The papers in this volume were selected from presentations made in a number of special sessions on Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), which were held as part of the Common Property Conference, the second annual meeting of the International Association for the Study of Common Property. The meetings were attended by indigenous peoples and specialists in the subject from around the world.

The papers selected for this volume represent a wide range of perspectives on the nature of TEK. They explore the underlying concepts, provide case studies, and confirm once again the importance and, as yet, unrealized potential of TEK in resource and environmental management. The papers reinforce the conviction that TEK can make a major contribution to the delivery of Agenda 21 and to sustainable development. The papers also reinforce the point that indigenous and local peoples have themselves lived in harmony with their environments for many hundreds of years, a relationship that is evident in many of their activities today.