Human–nature relationships through the lens of reciprocity: Insights from Indigenous and local knowledge systems

Irene Teixidor-Toneu; Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares; Ricardo Alvarez Abel; Gantuya Batdelger; Elicia Bell; Sophie Caillon; Mauricio Cantor; Joel E. Correia; Sandra Díaz; Jonathan Fisk; Alexander Greene; Spencer Greening; Simon Hoyte; Raivo Kalle; Gabriela Loayza; Giulia Mattalia; Rommel Montúfar; Jaime Ojeda; Suwichan Phatthanaphraiwan; Ismael Vaccaro; Natalie C. Ban

doi:10.1002/pan3.70036

Human–nature relationships through the lens of reciprocity: Insights from Indigenous and local knowledge systems

Irene Teixidor-Toneu^*
, Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares^*
, Ricardo Alvarez Abel
, Gantuya Batdelger
, Elicia Bell
, Sophie Caillon
, Mauricio Cantor
, Joel E. Correia
, Sandra Díaz
, Jonathan Fisk
, Alexander Greene
, Spencer Greening
, Simon Hoyte
, Raivo Kalle
, Gabriela Loayza
, Giulia Mattalia
, Rommel Montúfar
, Jaime Ojeda
, Suwichan Phatthanaphraiwan
, Ismael Vaccaro

Natalie C. Ban^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › peer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

In the context of climate change, biodiversity decline and social injustice, reciprocity emerges as a way of living and being in this world that holds transformative potential. Concepts of reciprocity vary and are enacted in specific cultural practices grounded in Indigenous and local knowledge systems. This editorial synthesises first-hand evidence of how practising reciprocity can result in positive reciprocal contributions between people and nature. It also offers a theoretical justification of why considering reciprocity can lead to more equitable, inclusive and effective conservation and sustainability policy and practices, contributing to curving the colonial baggage of academic inquiry and development action. Nurturing reciprocal relations between people, especially between academics and Indigenous Peoples and local communities, is a necessary first step to identifying pathways whereby living in harmony with nature can be achieved.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	922-933
Number of pages	12
Journal	People and Nature
Volume	7
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.70036
State	Published - May 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Author(s). People and Nature published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society.

Funding

We dedicate this work to all the knowledge holders, thinkers, philosophers, scholars, friends and grandparents who have taught us about reciprocity. This work is for all of them. We thank each and every one of the reviewers who have generously revised the articles compiled in this Special Feature and the People and Nature editorial office team for their support. I.T.-T. has received financial support from the IRD ANR-CPJ contract number 402299/00 and from the French government under the France 2030 investment plan, as part of the Initiative d'Excellence d'Aix-Marseille Université—A*MIDEX (AMX-22-CPJ-05). Á.F.-L. was supported by a Ramón y Cajal grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (RYC2021-034198-I) and the European Union (ERC, IEK-CHANGES, 101117423). R.K. was supported by the Estonian Research Council (grant agreement no. STP37). J.O. has received support from the ANID/BASAL FB210018 fund. N.C.B. was supported by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the University of Victoria. M.C. received a National Geographic Society grant (NGS-101549R-23) and support from the Long-Term Ecological Research Program PELD-SELA funded by the Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Tecnológico (CNPq 445301/2020-1). We dedicate this work to all the knowledge holders, thinkers, philosophers, scholars, friends and grandparents who have taught us about reciprocity. This work is for all of them. We thank each and every one of the reviewers who have generously revised the articles compiled in this Special Feature and the People and Nature editorial office team for their support. I.T.‐T. has received financial support from the IRD ANR‐CPJ contract number 402299/00 and from the French government under the France 2030 investment plan, as part of the Initiative d'Excellence d'Aix‐Marseille Université—A*MIDEX (AMX‐22‐CPJ‐05). Á.F.‐L. was supported by a Ramón y Cajal grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (RYC2021‐034198‐I) and the European Union (ERC, IEK‐CHANGES, 101117423). R.K. was supported by the Estonian Research Council (grant agreement no. STP37). J.O. has received support from the ANID/BASAL FB210018 fund. N.C.B. was supported by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the University of Victoria. M.C. received a National Geographic Society grant (NGS‐101549R‐23) and support from the Long‐Term Ecological Research Program PELD‐SELA funded by the Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Tecnológico (CNPq 445301/2020‐1).

Funders	Funder number
Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo
European Commission
101117423
FB210018
RYC2021‐034198‐I
Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico	445301/2020-1
Institut de recherche pour le développement	AMX‐22‐CPJ‐05, 402299/00
National Geographic Society	NGS‐101549R‐23
STP37
101117423

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
SDG 13 Climate Action

Keywords

Indigenous and local knowledge
reciprocal relations
reciprocity
social-ecological systems

Access to Document

10.1002/pan3.70036

Cite this

Teixidor-Toneu, I., Fernández-Llamazares, Á., Alvarez Abel, R., Batdelger, G., Bell, E., Caillon, S., Cantor, M., Correia, J. E., Díaz, S., Fisk, J., Greene, A., Greening, S., Hoyte, S., Kalle, R., Loayza, G., Mattalia, G., Montúfar, R., Ojeda, J., Phatthanaphraiwan, S., ... Ban, N. C. (2025). Human–nature relationships through the lens of reciprocity: Insights from Indigenous and local knowledge systems. People and Nature, 7(5), 922-933. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.70036

@article{c48d01d2f56e4ff1b788fab738778c9f,

title = "Human{\textendash}nature relationships through the lens of reciprocity: Insights from Indigenous and local knowledge systems",

abstract = "In the context of climate change, biodiversity decline and social injustice, reciprocity emerges as a way of living and being in this world that holds transformative potential. Concepts of reciprocity vary and are enacted in specific cultural practices grounded in Indigenous and local knowledge systems. This editorial synthesises first-hand evidence of how practising reciprocity can result in positive reciprocal contributions between people and nature. It also offers a theoretical justification of why considering reciprocity can lead to more equitable, inclusive and effective conservation and sustainability policy and practices, contributing to curving the colonial baggage of academic inquiry and development action. Nurturing reciprocal relations between people, especially between academics and Indigenous Peoples and local communities, is a necessary first step to identifying pathways whereby living in harmony with nature can be achieved.",

keywords = "Indigenous and local knowledge, reciprocal relations, reciprocity, social-ecological systems",

author = "Irene Teixidor-Toneu and {\'A}lvaro Fern{\'a}ndez-Llamazares and \{Alvarez Abel\}, Ricardo and Gantuya Batdelger and Elicia Bell and Sophie Caillon and Mauricio Cantor and Correia, \{Joel E.\} and Sandra D{\'i}az and Jonathan Fisk and Alexander Greene and Spencer Greening and Simon Hoyte and Raivo Kalle and Gabriela Loayza and Giulia Mattalia and Rommel Mont{\'u}far and Jaime Ojeda and Suwichan Phatthanaphraiwan and Ismael Vaccaro and Ban, \{Natalie C.\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025 The Author(s). People and Nature published by John Wiley \& Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society.",

year = "2025",

month = may,

doi = "10.1002/pan3.70036",

language = "English",

volume = "7",

pages = "922--933",

journal = "People and Nature",

issn = "2575-8314",

publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd",

number = "5",

}

Teixidor-Toneu, I, Fernández-Llamazares, Á, Alvarez Abel, R, Batdelger, G, Bell, E, Caillon, S, Cantor, M, Correia, JE, Díaz, S, Fisk, J, Greene, A, Greening, S, Hoyte, S, Kalle, R, Loayza, G, Mattalia, G, Montúfar, R, Ojeda, J, Phatthanaphraiwan, S, Vaccaro, I & Ban, NC 2025, 'Human–nature relationships through the lens of reciprocity: Insights from Indigenous and local knowledge systems', People and Nature, vol. 7, no. 5, pp. 922-933. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.70036

TY - JOUR

T1 - Human–nature relationships through the lens of reciprocity

T2 - Insights from Indigenous and local knowledge systems

AU - Teixidor-Toneu, Irene

AU - Fernández-Llamazares, Álvaro

AU - Alvarez Abel, Ricardo

AU - Batdelger, Gantuya

AU - Bell, Elicia

AU - Caillon, Sophie

AU - Cantor, Mauricio

AU - Correia, Joel E.

AU - Díaz, Sandra

AU - Fisk, Jonathan

AU - Greene, Alexander

AU - Greening, Spencer

AU - Hoyte, Simon

AU - Kalle, Raivo

AU - Loayza, Gabriela

AU - Mattalia, Giulia

AU - Montúfar, Rommel

AU - Ojeda, Jaime

AU - Phatthanaphraiwan, Suwichan

AU - Vaccaro, Ismael

AU - Ban, Natalie C.

PY - 2025/5

Y1 - 2025/5

N2 - In the context of climate change, biodiversity decline and social injustice, reciprocity emerges as a way of living and being in this world that holds transformative potential. Concepts of reciprocity vary and are enacted in specific cultural practices grounded in Indigenous and local knowledge systems. This editorial synthesises first-hand evidence of how practising reciprocity can result in positive reciprocal contributions between people and nature. It also offers a theoretical justification of why considering reciprocity can lead to more equitable, inclusive and effective conservation and sustainability policy and practices, contributing to curving the colonial baggage of academic inquiry and development action. Nurturing reciprocal relations between people, especially between academics and Indigenous Peoples and local communities, is a necessary first step to identifying pathways whereby living in harmony with nature can be achieved.

AB - In the context of climate change, biodiversity decline and social injustice, reciprocity emerges as a way of living and being in this world that holds transformative potential. Concepts of reciprocity vary and are enacted in specific cultural practices grounded in Indigenous and local knowledge systems. This editorial synthesises first-hand evidence of how practising reciprocity can result in positive reciprocal contributions between people and nature. It also offers a theoretical justification of why considering reciprocity can lead to more equitable, inclusive and effective conservation and sustainability policy and practices, contributing to curving the colonial baggage of academic inquiry and development action. Nurturing reciprocal relations between people, especially between academics and Indigenous Peoples and local communities, is a necessary first step to identifying pathways whereby living in harmony with nature can be achieved.

KW - Indigenous and local knowledge

KW - reciprocal relations

KW - reciprocity

KW - social-ecological systems

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105005604177

U2 - 10.1002/pan3.70036

DO - 10.1002/pan3.70036

M3 - Editorial

AN - SCOPUS:105005604177

SN - 2575-8314

VL - 7

SP - 922

EP - 933

JO - People and Nature

JF - People and Nature

IS - 5

ER -

Human–nature relationships through the lens of reciprocity: Insights from Indigenous and local knowledge systems

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this