Showing papers on "Traditional knowledge published in 1993"

Indigenous Knowledge for Biodiversity Conservation

Abstract: Indigenous peoples with a historical continuity of resource-use practices often possess a broad knowledge base of the behavior of complex ecological systems in their own localities. This knowledge has accumulated through a long series of observations transmitted from generation to generation. Such ''diachronic'' observations can be of great value and complement the ''synchronic''observations on which western science is based. Where indigenous peoples have depended, for long periods of time, on local environments for the provision of a variety of resources, they have developed a stake in conserving, and in some cases, enhancing, biodiversity. They are aware that biological diversity is a crucial factor in generating the ecological services and natural resources on which they depend. Some indigenous groups manipulate the local landscape to augment its heterogeneity, and some have been found to be motivated to restore biodiversity in degraded landscapes. Their practices for the conservation of biodiversity were grounded in a series of rules of thumb which are apparently arrived at through a trial and error process over a long historical time period. This implies that their knowledge base is indefinite and their implementation involves an intimate relationship with the belief system. Such knowledge is difficult for western science to understand. It is vital, however, that the value of the knowledge-practice-belief complex of indigenous peoples relating to conservation of biodiversity is fully recognized if ecosystems and biodiversity are to be managed sustainably. Conserving this knowledge would be most appropriately accomplished through promoting the community-based resource-management systems of indigenous peoples.

Traditional ecological knowledge : wisdom for sustainable development

Abstract: Journal of Political Ecology Vol.2 1995 43 and Sir Miles Lampson's unpublished diaries. He also conducted personal interviews, albeit on a fairly limited scale, with knowledgeable actors. Additional personal interviews might have provided him with a slightly different interpretation of matters insofar as local perceptions of foreign control is concerned. All told, this well-crafted book is an excellent addition to the literature on politicaleconomic change in Egypt. It also provides invaluable lessons and sets a fine, high standard for students of political-economic change in general.

The law of the mother : protecting indigenous peoples in protected areas

Abstract: Compiled by WWF in collaboration with IUCN, this document offers a comprehensive view of how to design and implement conservation projects to provide for local peoples, wildlife, and the land itself. Written by scientists, environmentalists, and representatives of NGOs working on every continent, the essays in this collection also note areas of continuing conflict, such as issues of ownership, but also describe how "creative communities" are experimenting with innovative solutions to the political, ecological, and human challenges that protected area managers must overcome.

Sandy fields traditional farming for water conservation in China

Abstract: TROUGHOUT more than 40 centuries of agricultural experience, farmers in China have developed a variety of practices well adapted to local conditions. These methods, a part of the indigenous knowledge of the local cultures, often are designed to alter environmental conditions at the micro-scale to meet the physiological requirements of crops. The need is to provide reliable production by minimizing the risk of crop failure. In addition, it is necessary to maintain the long-term productivity of the soil itself. Recently, interest in such indigenous knowledge and experience has increased with the recognition that the value of such practices is not merely idiosyncratic. These experiences and skills have implications and applications beyond the local culture or environment. Successful agronomic innovations based on indigenous knowledge and experience include alley cropping in Africa and raised field farming in highland Peru ( 9, 11 ). Many professionals in the field of agricultural development are now applying the underlying principles of such local experiences to more general environmental and agricultural problems. At the very moment that scientists increasingly are becoming aware of the value …

Farmers’ indigenous knowledge of crop pests and their damage in western Kenya

Abstract: In smallholder farming in Africa, the literature on agricultural development emphasizes the need for research institutions to understand indigenous knowledge systems in a bid to adapt their technologies to local farmers’ situations and enhance the acceptance and adoption of these technologies. In a study of farmers’ knowledge of crop pests in a project in Oyugis and Kendu Bay in western Kenya, farmers were knowledgeable about. a large number of crop pests, such as birds, weeds, wild animals such as porcupines, and insects such as stem borers. However, activities to control the pests, especially stem borers, were minimal or non‐existent. Farmers who had been exposed to sources of information about improved farming were better informed about pests, but made little effort to control them.

The Barefoot Expert: The Interface of Computerized Knowledge Systems and Indigenous Knowledge Systems

Abstract: From the Publisher: It may seem a strange match--AI and crop irrigation or AI and the Serengeti lions but researchers in Artifical Intelligence envision expert systems as a new technology for capturing the knowledge and reasoning process of experts in agriculture, wildlife management, and many other fields. These computer programs have a relevance for developing nations that desire to close the gap between themselves and the richer nations of the world. Despite the value and appeal of expert systems for economic and technological development, Schoenhoff discloses how this technology reflects the Western preoccupation with literacy and rationality. When expert systems are introduced into developing nations, they must interact with persons who reason and articulate their knowledge in ways unfamiliar to high-tech cultures. Knowledge, particularly in poor and and traditional communities, may be expressed in proverbs rather than propositions or in folklore rather than formulas. Drawing upon diverse disicplines, the author explores whether such indigenous knowledge can be incorporated into the formal language and artificial rationality of the computer-and the imperative for working toward this incorporation.

Biotechnology, Indigenous Peoples, and Intellectual Property Rights

Abstract: This report examines intellectual property right in pharmaceuticals in a particular context, namely, medicinal products and processes derived from the biodiversity resources of areas inhabited by indigenous peoples. This report discusses the international law regarding intellectual property rights in traditional knowledge and the American laws regarding traditional knowledge.

Indigenous knowledge systems for sustainable development: the case of pest control by traditional paddy farmers in Sri Lanka

Abstract: Sustainable development is emerging as an alternative to conventional development, which has apparently failed to alleviate poverty in the Third World countries. Sustainable development links the maintenance of ecosystem directly witb the sustainability of resources. Therefore, any indgenous knowledge that helps people to deal with their environment over centuries has potential value for the sustainable development. This study explores the Sri Lankan paddy farmers' indigenous knowledge of pest control, and points out its relevance to sustainable development. It also suggests that modern technology should be integrated with the indigenous knowledge. This approach should lead to environmentally sound, economically viable and effective technologies that could form the basis of sustainable development.

Threads of common knowledge.

Abstract: Indigenous knowledge is examined as it is affected by development and scientific exploration. The indigenous culture of shamanism which originated in northern and southeast Asia is a "political and religious technique for managing societies through rituals myths and world views." There is respect for the natural environment and community life as a social common good. This world view is still practiced by many in Latin America and in Colombia specifically. Colombian shamanism has an environmental accounting system but the Brazilian government has established its own system of land tenure and political representation which does not adequately represent shamanism. In 1992 a conference was held in the Philippines by the International Institute for Rural Reconstruction and IDRC on sustainable development and indigenous knowledge. The link between the two is necessary. Unfortunately there are already examples in the Philippines of loss of traditional crop diversity after the introduction of modern farming techniques and new crop varieties. An attempt was made to collect species but without proper identification. Opposition was expressed to the preservation of wilderness preserves; the desire was to allow indigenous people to maintain their homeland and use their time-tested sustainable resource management strategies. Property rights were also discussed during the conference. Of particular concern was the protection of knowledge rights about biological diversity or pharmaceutical properties of indigenous plant species. The original owners and keepers of the knowledge must retain access and control. The research gaps were identified and found to be expansive. Reference was made to a study of Mexican Indian children who knew 138 plant species while non-Indian children knew only 37. Sometimes there is conflict of interest where foresters prefer timber forests and farmers desire fuelwood supplies and fodder and grazing land which is provided by shrubland. Information and research priorities will be examined and an action plan developed in future months.

Recognizing traditional environmental knowledge

Abstract: Johnson spoke about traditional environmental knowledge, the reasons behind its growing recognition, and current research in this field during an interview in Ottawa early this year. She is now Research Director of the Dene Cultural Institute in Canada's Northwest Territories. The Institute works with Dene communities to preserve and promote this Canadian aboriginal group's culture, through research and education.

The social challenge of biodiversity conservation

Abstract: ;Contents: Introduction; Opportunities for Collaboration between the Global Environment Facility and Non-Governmental Organizations; Indigenous Peoples and Biodiversity Protection; and Adapting Social Impact Assessment to Protected Area Development.

Use of medicinal plants: Kenya

Abstract: More than 80 per cent of the people living in Africa depend on plantand animal-based medicines to satisfy their health-care requirements. In Kenya, 90 per cent of the population have used medicinal plants at least once. Among the main reasons for this dependence on medicinal plant resources are rural people's lack of access to modern medical services, the high costs of these services and medicines, and the holistic and cultural values that rural communities attach to traditional plant cures.

Knowledge, change and the preservation of progress.

Abstract: Respect for traditional knowledge is urges as a source of learning to understand where societies originate. A Western understanding of traditional cultural knowledge must go beyond an understanding of fundamental values that give meaning; there must be a change in the cultural perception of development. There operates a complex interaction among artistic and spiritual practices language and communication patterns of social reproduction practices in community governance and management of natural and human resources. There are contradictions because cultural expression is a diverse combination of individual and collective capacities to manage the social political economic and environmental aspects of life. Quick solutions sometimes lead to romanticized notions of cultural knowledge rather than being systematic and historical and part of the cultural milieu. From the ethnic perspective traditional knowledge is seen as "indigenous" or an expression of "curious" traditions and practices of native peoples which are different from ones own perspective. Viewing traditional knowledge in this fashion detaches it from rites languages and community practices. When reduced to a utilitarian economic notion traditional knowledge is separated from the lessons drawn from survival strategies and practices of "materially impoverished peoples." Sometimes the application of this knowledge bypasses recognition of the part played by traditional peoples. People in the North or industrialized countries neglect the human and sociocultural basis of knowledge even though there have been attempts to reclaim cultural knowledge as part of development efforts. There remain many questions about how to better understand traditional knowledge how to preserve it in a meaningful way and how to apply it to sustain development. There is no consensus about what traditional knowledge is and how it is "genuinely" expressed. The definition of traditional knowledge is as a body of information about values and customs that guide interaction among people and between people and nature in a systematic way. The "blueprint for remodeling the world order" is still based on a Western notion of correctness science and progress. The threat among developing countries is how to preserve the shared knowledge of human learning that has been handed down for generations.

Agricultural Information and Indigenous Knowledge in Peasant Economy

Abstract: Agricultural information and indigenous knowledge were examined among peasants of the central Ethiopian highlands. Measures of central tendency, logical explanation, descriptive analysis, problem solving tests, scoring and logit analysis were performed. The findings indicate that information from extension agents tends to favour peasant associations or farmers that are closer to cities, service cooperatives, politicians and extension agents. Despite variations in the sources and access to information, the extent to which information is subjected to conscious processing determines its value to decision-makers. Furthermore, the value of information is greatly influenced by indigenous knowledge or social experience and schooling. Farmers who are beneficiaries of projects and friends with politicians received higher scores on production problems compared to the control group. Production knowledge is found to be locale-specific and varies by age. Production knowledge is greatly influenced by experience, index of awareness, proximity to infrastructural facilities and sources of information. The findings also indicate that education enables households to relate production problems to experience and outside information. Development strategies could facilitate the attainment of food self-sufficiency if the contents and delivery mechanisms of agricultural information are equitable, and indigenous production knowledge of peasants is integrated with secular and extension education.

Knowledge or Prejudice? Bridging the Communications Gap Between Centre and Periphery

Abstract: The topic discussed below does not relate to the anthropological and sociological discourse alone. Rather it is intended as an assessment of the general problem of communication within societies, on micro and macro levels alike. There is no need to substantiate the claim that inadequate communication, poor information flow within societies, or even purposefully distorted information, contribute significantly to the conflicts within societies, and also internationally. The discussion is based on the following assumptions, all of which have been subject to debate for some time: (1) the concept of 'knowledge' in academic debate is a useful analytical term, but what it entails should be given a critical consideration; (2) the term 'knowledge' has different meanings depending on the context where it is applied (e.g. academic debate on a certain issue is different from the debate on the same issue at the village level); (3) the academic conceptualization of knowledge is constantly in danger of becoming alienated from the general interest; (4) owing to the ever increasing specialization of disciplines, knowledge is being fragmented and dispersed into countless subfields; (5) so-called 'local knowledge' or 'indigenous knowledge' should be taken as a subject of serious investigation on a larger scale than has been done so far; (6) the national language policy has serious implications for the efficiency of communication and thus on the communication of knowledge. Although many more issues could be raised, within the space given I have to limit myself to those listed above.

Introducing Agronomy Students to the Concepts of Indigenous and Cultural Knowledge.

Abstract: Indigenous knowledge is the knowledge of the practitioner based on generations of experience. While not scientific in origin, it is usually valid. When we ignore either indigenous knowledge or cultural knowledge, research and extension programs cannot fully succeed. Failure to recognize and utilize this knowledge is in part due to our training and heritage. Unless we educate the next generation of agronomists o consider indigenous knowledge, it will continue to be ignored, and help is available to agronomists to collect this information. Successful cooperative activities between etbnoscientists (those who study indigenous knowledge) and agronomists have been undertaken. New centers to address these issues are appearing on university campuses. Teachers need to give students examples of successes and failures to serve as an example in their future planning. Such efforts can lead to the development of agricultural systems that will be agronomically, environmentally, and economically sound, and because they recognize more than just the scientific viewpoint, will be more likely accepted from the human perspective of the practitioner. F have always integrated environmental, social, religious, political, and family values into agricultural production decisions. Sometimes we understand and appreciate these influences. At other times, they are so much a part of us that we do not even recognize their influence on our actions. The knowledge of the practitioner based on years, indeed generations, of experience is referred to as indigenous knowledge. This experience is more often based on trial and error than on application of scientific methods. We are the beneficiaries of, and to some degree the victims of, the way that we were trained. Most of us were not trained to include indigenous or cultural knowledge concepts in our thinking or planning. Agronomists and other agricultural scientists have often systematically excluded indigenous knowledge from their thinking. As a result, we have often failed to share the value of indigenous knowledge with our students. As long as we operate within our own society we automatically include cultural information in our thinking. But if we move out of our culture, for example while on a foreign assignment, we must consciously consider cultural knowledge. Only if we begin to actively train the next generation of scientists to give forethought to indigenous and cultural knowledge will they incorporate this knowledge in their planning. WHY DO WE IGNORE INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE? We often fail to see indigenous knowledge because we were never trained to look for it. Furthermore, it is often a hassle to seek out indigenous knowledge in order to include it in our thinking and implementation. We present three historic examples to show what happens when indigenous or cultural knowledge is not understood or is overlooked: colonial attitudes toward (i) race, (ii) gender roles, and (iii) native language skills. Colonial Attitudes toward Race Europeans colonized much of Africa. Warren (1987) describes how early anthropological scientists taught there were three main divisions of human beings: white--the civilized people; yellow, red, or brown--the barbarians; and black--the primitive or savage people. In the universities, scholars taught that whites were superior. Browns, yellows, and reds were a bit slower, but had potential. The black adult, in terms of intelligence and thinking skills, could never equal the ability of a white child. With this attitude it never occurred to the Europeans that they could learn from the Africans. Rather than attempting to study local management systems, they set about educating Africans in European ways. The early colonizers identified the brightest black African youth at a very early age and placed them in local boarding schools. Eventually, the very best were sent off to Europe to be \"truly\" educated. By the time they returned to the village, they were poorly educated in their own culture. They had been physically absent from their home village at the age when indigenous knowledge was routinely passed on. Warren (1987) further points out that in their writings, Europeans often claimed natives were not capable of attaining any degree of intelligence, in spite of the fact that these so-called barbarian Africans often did extremely well in European colleges. Today societies may be slowly overcoming their prejudices based on skin color. But we still tend to ignore indigenous knowledge. Department of Agronomy, Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA 50010-1010. Journal paper no. 94, College of Agric., Iowa State Univ. Received 2 May 1991. *Corresponding author. Published in J. Nat. Resour. Life Sci. Educ. 22:22-26 (1993). Abbreviations: CGIAR, Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research; ICRISAT, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics; CIKARD, The Center for Indigenous Knowledge in Agriculture and Rural Development; PFI, Practical Farmers of Iowa. 22 ̄ J. Nat. Resour. Life Sci. Educ., Vol. 22, no. 1, 1993 Colonial Attitudes toward Gender Roles Rogers (1979) points out that the British colonial system was dominated by males. British women were barred from overseas work in colonial offices. In most cases, only African boys were sent to local boarding schools and later many were sent to Europe for further education. This male-dominated structure failed to recognize that male and female \"roles\" in African societies were often very different from the gender roles of European societies. For example, she described a vegetable production project in Africa in which a local man was hired to set up and operate a demonstration vegetable garden, even though in the local culture women were responsible for vegetable production. By excluding women from the project, they did not reach the appropriate target audience and therefore the project failed. In this example the problem was not so much a failure to consider indigenous knowledge as it was a failure to recognize cultural traditions. The two are often intertwined, and unless we recognize both, programs will progress slowly if at all. Unless we consider both in project development, the very definition of success of a project may be inappropriate. Colonial Attitudes toward Native Language Skills Warren (1980) relates that Sir Alfred Ellis wrote a book about the people of the Gold Coast in 1887. It became one of the principal guidebooks for European government officials and teachers who were sent to Africa for the next 40 yr. Ellis suggested that the native people had very limited communication skills: \"There is, as is commonly the case with language of the lower races, a great paucity of abstract terms. One word has to serve a variety of meanings.\" Ellis further stated that the local languages contained only 350 to 400 words and their language prevented them from counting past 10. It was easy to conclude that individuals with such limited language skills would not be capable of understanding the complex ideas of the European world. Warren (1980) notes that Johann Christaller of the Basel Evangelical Missionary Society worked in the same area as Ellis. In 1881, 6 yr prior to Ellis’ publication, Christaller published a dictionary of the Asaite and Fante languages. In 1875, he had published a book on the grammar of these two languages. The dictionary contained 4000 words and the grammer described the sentence structure of the languages. With their biases, Ellis and his associates had failed to recognize that the local tribes used a tonal language. Where European ears heard one word with many meanings, the indigenous people heard several words each with a clearly understood meaning. The vocabulary described by Christaller contained 10 times the words as the vocabulary described by Ellis. When the colonial rulers went to Africa, their association of intelligence with skin color, their failure to recognize sex role differences, and their frequent inability to comprehend the nuances of a tonal language prevented them from understanding the world around them. It is easy to point fingers at these colonial rulers. Is there a message to be learned by today’s scientists? Are we continuing similar errors today? OBTAINING INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE TODAY Richards (1980) describes a joint project conducted the Centre for Overseas Pest Research and the University of Ibadan in Nigeria on the variegated grasshopper (Zonocerus pp.). It was a two-pronged study carried out cooperatively by entomologists and by ethnoscientists. Ethnoscientists study indigenous knowledge. This joint study produced four categories of knowledge. Some knowledge discovered by the entomologists was not known to the local people. For example, the entomologists gathered valuable data about egg mortality under various temperature conditions. They discovered chemical attractants valuable in insect control and documented the activity of the grasshopper during those parts of the year when it migrated out of the local area. The local indigenous people knew none of this information. Secondly, some knowledge discovered by entomologists was related to the indigenous knowledge of the local people. The local producers knew that conditions favorable for the growth of a weed known locally as \"Akintola\" (Eupatorium odoratun) also promoted grasshopper development. However, they did not know the specific environmental conditions that stimulated the development of both the weed and the grasshopper. The entomologists discovered this information. Thirdly, some knowledge obtained by the entomologists was similar to the indigenous knowledge. Farmers could describe typical egg laying sites, food preferences, and the impact of grasshoppers on casava (Manihot esculenta Crantz). This knowledge was confirmed by the entomologists. Farmers are more likely to understand the activities of animals that are visible to the naked eye, such as grasshoppers. The activities of smaller animals, mi