We are all researchers: the co-creation experience of the IV course on social sciences for conservation at the Cocha Cashu Biological Station in Manu National Park, Peru

A groundbreaking co-creation experience at the Cocha Cashu Biological Station in Peru's Manu National Park demonstrated that integrating indigenous and academic knowledge can fundamentally reshape conservation strategies. The 2025 Social Sciences for Conservation Course brought together Matsigenka indigenous youth and non-indigenous students, fostering an epistemic dialogue where all participants became active researchers. Through immersive activities—including forest walks, fieldwork, and analysis of community management documents—the course facilitated the mutual recognition of diverse knowledge systems, leading to a reconfiguration of conservation as a more equitable field. Unlike traditional co-creation models, this process emphasized relational transformation over tangible outputs, highlighting the potential for indigenous perspectives to function as both empirical input and conceptual frameworks in scientific research.

Flores, O. H., Balbín, X., Del Carpio, M. C., Glave, M., Belaúnde, L. E., Semperi, H., Mambiro, E., Italiano, R., Manqueriapa, V., Pérez, H., Tsivo, W., & Flores, C. (2026). We are all researchers: the co-creation experience of the IV course on social sciences for conservation at the Cocha Cashu Biological Station in Manu National Park, Peru. Frontiers in Conservation Science, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcosc.2026.1870220