Exploring Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) as an Urgent Action to Combat Climate Change in Turkey

Yıl 2022, , 289 - 306, 08.07.2022

Seyfullah Gül

https://doi.org/10.26650/JGEOG2022-1093425

Öz

The aim of this paper is to determine the role of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) in coping with climate change and adapting to projected climate changes in the case of Turkey. In order to accomplish this research objective, we have set out to present TEK examples on themes such as (1) local climate information, (2) understanding climate change, (3) coping with climate change and developing adaptation strategies, and (4) correct management and protection of natural resources. This paper uses the qualitative research design of ethnographic research. The data were collected using qualitative data collection methods such as observations and interviews between 2018-2021, with the data analysis using the descriptive analysis technique. The purposeful sampling method of convenience sampling was used to select the places to be observed and the study group. This paper reveals the local communities to have developed TEK practices and strategies against climate change and the problems that arise as a result in Turkey. Integrating these TEK examples with scientific knowledge in Turkey is believed to be able to play an important role in climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Local community, Local climate information, Adaptation strategies

Türkiye’de İklim Değişikliğiyle Mücadelede Acil Bir Eylem Olarak Geleneksel Ekolojik Bilgiyi (GEB) Keşfetmek

Öz

Bu makalenin amacı, Türkiye örneğinde iklim değişikliği ile başa çıkmada ve öngörülen iklim değişikliklerine uyum sağlamada Geleneksel Ekolojik Bilginin (GEB) rolünü belirlemektir. Bu amaca ulaşmak için Türkiye’de GEB’in; (1) yerel iklim bilgisi, (2) iklim değişikliğini anlama, (3) iklim değişikliğiyle başa çıkma ve uyum stratejileri geliştirme, (4) doğal kaynakların doğru yönetimi ve korunması gibi konulardaki rolü nitel araştırma desenlerinden kültür analizi (etnografya) yöntemiyle belgelenmeye ve karakterize edilmeye çalışılmıştır. Çalışma verileri, 2018-2021 yıllarını kapsayan bir süreçte gözlem ve görüşme gibi nitel veri toplama yöntemleriyle toplanmış ve elde edilen verilerin analizinde betimsel analiz tekniği kullanılmıştır. Gözlem yapılacak yerlerin ve çalışma grubunun seçiminde ise amaçlı örnekleme yöntemlerinden kolay ulaşılabilir durum örneklemesi kullanılmıştır. Çalışma, Türkiye’de iklim değişikliği ve iklim değişikliği sonucu ortaya çıkan sorunlara karşı yerel halkın yöresel farklılıklar gösterebilen GEB uygulama ve stratejileri geliştirdiğini ortaya koymaktadır. Türkiye’de GEB örneklerinin bilimsel bilgiye entegre edilmesinin iklim değişikliğiyle başa çıkma ve iklim değişikliğine uyum stratejileri geliştirmede önemli bir rol oynayabileceğine inanılmaktadır. 

Anahtar Kelimeler

Local community, Local climate information, Adaptation strategies

Kaynakça

• Arı, Y., & Derinöz, B. (2011). How not to manage a wetland? The case of Lake Marmara (Manisa) with a cultural ecological perspective. Turkish Journal of Geographical Sciences, 9(1), 41-60. google scholar
• Berkes, F. (1993). Traditional ecological knowledge in perspective. In J.T. Inglis (Eds), Traditional ecological knowledge: Concepts and cases (1-9). Ottawa: Canadian Museum of Nature/International Develop-ment Research Centre. Retrieved from https://books.google.com.tr/ books?hl=tr&lr=&id=J2CNS64AFvsC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq. google scholar
• Berkes, F. (1999). Sacred Ecology: Traditional ecological knowledge and resource management. Philadelphia and London: Taylor and Francis. google scholar
• Berkes, F., & Jolly, D. (2001). Adapting to climate change: social-eco-logical resilience in a Canadian western Arctic community. Conser-vation Ecology, 5(2), 18. Retrieved from http://www.consecol.org/ vol5/iss2/art18/ google scholar
• Berkes, F. (2009). Indigenous ways of knowing and the study of envi-ronmental change. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 39(4), 151-156. https://doi.org/10.1080/03014220909510568 google scholar
• Bird, D.W., Bird, R. B., & Parker, C.H. (2005). Aboriginal burning re-gimes and hunting strategies in Australia’s Western Desert. Human ecology, 33(4), 443-464. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/ article/10.1007/s10745-005-5155-0 google scholar
• Büyükşahin, F.Y. (2017). The importance of conservation traditional ecological knowledge in The Cultural and Environmental Context: The Case of Sankeçili Yoruks (Doctoral dissertation, Institute of Social Sciences Department of Social Environmental Sciences, Ankara). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12575/37691 google scholar
• Cook, J., Oreskes, N., Doran, P.T., Anderegg, W.R, Verheggen, B., Mai-bach, E.W., ..., & Rice, K. (2016). Consensus on consensus: a syn-thesis of consensus estimates on human-caused global warming. Environmental Research Letters, 11(4), 1-7. Retrieved from https:// iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/11/4/048002/pdf google scholar
• Çevre ve Kültür Değerlerini Koruma ve Tanıtma Vakfı (ÇEKÜL). (2007). Muğla’s historical heritage comes to life again in master hands. Retrieved from https://www.cekulvakfi.org.tr/haber/mugl-anin- tarihi-mirasi-usta-ellerde-yeniden-hayat-buluyor google scholar
• de Echeverria, V.R.W., & Thornton, T.F. (2019). Using traditional eco-logical knowledge to understand and adapt to climate and biodiver-sity change on the Pacific coast of North America. Ambio, 48(12), 1447-1469. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01218-6 google scholar
• Dolbear, A. (1897). The cricket as a thermometer. The American Natu-ralist, 31 (371), 970-971. Retrieved from https://www.journals. uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/276739 google scholar
• Egeru, A. (2012). Role of indigenous knowledge in climate change ad-aptation: a case study of the teso Subregion, eastern Uganda. Indian Journal Traditional Knowlage, 11(2), 217-224. Retrieved from http://nopr.niscair.res.in/handle/123456789/13849 google scholar
• Elias, D., Rungmanee, S., & Cruz, I. (2005). The knowledge that saved the sea gypsies. A World of Science, 3(2), 20-23. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/SC/pdf/ sc_links_awos_seaGypsies_EN.pdf google scholar
• Forster, P.M., Maycock, A.C., McKenna, C.M., & Smith, C.J. (2020). Latest climate models confirm need for urgent mitigation. Nature Climate Change, 10(1), 7-10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-019-0660-0 google scholar
• Gillies, C. (2019). Traditional Aboriginal Burning in modern day land management. Landcare Australia 13. Retrieved from https://land-careaustralia.org.au/project/traditional-aboriginal-burning-mod- ern-day-land-management/ google scholar
• Gomez-Baggethun, E., Corbera, E., & Reyes-Garüa, V (2013). Tradi-tional ecological knowledge and global environmental change: re-search findings and policy implications. Ecology and Society, 18(4), 1-12. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC4471132/pdf/emss-63648.pdf google scholar
• Gottesfeld, L.M.J. (1994). Aboriginal burning for vegetation manage-ment in northwest British Columbia. Human Ecology 22(2), 171188. Retrieved from DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02169038 google scholar
• Granderson, A.A. (2017). The role of traditional knowledge in building adaptive capacity for climate change: Perspectives from Vanuatu. Weather, Climate, and Society, 9(3), 545-561. https://doi. org/10.1175/WCAS-D-16-0094.1 google scholar
• Gül, S. (2020). Unwritten laws in Kızılırmak delta: The role of tradi-tional ecological knowledge in the protection of a wetland. Interna-tional Journal of Geography and Geography Education, 42, 303327. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32003/igge.725686 google scholar
• Gürbüz, S., & Şahin, F. (2014). Research methods in social sciences. Ankara: Seçkin Publishing. google scholar
• Hatfield, S.C., Marino, E., Whyte, K.P., Dello, K.D., & Mote ,P.W. (2018). Indian time: time, seasonality, and culture in traditional eco-logical knowledge of climate change. Ecological Processes, 7(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13717-018-0136-6. google scholar
• Hosen, N., Nakamura, H., & Hamzah, A. (2020). Adaptation to climate change: Does traditional ecological knowledge hold the key?. Sus-tainability, 12(2), 676. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12020676 google scholar
• Ignatowski, J.A., & Rosales, J. (2013). Identifying the exposure of two subsistence villages in Alaska to climate change using traditional ecological knowledge. Climatic change, 121(2), 285-299. https:// doi.org/10.1007/s10584-013-0883-4 google scholar
• Ingty, T. (2017). High mountain communities and climate change: ad-aptation, traditional ecological knowledge, and institutions. Cli-matic Change, 145(1), 41-55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-017- 2080-3 google scholar
• Lefale, P. F. (2010). Ua ‘afa le Aso Stormy weather today: traditional ecological knowledge of weather and climate. The Samoa experi-ence. Climatic change, 100(2), 317-335. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10584-009-9722-z google scholar
• Lemi, T. (2019). The Role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) for Climate Change Adaptation. International Journal of Environ-mental Sciences & Natural Resources, 18(1), 28-31. https://doi. org/10.19080/IJESNR.2019.18.555980 google scholar
• Mason, J. (2002). Qualitative researching (Second Edition). London: Sage Publications. google scholar
• McMillen, H., Ticktin, T., & Springer, H.K. (2017). The future is behind us: Traditional ecological knowledge and resilience over time on Hawai'i Island. Regional Environmental Change, 17(2), 579-592. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-016-1032-1 google scholar
• Measham T.G., Preston, B.L., Smith, T.F., Brooke, C., Gorddard, R., Withycombe, G., & Morrison, C. (2011). Adapting to climate change through local municipal planning: barriers and challenges. Mitig Adapt Strateg Glob Chang 16:889-909. https://doi. org/10.1007/s11027-011-9301-2 google scholar
• Miles, M, B., & Huberman, A.M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded Sourcebook. (2nd ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Re-trieved from https://vivauniversity.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/ milesandhuberman1994.pdf google scholar
• Parker, A., Grossman, Z., Whitesell, E., Stephenson, B., Williams, T., Hardison, P., Ballew, L., Burnham, B., & Klosterman, R. (2016). Climate change and Pacific Rim indigenous nations. Washington, Olympia: Northwest Indian Applied Research Institute (NIARI). Retrieved from https://www.terrain.org/articles/30/Climate_ Change_Pacific_Rim_Indigenous_Nations_2006.pdf google scholar
• Parry, M. L., Canziani, O. F., Palutikof, J. P., van der Linden, P. J., & Hanson, C. E. (Eds.). (2007). Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerabil-ity. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Re-port of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cam-bridge: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from https://www. ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/03/ar4_wg2_full_report.pdf google scholar
• Pielke, R., Prins, G., Rayner, S., & Sarewitz, D. (2007). Climate change 2007: lifting the taboo on adaptation. Nature, 445, 597-598. https:// doi.org/10.1038/445597a google scholar
• Riedlinger, D., & Berkes, F. (2001). Contributions of traditional knowl-edge to understanding climate change in the Canadian Arctic. Polar record, 37(203), 315-328. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0032247400017058 google scholar
• Riseth, J.A.,. T0mmervik, H, Helander-Renvall, E., Labba, N., Johans-son, C., Malnes, E., Jarle, W.B., Jonsson, C., Pohjola, V., Sarri, L.E., Schanche, A., & Callaghan, T.V (2011). Sami traditional ecological knowledge as a guide to science: snow, ice and reindeer pasture facing climate change. The Polar Record, 47(3), 202. https://doi. org/10.1017/S0032247410000434 google scholar
• Robinson, J.B., & Herbert, D. (2001). Integrating climate change and sustainable development. International Journal of Global Environ-mental Issues, 1(2), 130-149. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJGEN- VI.2001.000974 google scholar
• Salick, J., & Ross, N. (2009). Traditional peoples and climate change. Global Environmental Change, 19(2), 137-139. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2009.01.004 google scholar
• Soroye, P., Newbold, T., & Kerr, J. (2020). Climate change contributes to widespread declines among bumble bees across continents. Sci-ence, 367(6478), 685-688. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aax8591 google scholar
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2011). United Nations framework convention on climate change (Climate change science - the status of climate change science today). Retrieved from https://unfccc.int/files/press/backgrounders/application/pdf/ press_factsh_science.pdf google scholar
• Türkeş M. (2008). What is climate change? Basic definition, causes, observed and predicted results of climate change. İklim Değişikliği ve Çevre, 1, 26-37. Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/ idec/issue/36965/450247 google scholar
• Türkeş, M. (2020). Impacts of climate change on food security and ag-ricultural production: a scientific review. Aegean Geographical Journal, 29(1), 125-149. google scholar
• Türkes, M., Turp, M. T., An, N., Ozturk, T., & Kurnaz, M. L. (2020). Impacts of climate change on precipitation climatology and vari-ability in Turkey, In N. Harmancioglu and D. Altinbilek (Eds.), Wa-ter Resources of Turkey (pp. 467-491), Springer, Cham,. https://doi. org/10.1007/978-3-030-11729-0_14 google scholar
• URL 1: Zeytinlik, Sirya-Artvin. Retrieved from http://www.karalahana. com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/oruclu.jpg google scholar
• Vinyeta, K., & Lynn, K. (2013). Exploring the role of traditional eco-logical knowledge in climate change initiatives. Portland: U.S. De-partment of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. https://doi.org/10.2737/PNW-GTR-879 google scholar
• WWF (2021). Global clımate change and Turkey. Retrieved from https://www.wwf.org.tr/ne_yapiyoruz/iklim_degisikligi_ve_enerji/ iklim_degisikligi/kuresel_iklim_degisikligi_ve_turkiye/ google scholar
• Yıldırım, A., & Şimşek, H. (1999). Qualitative research methods in the social sciences (11th Edition). Ankara: Seçkin publishing. google scholar