Lena Yanina Estrada Añokazi presents today 12/09/2018 the PhD thesis "Sovereignty of Traditional Indigenous Knowledge in the Colombian Amazon - The Andoke People of Aduche" directed by Professor Xavier Alvarez from the UNESCO Chair on Sustainability of the UPC.
The traditional knowledge of our indigenous peoples has allowed them to balance and preserve the environment; it is related to cultural, social, environmental, political, economic and historical aspects that, all together, contribute to the proper management of biodiversity and represent a strategic value in one's development and in the whole of humanity.
The research is carried out in the Amazon region, considered as a strategic area and necessary for the world, having a great wealth of natural resources; where, at the same time, there are traditional systems based on mechanisms of government and control not yet fully known, sacred sites that represent centers of ceremonies and spiritual centers to which we are to give great respect, since they are an important part of ourindigenous peoples’ cultural identity.
It presents an indigenous perspective, from my status as part of the Uitoto people, around the protection of traditional knowledge, conservation, use of biodiversity and the importance of cultural diversity in society for environmental preservation.These components are inherent to our communities because they touch the very life, being and feeling of indigenous peoples. In this context, I reflect on the history, organization and management of the environment of theAndoke people of Aduche, as an example of a people who have achieved their cultural survival, guaranteeing, through their traditional knowledge, the conservation of nature and cooperation with its own sustainable production activity. I analyze the tools that are the basis of legal protection of indigenous traditional knowledge and factors that are part of the spaces in the construction of identities within multicultural nations, such as Colombia, in this case.
Finally, from the research I deduct the matter of sovereignty and organization in the cultural life, the protection of the communitarian spaces and practices, as alternatives for the protection of the collective property, the biodiversity, the local development, the complete survival of our peoples from the foundation of an indigenous vision and the construction of tools that respect and are consistent with this vision; because, what is at stake is the most valuable of our communities, our knowledge, our language, our understanding of the world and the phenomena that surround us, ultimately the legacy that will allow our next generations to continue to recognize each other as different peoples, indigenous peoples.
Place: Aula C1-002, Campus Nord UPC.
The Doctoral Studies Committee has counted the votes and in accordance with Article 14.7 of Royal Decree 99/2011 of 28 January, which regulates official doctoral degree courses, has decided to award a mark of: Excellent Cum Laude
To the doctoral thesis:Soberania del conocimiento tradicional en la Amazonia colombiana - El pueblo andoke de Aduche Doctoral candidate: LENA YANINA ESTRADA ASITO Date of defence: 12-09-2018
