EWA - The Ethno-ornithology World Archive

Birds inspire people, their cultures and faiths. More than any other wild animals, these vocal, colourful and charismatic creatures fuel human imagination. Myths, stories and religious practices connected to birds are engrained in many cultures, from saluting magpies to relying on vultures in religious burial practices of the Tibetan plateau. At the same time, birds provide essential services to communities and the environment they share with them. Birds may act as pollinators or seed dispersers, but also eat farmland pests, benefiting humans.

The presence and abundance of different kinds of birds can also act as an indicator for the state of the natural environment that they inhabit. Because of their interest to people, there are many more volunteer birdwatchers than their are volunteers to document the fortunes of any other creatures. Through 'Citizen Science' approaches involving thousands of volunteers, we are therefore able to monitor changes in bird distributions and numbers on a national scale in ways that would be inconceivable for other animals or plants. Birds are therefore of great importance to conservation and biodiversity research. The environmental and cultural significance of birds can be integrated together to serve communities and their cultures, aid conservation research, and preserve both cultural and biological diversity.

Many people possess knowledge of birds that is not rooted in scientific, but in cultural understanding of the world around them. This knowledge is largely undocumented, but is no less valid than scientific knowledge. Being able to share that knowledge can bring inspiration to communities in the realisations that their knowledge, and birds, are important. It can be empowering for people who otherwise might not have a voice in the world, to have the value of their local or traditional knowledge recognised and valued by a global community. But opportunities for such recognition are few, and for Traditional and Local Ecological Knowledge (TEK and LEK), do not exist on the Internet. Individual communities already engage with local conservation organisations and get involved in community conservation projects. A means of sharing the local lore and information can be crucial for successful community involvement, and to build local pride in nature projects.

The Internet is recognised as the most powerful means to access a global audience and share information on a global scale. Its potential is constantly growing. Working directly with our Project Partner, Birdlife International, the largest conservation collaborative in the world with partners in 126 countries, and especially its Local Empowerment Programme, the EWA project aims to connect local communities and groups of researchers by creating an open database of cultural knowledge about birds, free to access by individuals, communities and researchers. We will work with communities, as well as local organisations to help preserve the rich cultural diversity present in local stories, myths, or names of birds etc. By encouraging individuals, community leaders or local organisations to submit data such as stories, recordings of songs, or photographs of works of art or cultural artefacts, we will build an archive that will help to bring out the rich cultural and natural heritage inherent in many communities.

By linking cultural and biological information, especially through the web-based Handbook of Birds Alive (Lynx Edicions Project Partner) we will achieve a greater integration between conservationists and local people on-the-ground, including greater understanding of the cultures of all stakeholders, including indigenous communities, and to promote the celebration of the cultural diversity of people living in a close relationship with nature. The project is timely in relation to the project partnership, but it is also urgent because TEK and LEK, which is transmitted orally, tends to be held by ageing people and declines daily.

The primary objective for the work proposed is to advance understanding of cultural knowledges related to birds, what role they play in community cohesion and involvement with nature, and how to promote the dialogue between science-based and culture-based environmental perceptions through the development of a publicly-accessible internet-based archive of culturally-relevant material related to birds (EWA - the Ethno-ornithology World Archive).

EWA will achieve this through public (individual and community-based) involvement in workshops at key stages in its development, through their guided contribution to the archive, through workshops, seminars etc. held within countries of origination to promote EWA and assist people with access and contribution to the system, through encouraging people locally to think of their own ways to use the EWA system, including originating their own research questions or learning from the Traditional and Local Ecological Knowledges of other communities.

Inherent and implicit to the process of public engagement with EWA is the understanding that a global community (represented by the Internet and global conservation agencies) values the local and traditional knowledge of all people (including those in Western cultures). Engagement of communities in ethno-ornithological research has the capacity to engage them in wider ethno-biological and conservation projects, with future projects benefiting from the interest and engagement created by EWA. Nevertheless, the logistical framework needed for the exchange of data between areas of different focus (e.g. not birds) is not yet developed, and its development is outside the scope of this application.

We identify seven distinct key areas where this research is expected to have impact.

1) the engagement of communities in ethno-ornithology research can help improve their connection with the natural world; either through reconnecting with natural knowledge which has been marginalised in recently industrialised communities, or greater engagement in local conservation initiatives which can bring substantial fulfilment and improvement in the quality of life for people directly affected by conservation management decisions.

2) the improved understanding of how people engage with nature on personal and community levels will help bring greater integration between local communities and the research community. Outreach to conservation science community can help elevate the status of traditional, often verbal knowledge held by individuals and communities and promote its use in engaging local conservation initiatives. Ultimately, both conservationists and local communities will be able to engage in a meaningful dialogue which will, e.g. help resolve human-wildlife conflict.

3) EWA can contribute to peacebuilding by documenting examples such as Leshem in Israel.

4) through the demonstration that Traditional and Local Ecological Knowledge is valued by a global community, represented by the Internet, national and international conservation agencies, researchers and scholars, EWA will give value locally to knowledge of nature and thence to nature itself. This is essential for conservation.

5) there is an urgent need to capture TEK and LEK, which is transmitted orally and typically held by the elderly, before it is lost.

6) environmental impact: the involvement of communities at grass-roots level is essential for the delivery of effective conservation action, and conservation is essential to maintain biodiversity and the functioning ecosystems upon which all life depends.

7) EWA will help the public understanding of science. Through improved communication and encouragement of the scientific community to engage with local communities in a culturally relevant way, conservation scientists can reach out not only to people already interested in science reporting, but also to members of the public who prefer a more culturally-relevant narrative