Tracking Change: Traditional Knowledge in Watershed Governance

We build and share knowledge about the sustainability of three of the world’s largest freshwater ecosystems.

Fishers have been tracking change in the same places, in the same ways, using the same signs & signals for many generations. Such traditional knowledge is key to our understanding of many kinds of issues from resource development, to climate change, and other land uses. This tracking of change is not simply a technical process; people watch, listen, learn, and communicate about change because they care about the health of the land and the health of their communities.

We invite you to explore this website and to learn more about how local and Indigenous communities in the Mackenzie, Amazon, and Mekong Basins are Tracking Change.

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Key Project Indicators

We target 12 indicators to document and mobilize local and traditional knowledge (LTK). View the summary of our research by clicking “View Our Findings” below

View Our Findings

A Global Family

We are one team representing over 100 academics, graduate students, and Indigenous organizations from around the world.

Indigenous Partners

Learn more about the Indigenous organizations that play an essential role in community-led projects and activities of Tracking Change.

Academics

Our Academic team leads all efforts, working with communities to spearhead global research projects!

Graduate Students

Our graduate students play a critical role in supporting the communities we work with and research activities!

View Our Team

Wisdom From Indigenous Elders

“Water is the most important thing in our communities. Trying to protect is so important to our land and to our people. Not one person can say they can live without water – we all need it. We have to protect it for our future generations. We have to try our best to protect our water for us and our land.”

Chief Lynette TsakozaProphet River First Nation

“Our Elders taught us to respect our lands and what it provides for us, in Dene we say “nuhech’alanie,” the life path that all of us walk on. We are taught those ways from a young age and carry on those ways for the rest of our lives.”

Bert HermaEchodh

“It was good to see the youth interacting with the older generations. It’s important that the traditional teachings continue to be transferred from generation to generation in the proper way!”

Chief Roland WillsonWest Moberly First Nation

Building And Sharing Knowledge

We create opportunities for expanding knowledge about the sustainability of major freshwater ecosystems.

In The Classroom

Lesson Plans for NWT and Alberta Secondary Science Classrooms based on extensive research with Indigenous peoples and local communities in the Mackenzie River Basin.

Youth Engagement

There has been one consistent message from the Elders – we must involve youth. Project partners emphasized the importance of this in all aspects of our research.

Publications

Discover a variety of publications that highlight the work of Tracking Change. This includes journal publications, lesson plans, newsletters, local and traditional knowledge, and more.