Climate change is already reducing global agricultural productivity, with recent research published in Nature finding that rising temperatures decrease global production of staple crops. As governments and international organizations develop policies to address these threats to food security, Indigenous knowledge systems—refined over millennia—are proving useful in building climate resilience and maintaining sustainable food systems.

Mariaelena Huambachano, an Indigenous scholar and associate professor of environmental humanities – Native and Indigenous studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, is pioneering the integration of these ancestral knowledge systems into global climate policy. Through her work with UNESCO and the United Nations, she is elevating Indigenous perspectives as essential components of environmental decision-making, demonstrating how traditional practices offer critical solutions for sustainable food systems and climate adaptation.

Huambachano has been selected as a coordinating lead author for the Second Global Assessment at UNESCO's Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), chosen from over 300 global applications. IPBES assesses the state of biodiversity and ecosystem services worldwide, providing scientific evidence to inform policy decisions—similar to the role the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change plays for climate policy. Additionally, she joins the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification Science-Policy Interface team, where she will help draft the Global Land Outlook report supporting COP17 in Mongolia next year. The 17th Conference of the Parties will bring together 197 nations in a crucial global forum to accelerate action against desertification, land degradation and drought.

Her book "Recovering Our Ancestral Foodways: Indigenous Traditions as a Recipe for Living Well" recently earned an honorable mention for the 2025 Best First Book Award from the Native American Indigenous Studies Association, adding to its 2024 Gourmand International Award for Best Food and Indigenous People Book in the World.

"I feel much gratitude that an important report like the Second Global Assessment will have an entire chapter dedicated to Indigenous knowledge and biodiversity conservation," Huambachano says. "We've fought hard to highlight the value and the contribution of Indigenous knowledge."

For Huambachano, a Quechua scholar from Peru with deep cultural and professional ties to Aotearoa New Zealand, the work carries profound responsibility.

"I accepted it with humility and a profound sense of responsibility," she says. "I'm accountable to the communities that I closely work with—to Māori, to the Quechua, to the Onondaga communities and others—ensuring their voices are heard and respected."

The appointments mark a significant step forward in incorporating Indigenous perspectives into global climate policy. Huambachano's research, based on over 10 years of fieldwork with Quechua and Māori communities, demonstrates how Indigenous knowledge systems offer practical solutions for climate resilience and sustainable food systems.

"My goal is to bridge Indigenous knowledge and Western science through collaboration, mutual respect, and forward-thinking approaches—so that we can thrive together as a collective," Huambachano says.