标题：Is Validation of Indigenous Ecological Knowledge a Disrespectful Process? A Case Study of Traditional Fishing Poisons and Invasive Fish Management from the Wet Tropics, Australia
摘要：Despite the growing recognition of the contribution that indigenous ecological knowledge(IEK) can make to contemporary 'western' science-based natural resource management (NRM), integrationof the two knowledge systems has not reached its full potential in Australia. One explanation is that thereis an implicit requirement for IEK to be validated by western scientific knowledge (SK), which has stalledits application and perpetuated the primacy of SK over IEK. Consequently, there is little experience of IEKvalidation, indigenous peoples' perspectives of the process, and no formal frameworks to achieve mutualand equitable validation of both IEK and SK. In this paper we assess the opportunities and limitations ofvalidation processes using a case study of traditional fishing poisons for invasive fish management in theWet Tropics World Heritage Area of Australia. The study was conducted within a coresearch approachbetween the Aboriginal holders of the IEK, who are among the paper's authors, and science-based biologists.We jointly carried out scientific laboratory trials that demonstrated that fishing poisons are effective atimmobilizing invasive tilapia. Retrospective interviews with indigenous coresearchers showed that theydid not find the experience of validation disrespectful, but instead empowering and necessary for their IEKto be understood and appreciated by scientists and included in NRM. Based on our experiences andknowledge of socialization theory we present a framework for the potential future design of collaborativevalidation processes to facilitate the integration of IEK into mainstream NRM, and the acceptance of SKwithin indigenous communities in Australia
