Vergotine, Glynnis;
Mazigo, Almas;
Molebatsi, Palesa;
Ramsarup, Presha;
Mayega, Jovitha;
McCowan, Tristan;
(2025)
Co-creating climate knowledge: informal networks, local innovation, and ecosystem restoration in coastal Tanzania.
Local Environment
10.1080/13549839.2025.2579585.
(In press).
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Abstract
This study investigates the role of informal knowledge networks in climate adaptation and ecosystem restoration in coastal Tanzania. Focusing on coral reef and mangrove restoration efforts in Somanga village, the research applies the Shaxson et al. knowledge co-creation framework to analyse how local actors serve as intermediaries, translators, brokers, and innovators. Data collected through photovoice and interviews reveal that knowledge is not merely transferred but is re-contextualised through embodied practice, metaphor and social learning. These processes facilitate the synthesis of scientific and indigenous knowledge, generating hybrid practices tailored to local ecological and cultural contexts. Informal networks, sustained through trust, shared memory and collective action, emerge as key infrastructures for technical innovation and social transformation. Findings highlight increased inclusion of women and youth, shifts in local leadership dynamics, and the development of community-driven pedagogies. Rather than acting as recipients of externally defined solutions, communities mobilise knowledge through participatory processes that embed adaptation within local realities. This research contributes to broader debates on epistemic justice, place-based resilience, and polycentric governance, emphasising the centrality of informal knowledge systems for navigating socio-ecological change.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Co-creating climate knowledge: informal networks, local innovation, and ecosystem restoration in coastal Tanzania |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1080/13549839.2025.2579585 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2025.2579585 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2025 University of the Witwatersrand, Centre for Researching Education and Labour (REAL). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. |
| Keywords: | Knowledge co-production; informal knowledge systems; community-led adaptation; participatory action research; ecosystem restoration |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Education, Practice and Society |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10219214 |
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