Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) in Interdisciplinary Research and Application: a Critical Review

An interdisciplinary approach is necessary for the sustainable management and governance of renewable natural resources, in which “Local Ecological Knowledge” (LEK), a quintessentially interdisciplinary field, is regarded as an essential source of information. But the effective use of LEK for this purpose would first demand the recognition and correction of the serious limitations of LEK social research. A recent literature analysis by Davis and Ruddle (2010) demonstrated that the basic problems characterising social research on LEK are the use of unsophisticated theories or concepts with often undocumented and non-systematic research designs and methodologies that result in unwarranted or indefensible outcomes. In addition, standards of accountability and transparency must be raised, beginning with the elementary requirement that researchers provide descriptions of research designs and methodologies that enable assessment of the reliability and representativeness of findings, and facilitate comparison, generalisation and evidencebased conclusions. The related issues of the problems inherent in applying an interdisciplinary approach and the manipulation of the publications process to suppress undesirable opinions and research results are examined.