Integrating Ecosystem Services and Indigenous Knowledge for Sustainable Resource Management and Policy in Ethiopia

Abstract

Indigenous Knowledge (IK) is the traditional wisdom used to manage and sustain ecosystem services (ES). This review paper presents the integration of ES and IK for sustainable natural resource management and policy in Ethiopia, suggesting that despite increased research in recent years, there is a lack of uptake at the policy and program implementation levels. A total of 75 studies published between 2015 and 2025 were systematically reviewed, covering an 11-year sequential scope following PRISMA 2020 guidelines and including articles from the Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, African Journal Online and Indigenous Knowledge Documentation Centre (IKDC) databases. The findings show that provisioning services dominate the literature (67.4%), followed by regulating (18.3%), cultural (9.2%), and supporting services (5.1%). IK documented across 22 ethnic groups demonstrated important contributions to biodiversity conservation, sustainable agriculture, forest management, and water resource management. However, only 26.8% of the reviewed studies successfully integrated IK into ES frameworks. Policy content analysis tool (PCAT) of 23 national documents showed weak institutional support for IK integration, with an average integration score of only 5.8 out of 20. Major barriers include limited policy implementation, institutional fragmentation, and negative perceptions toward IK. Successful integration cases were strongly associated with community ownership, participatory monitoring, legal recognition, and long-term funding support. This review is important because it systematically shows that IK delivers confirmed environmental and livelihood benefits over this 11-year time frame. It highlights the urgent need for stronger policy frameworks, inclusive governance, and recognition of IK to improve ecosystem conservation and sustainable resource management in Ethiopia.