The Role of Indigenous Knowledge in Achieving SDGs and Climate Action

Indigenous knowledge offers proven, place-based solutions for sustainability and climate resilience. This chapter examines how such knowledge advances the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with emphasis on Zero Hunger, Clean Water and Sanitation, Climate Action, and Life on Land. It focuses on Himalayan communities that manage water and food systems through agroforestry and glacier management. Practices include glacier grafting, the creation of small artificial glaciers that store winter runoff and release it in warmer months, and integrated tree crop farming that improves soil fertility, reduces erosion, and stabilises yields. Using recent community case material, it assesses outcomes for water security, biodiversity, and adaptive capacity under glacier retreat and rainfall variability. We also identify barriers that limit impact and scale, including marginalisation, loss of traditional practice, and weak policy recognition. The chapter outlines practical pathways to integrate Indigenous knowledge into national and global frameworks: legal recognition and participation in decision-making, co-production of evidence with communities, targeted capacity building, and finance for community-led implementation and monitoring. Empowering Indigenous institutions and safeguarding knowledge rights can accelerate equitable climate adaptation while delivering measurable progress across SDG targets.