a Solution to the Global Climate Crisis

Abstract

This research addresses the relevance of ancestral indigenous knowledge as a sustainable alternative for confronting the global climate crisis, highlighting indigenous anthropization as a practice of balancing the use and conservation of natural resources. The study starts from the observation that traditional development models, based on the intensive exploitation of nature, have significantly contributed to the worsening of climate change, making it necessary to seek new perspectives that integrate sustainability and socio-environmental justice. The overall objective of the research is to analyze how indigenous knowledge, through its traditional environmental management practices, can contribute to mitigating climate impacts and building a sustainable development model. The methodology employed is qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive, based on an interdisciplinary literature review involving areas such as environmental law, anthropology, sociology, and environmental sciences. The results show that indigenous human intervention, unlike the dominant predatory logic, promotes biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration, and the maintenance of ecosystem services through practices such as agroforestry systems, fire management, and sustainable land use. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that indigenous territories play a strategic role in environmental protection, although they face challenges related to a lack of institutional recognition and weak guarantees of their rights. It is concluded, therefore, that the appreciation and integration of indigenous knowledge are fundamental to building innovative and sustainable solutions to the climate crisis.