Traditional knowledge

About: Traditional knowledge is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 10825 publications have been published within this topic receiving 202790 citations. The topic is also known as: indigenous knowledge & indigenous knowledge system.

Climate change impact in the Western Himalaya: people’s perception and adaptive strategies

Abstract: The Himalaya represents a vast mountain system and globally valued for its significant role in regulation of global as well as regional climate that has direct impact on biodiversity and ecosystem services crucial for sustenance of millions of people in Himalaya and adjoining areas. However, mountain regions worldwide are impacted by climate change and at the same time represent distinctive area for the assessment of climate related impacts. Climate change impacts in Himalayan region have its implications on food production, natural ecosystems, retreat of glacier, water supply, human and animal health and overall human well being. The livelihood and food security of the people inhabited in region largely depend on climate sensitive sectors i.e. agriculture, livestock, forestry and their interlinkages with each other, and has the potential to break down food and nutritional security as well as livelihood support systems. People’s perception and understanding of climate can be an important asset when it comes to adaptation to climate change impact; however it is not taken into consideration for the development of policy design and implementation of modern mitigation and adaptation strategies by governments and other civil society organizations. The knowledge of local people and farming communities for rural landscape management and sustainable use of bioresources is gaining credence as a key strategy to cope up with the climate change. Therefore, the present study analyzes the indigenous knowledge of local people and their perceptions on climate change, and also documented adaptation approaches at local level in mountain ecosystem of western Himalaya. The study could be useful to policy makers to design appropriate adaptation strategies to cope up with the impacts of climate change.

“Look It, This is how You Know:” Family Forest Walks as a Context for Knowledge-Building About the Natural World

Abstract: This case study focuses on a Native American family's experience on a walk in an urban forest preserve. Drawing on interaction analysis traditions, we analyze video data and transcript data to characterize how learning unfolds in place, in this case an urban forest. We build on this analysis, as well as the work of Indigenous scholars, to theoretically develop walking, reading, and storying land as a methodology for making sense of physical and biological worlds.

The challenge of preparing and equipping science teachers in higher education to integrate scientific and indigenous knowledge systems for learners : the practice of higher education

Abstract: The Revised National Curriculum Statement for the Natural Sciences expects learners to acquire scientific and indigenous knowledge which will enable them to, (1) solve practical problems within and outside the science classroom and (2) 'demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between science and technology, society and the environment' (Department of Education 2002, 10). The contention of this article is that the attainment of these objectives depends teachers' ability to equip their learners with the necessary intellectual skills and that this in turn, depends on the quality of their training at the higher the education level. Further, the paper shows how science teachers have modified their views about indigenous knowledge systems and pedagogical practices after enrolling on a module specifically designed to challenge their essentially mechanistic worldview.

Valorizing the 'Irulas' traditional knowledge of medicinal plants in the Kodiakkarai Reserve Forest, India

Abstract: A mounting body of critical research is raising the credibility of Traditional Knowledge (TK) in scientific studies. These studies have gained credibility because their claims are supported by methods that are repeatable and provide data for quantitative analyses that can be used to assess confidence in the results. The theoretical importance of our study is to test consensus (reliability/replicable) of TK within one ancient culture; the Irulas of the Kodiakkarai Reserve Forest (KRF), India. We calculated relative frequency (RF) and consensus factor (Fic) of TK from 120 Irulas informants knowledgeable of medicinal plants. Our research indicates a high consensus of the Irulas TK concerning medicinal plants. The Irulas revealed a diversity of plants that have medicinal and nutritional utility in their culture and specific ethnotaxa used to treat a variety of illnesses and promote general good health in their communities. Throughout history aboriginal people have been the custodians of bio-diversity and have sustained healthy life-styles in an environmentally sustainable manner. However this knowledge has not been transferred to modern society. We suggest this may be due to the asymmetry between scientific and TK, which demands a new approach that considers the assemblage of TK and scientific knowledge. A greater understanding of TK is beginning to emerge based on our research with both the Irulas and Malasars; they believe that a healthy lifestyle is founded on a healthy environment. These aboriginal groups chose to share this knowledge with society-at-large in order to promote a global lifestyle of health and environmental sustainability.

The Position of Indigenous Knowledge in Canadian Co-management Organizations

Abstract: IntroductionWhat are the realities of "co-management" in regard to First Nations involvement and Indigenous Knowledge? While there certainly is an extensive literature on Indigenous Knowledge and epistemologies and their importance for natural resource management,1 inadequate attention has been given both to the settings within which the integration of Indigenous Knowledge and biological resource science is supposed to take place, and to the actual results of such knowledge integration.Using the "crisis-based" Beverly and Qamanirjuaq Caribou Management Board (BQCMB) as its main case study, this paper will explore the influence of power on the position of Indigenous Knowledge in Canadian co-management organizations. It will analyze how the epistemological frameworks within which co-management boards operate are shaped by structures of power, governance and employment and how these structures affect the ability of Indigenous communities to effectively intervene in the resource management process with their knowledge and concerns.This paper is based on 18 months of fieldwork carried out between 1996 and 1998 in the Dene communities of Tadoule Lake (Northern Manitoba), Fond du Lac (Northern Saskatchewan) and Lutsel K'e (NWT), as well as on attendance at all BQCMB meetings over the same time period. All three Dene communities (respective populations are about 350, 700 and 250) are inaccessible by road for most of the year (save for approximately six weeks of winter ice roads used to ship in heavy supplies), and country foods such as caribou and fish make up a large part of the diet. In addition to participant observation, I conducted structured and unstructured interviews (at times with the help of a translator) with knowledgeable hunters and Elders regarding their experience with the BQCMB, on which all three communities are represented.2 I approached BQCMB meetings through participant observation (I generally tried to be a silent observer of the meetings but at times I was pulled out of my silent state) and through communication with government and community board members during coffee and evening breaks. I also attended Gwich'in Renewable Resource Board meetings in Inuvik and Tsiigethchic.Western/First Nations Understandings of Indigenous KnowledgeEuro-Canadian and First Nations understandings of Indigenous Knowledge, tellingly referred to as Traditional Environmental Knowledge (TEK) in the natural resource management context, are not necessarily congruent. The term "Traditional Environmental Knowledge" became popular in the 1980s when interest in Indigenous ways of knowing (until then only a topic of research in Anthropology, Cultural Ecology, Ethnoscience, etc.) and understanding the environment became more widespread and, in particular, was adopted by international development organizations (see Brokensha et al. 1980). Based on the idea that TEK had been undervalued and could make important contributions to natural resource conservation and management, various TEK working groups were founded in the 1980s (such as the International Conservation Union (IUCN) Traditional Ecological Working Group, etc.). The widespread international recognition of the existence of non-Western environmental knowledge soon led to an increased focus on the existence of such knowledge and its importance for natural resource management within Canada and particularly the Canadian North.Many Western scientists see Indigenous Knowledge as the knowledge Indigenous peoples have of the plants and animals in their environment, including their overall interaction, and give definitions such as this: "TEK is the system of knowledge gained by experience, observation and analysis of natural events that is transmitted among members of a community" (Huntington 1998:66). Parts of this knowledge are further often paralleled with the scientific discipline of ecology. In spite of the problematic nature of the TEK concept some First Nations scholars are also using the term,3 but their definition of its meaning generally differs considerably from the common definition used in natural resource management contexts. …