XI ISE Congress, Cusco, PeruIn preparation for the 12th International Society of Ethnobiology Congress, to be held in Tofino, Canada, it is necessary to reflect on the actions taken and questions raised at the 11th ISE Congress held in Cusco, Peru in 2008.

The Indigenous Forum Declaration states "... we urge the members of the International Society of Ethnobiology to continue providing the Indigenous Forum with the space that allows the enrichment of traditional knowledge systems and methods, and to improve the dialogue for the joint search for alternatives to the food and environmental problems of humanity." To that aim the Forum has raised the following questions, in search of responses from scientists and academics:

1. How can scientist help defend colective rights of indigenous people?
2. How can we as scientists communicate better with the authorities?
3. What are the terms of the relationship among the scientific communities and indigenous peoples?
4. Does the research satisfy the needs of the indigenous peoples?
5. How do we sustain indigenous communities in the light of climate change?
6. How can we create a synergy between scientific knowledge and indigenous knowledge, in terms of respect?
7. How can we help scientists to be able to validate within states: the Conventions, Agreements, the Declarations of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of the United Nations, and other international regulations favourable to indigenous peoples?

Questions brought by the scientists to the indigenous delegates:

1. How do indigenous communities want scientists to collaborate with them to carry out good work?
2. Some governments have taken measures and have created registers of medicine; what is the perspective of the indigenous delegates on this?
3. What should be our view of norms or codes of conduct in the indigenous communities?
4. In what ways can we contribute scientific studies to indigenous peoples?

Please take a moment to share your thoughts on these issues by filling out the webform linked below. Your opinion is essential to creating a much-needed dialogue between indigenous peoples and the scientific community as we search for alternatives to the world's biocultural concerns.

In English: Webform http://www.globaldiversityfund.net/Indigenous-Forum-Questions-ISE-2008

En Español: Webform http://www.globaldiversityfund.net/foro-indigena-preguntas-ICE-2008

For more information on ISE and ICE Toffino 2010:
http://www.ethnobiology.net/
http://www.ethnobiology.net/global_coalition/ethics.php
http://www.tbgf.org/ice/