Bio-Ecological Sensing in Indigenous Governance: Pollinator Stewardship under Seasonal Variability in Maasai Pastoral Landscapes
Policy analysis submitted to the UNFCCC Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP) 2026
Author: Stephanie Zabriskie
ORCID: 0009-0000-9273-1529
Affiliation: Humanculture (Indigenous-led nonprofit organization)
Capacity: Founder and Executive Director
Abstract
In semi-arid pastoral environments where rainfall patterns, flowering cycles, and water availability are increasingly unstable, this system operates through collective observation, seasonal calibration, and customary governance rather than through fixed schedules, external data systems, or technical interventions. Hive placement, harvesting restraint, and ecological protection are coordinated across landscapes in response to environmental thresholds signaled by pollinator behavior and colony condition.
The practice is organized through women-led authority structures that regulate access, timing, and extraction within a broader Indigenous governance framework. Biodiversity continuity functions not as a parallel objective, but as a governing condition required to sustain pollinators, livelihoods, and cultural transmission across seasonal cycles.
Based on repeated field engagement across periods of prolonged drought and ecological stress, this analysis treats Maasai pollinator stewardship as an operational climate adaptation system centered on governance, sensing, and ecological coordination rather than on production or conservation outcomes alone. The paper provides applied insight for policymakers and practitioners working on climate adaptation, biodiversity governance, and Indigenous knowledge systems in arid and semi-arid contexts.
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