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In recent years, Indigenous perspectives have gained recognition in academia and spaces like the Conference of the Parties for Climate Change. Central to this agenda is the defense of forests, water, animals, and resources in response to the global surge in extractive activities. In Argentina, where our work is based, mining projects tied to the Energy Transition are expanding, sparking a contested narrative on resources. Here, Indigenous water and soil management techniques -such as terrace farming and llama herding- are maintained by Indigenous quechua communitites who manage fragile resources under severe conditions of high altitudes and aridity. This traditional ecological knowledge is locally understood through the Andean concept of Uyway/Uywaña[1]or mutual up-bringing, that reflects a worldview where humans do not dominate nature; instead, there is a network of reciprocity and negotiations among humans, animals, plants, and natural entities like mountains and rivers. Uywaña, extends to all life forms, where people and other beings engage in affection and care. Guided by these concepts, we worked collaboratively with Indigenous communities in Cusi Cusi, located in the arid High Andean plateau of northwest Argentina, where a complex agricultural system evolved between 3,800 and 4,300 meters during two thousand years until present times. Specific and transgenerational activities aimed at promoting soil fertility - e.g. use of organic fertilizers, burning, the use of agricultural terraces. Landscape Archaeology, allowed us to assess the long story of agrarian practices. Furthermore, in this region there is evidence of a very ancient practice of wetland creation and management. To this day, local families actively manage and maintain these wetlands, many of which have been sustained for centuries. In this frame, the Andes is a key geographic and economic region in Latin America, where increasing demands over raw materials (i.e. minerals) required for the renewable energy transition are clashing with ecological dynamics and other forms of subsistence-focused land use as the one above-mentioned. By analyzing long-term food security and land management practices, it is possible to find ways to enhance land use diversification, combat desertification, and rehabilitate degraded ecosystems. Such efforts address food security challenges, navigating economic and ecological sustainability amid human-induced climate change. By doing so, our goal is to build a dialogue between traditional ecological knowledge and science, with the purpose of enhancing Indigenous governance in policy-making and environmental justice.

[1] Quechua and Aymara language

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