Biocultural diversity refers to the dynamic interrelationship between the Earth’sbiological, cultural and linguistic diversity (Maffi2007). Proponents of the conceptespouse an ‘inextricable’ link between these three forms of diversity, drawing oninsights mostly from anthropology, ethnobiology, ethnoecology and human ecology (Maffi2005,2007; Posey1999). Biocultural diversity draws strength from the factthat biodiversity-rich regions of the world are also rich in cultural and linguisticdiversities (Gorenflo et al.2012). This co-occurrence indicates strong interlinkagesbetween human communities and their environment. Indeed, communities adapt toand shape their environments and the kinds of biodiversity that can thrive in themthrough their cultural practices and traditional knowledge (Cocks2010; Usher2000).Consequently, biodiversity-rich regions such as Amazonia and Borneo once roman-ticised as pristine are now recognised as culturally influenced landscapes (Barkeret al.2017; Heckenberger et al.2007; Levis et al.2017; Roosevelt2013; Wartmannand Purves2018).A key component of biocultural diversity is traditional knowledge. Traditionalknowledge is the ‘knowledge and know-how accumulated across generations, andrenewed by each new generation, which guide human societies in their innumer-able interactions with their surrounding environment’ (Nakashima et al.2012: 27).AccordingtoHoude(2007),traditionalknowledgeontheenvironmentishexadimen-sional: (i) it helps in the identification, classification and naming of the environmentand its resources, (ii) facilitates landscape management, (iii) provides an ethicalframework linking beliefs with actions, (iv) offers an understanding on the pastand present state of the environment, (v) shapes cultural identity, and (vi) providescosmological underpinnings for human–nature interactions. Traditional knowledgeis interlinked with languages that act as the carriers of both traditional knowledgeand cultural values (Maffi et al.1999; Unasho2013). Therefore, the loss of languagesescalates theloss of traditional knowledge, leadingtothebreakdownof human-natureties at the landscape level.