Indigenous knowledge for climate action is not just a powerful idea, it is a living legacy that continues to guide communities in navigating environmental challenges. At Climate Intel, we had the opportunity to speak with Raka A. Sangma, a conservation sociologist and disaster risk expert from Tura, Garo Hills in Meghalaya. In this insightful conversation, Raka takes us through his personal journey, rooted in nature and indigenous wisdom, while laying out a blueprint for reimagining disaster preparedness in ecologically sensitive regions.
Drawing on field experience, academic insight, and lived cultural realities, Raka brings forward a compelling case for integrating indigenous knowledge for climate action into modern policymaking. Through his reflections, we explore the challenges, solutions, and the deep human connections that underscore climate resilience.
Raka’s journey into environmental sciences and disaster management began in the hills of Meghalaya. “I live in Tura Garo Hills and I wake up early in the morning through the calls of hull elephants every day,” he shares, setting the scene for his childhood steeped in biodiversity and tradition.
His early life was marked by a close relationship with nature, where medicinal herbs and edible plants were part of everyday living. “When I go for family outings, picnicking, food is available such as edible herbs or fruits, anywhere we go. As a child, if I’d get a scrape on my knee, some sort of medicine would be there,” he recounts.
An environmental science class in the eighth grade became a turning point. “I think the first environmental science course I took was when I was in class eight, and after that I was just stuck with it,” Raka recalls. The fascination only deepened with time.
However, the real catalyst came with the devastating floods of 2014 in Garo Hills. “I got to volunteer, for relief and recovery work. I thought, I am learning about environmental sciences, I am learning about climate change but such disasters are already happening.” This experience led him to pursue his masters in disaster management at TISS, recognising the urgent need to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and ground realities.
Additionally, Raka highlights the complexity of traditional practices. “Our people, they have always been living in close harmony with nature, But at the same time, some of the traditional ways of farming, like the shifting cultivation here is rampant, it was kind of always clashing.” This tension became an impetus for exploring how indigenous knowledge for climate action can be adapted without erasing cultural identities.
Barriers to Conservation: Challenges in Implementing Community-Based Projects in Northeast India
In ecologically sensitive areas like Northeast India, implementing conservation projects is a complicated affair. Raka outlines multiple layers of challenges, beginning with historical distrust. “A lot of projects have come way, way before. Maybe some have succeeded but, it never actually worked out in these areas.”
The residual effect of failed initiatives has bred scepticism. “Even though new projects are coming in with new ideas, it’s on the back of their minds that projects had come before but never worked out.”
A key barrier lies in the lack of culturally sensitive assessments. “Before starting any project in such areas, if you are not doing a proper assessment to understand what the problem is, what the situation is, is it culturally ingrained or is it something which has occurred due to modernity, all these challenges remain,” says Raka.
Raka stresses the importance of aligning multiple stakeholders. “All the stakeholders, let it be the people who the project implementers are working for, let it be the funding agencies, all have to be considered.” Often, misalignment in goals and expectations leads to friction.
Skipping stakeholder mapping is a recipe for disaster. “If the implementing agencies… are also just trying to get the targets done… without first doing a proper assessment… then the issues will arise.”
Once trust is lost, rebuilding it is no easy feat. “The trust issues, once broken, it’s really hard to build,” he warns. This underscores the need for long-term engagement, honesty, and humility.
Raka suggests that policy must be informed by lived experience. “Policymakers should get involved on the ground, they have to understand it. Then, there will be familiarity when they’re working on a policy.”
Climate-Resilient Water Management in the Brahmaputra Valley
Discussing the Brahmaputra Valley, Raka presents a striking view on indigenous knowledge for climate action as it relates to water management. “Climate smart agricultural practices, climate smart water management, these are just fancy words for indigenous people doing their own thing, learning from nature, growing with nature,” he says.
In communities that have co-evolved with rivers and monsoons, adaptation is intuitive. “They have come up with certain practices, which are simple as they come. But they really work.” These traditional solutions have endured over centuries, informed by generational observation.
He notes a shift in scientific recognition of this wisdom. “Even the scientific society is now able to understand that what they’re doing actually works.” This marks a promising convergence between indigenous traditions and scientific frameworks, offering new potential for co-created solutions.
“Traditional ecological knowledge has a place in the larger fight against climate change in strengthening resilience of the communities,” he affirms.
Rethinking Preparedness: Overlooked Elements in Disaster Planning
When disaster preparedness is discussed, grey infrastructure often takes centre stage. But Raka believes that this approach sometimes may miss the mark. “When we think about preparedness, we think about… grey infrastructure. But that’s not always the case.”
Instead, he advocates for ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR), which utilizes the natural services provided by ecosystems to reduce disaster risk and improve community resilience. “The concept of ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction is under the umbrella of nature-based solutions,” he says.
Raka urges for collaboration between disaster agencies and ecological experts. “Disaster management as a sector has to work in tandem with forest departments, with conservation organizations, so that it also understands the role of ecology and building resilience.”
He also draws attention to mental health, often overlooked in recovery efforts. “One very serious thing that we are overlooking is mental health and trauma. Normalizing the victim’s experiences during floods, cyclones is not the way to go.”
This connects closely with the growing concern around climate-induced stress, as explored in our blog on eco-anxiety, where we delve into how environmental challenges impact mental well-being.
Another blind spot is environmental recovery. “Not just lives and infrastructures are affected, but also forests or mangroves for that matter,” Raka explains. These ecological systems are frontline protectors against disasters and deserve focused attention during recovery.
Moreover, he reiterates the value of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). “There’s this plant species, Clerodendrum (east india glorybower), when the stalk of the flower is long, it means that year there won’t be any storm… when it’s short, they’re predicting a storm.” These observational insights, though not yet codified in mainstream science, offer valuable clues about environmental rhythms.
Integrating Indigenous Wisdom with Policy for Resilient Futures
Raka outlines a vision where indigenous knowledge for climate action is no longer a peripheral concept, but guidance. “If it’s just policies, if it’s just top-down approach, then there is a disconnectedness,” he suggests, advocating a bottom-up approach instead.
“Policies can never be one size fits all. Our issues, our situations are different from people living in the coast.” His call is clear: policy must be plural, adaptive, and inclusive of local contexts.
Raka offers a powerful example of traditional climate predictions: “If a bird is perched high up in the tender branches, that means that year there won’t be any storm. But if they’re nesting near the big trunks, it is predicted that there would be a huge storm.”
He also shares the story of the Living Root Bridges. “Those are mostly practiced by the Khasi tribe in Meghalaya. It’s called the Living Root Bridges,” he says. “Using the roots of the Ficus elastica tree, these bridges have developed into very sturdy bridges. They have trained them with bamboo by themselves using passed-on knowledge from generations to generations. It’s still being practiced till date. They’re training new bridges, and the old ones are being preserved and cared for properly.”
They’re not just a cultural heritage or a tourist attraction today, but a living example of climate-adaptive infrastructure.
Such indigenous systems, when blended with modern scientific tools, can enrich the accuracy and relevance of climate strategies. “By incorporating, acknowledging, and respecting indigenous knowledge, policies can be adapted into the system much, much easier.”
This highlights how indigenous knowledge for climate action is not a relic of the past it is living, evolving, and remarkably resilient.
Youth Networks and Rooted Action: A New Generation Rising
As we look ahead, Raka believes the future of climate resilience will be shaped not just by institutions or policies, but by the youth who choose to engage deeply and act with purpose.
“Indian Youth Climate Network really pushed me in the right direction,” he shares. “It played a really, really huge role in what I’m pursuing right now, it directed me on the right path.” His journey highlights how powerful youth networks can be in building climate leadership.
But global awareness alone isn’t enough. “I learned about the global ecological and climate crisis but then I questioned myself , what about the problems at my roots?” he reflects. “What about the communities in Garo Hills in Meghalaya? What kind of issues are there?” This turning inward, toward local realities, became the cornerstone of his climate consciousness.
So what can the youth do today? His answer is clear and grounded: “Get involved.”
“Ultimately, if you want to start to change something, then you will have to begin to start from your roots. It’s very, very important for the youth to get involved and understand the issues at their roots.”
While today’s youth are more tech-savvy than ever, with conversations dominated by AI, data tools, and innovation, Raka offers a vital caution. “Without getting involved with the communities, without getting to understand the problem, then all this technological development will be a huge chasm,” he warns. “When you first build and try to implement, it won’t fit, basically.”
His own path reflects a commitment to immersive learning. “I took maybe six to seven months of my time after I did my master’s, came back home,” he says. “I just traveled extensively all across the Garo Hills, trying to understand what problems exist.” It was only after this in-depth exploration that he began working again, with clarity, compassion, and conviction.
Through rooted research, lived experience, and community trust, Raka embodies the very resilience he advocates. His message to the youth is a resounding invitation, not just to innovate, but to listen, learn, and lead from the ground up.