Confronting forest‐dweller local ecological knowledge and environmental DNA measurements of biodiversity

Abstract In the face of global changes and the biodiversity crisis, Local Ecological Knowledge of Indigenous communities is increasingly valued for aligning conservation policies with the needs of local communities and enriching conservation strategies through the synergy of diverse knowledge systems. To assess whether conservation policies relying on biodiversity metrics integrate the interconnectedness between nature and Indigenous communities, we evaluated the congruence between standardised biodiversity measurements obtained through environmental DNA (eDNA) and Indigenous Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK). We selected 19 sampling sites along the upper Oyapock River in French Guiana. We collected eDNA from the water to inventory fish and game species, and we conducted biodiversity perception surveys with anglers and hunters from the Wayãpi Indigenous group to collect LEK associated with each site. Across the studied area, Wayãpi LEK presented different pictures of biodiversity compared to standardised biodiversity assessments. This comparative analysis demonstrates that Wayãpi LEK not only reflects species distribution but also encompasses diverse place‐based obligations and relationships. This underscores the need to integrate LEK into conservation policies to promote equitable and sustainable environmental decision‐making. This can be achieved by encouraging participatory processes that incorporate diverse knowledge systems, enabling the identification of local conservation challenges and the determination of the most suitable compromises. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.