Local Knowledge, Indigenous Technical Knowledge, and Disaster Risk Reduction

This chapter explores the significance of local knowledge (LK) and Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK) in advancing disaster risk reduction (DRR), climate adaptation, and community resilience, with particular attention to participatory spatial technologies. Drawing on global and Indian experiences, including the Sundarbans, tribal regions, and coastal belts, it demonstrates how these knowledge systems provide adaptive, place-based strategies for addressing environmental hazards. Far from being static or antiquated, LK and ITK are dynamic epistemologies rooted in generations of lived experience, cultural practice, and ecological observation. The central argument advanced here is that resilience cannot be engineered solely through technocratic solutions but must be nurtured through community participation, cultural continuity, and ethical integration of diverse knowledge traditions. The chapter highlights the transformative role of participatory geographic information systems (PGIS) in fostering geospatial citizenship, enabling communities to influence spatial decision-making, document territorial claims, and enhance disaster preparedness. PGIS allows local actors to move from passive recipients of external data to active producers and interpreters of spatial knowledge. The incorporation of LK and ITK into formal DRR frameworks continues to face barriers, including institutional biases, knowledge hierarchies, and unresolved questions of ownership, representation, and legal protection. Finally, the chapter advocates for hybrid knowledge models, inclusive governance, and ethical, community-driven research that bridges local insights with scientific tools. It identifies future pathways such as co-production of knowledge, digital archiving of indigenous practices, and the decolonisation of disaster governance.