Indigenous Knowledge and Development
Monitor, 1993 Indigenous Knowledge and Development
Monitor, 1993
D. Michael Warren 1991. **Using Indigenous Knowledge in Agricultural Development**. World Bank Discussion Paper No. 127. The World Bank, l8l8 H Street N.W., Washington D.C. 20433' USA. 46 pp. $6.95. This paper reviews three types of project scenarios: projects where local knowledge provided a better approach to managing natural resources than the proposed new technologies, projects that inadvertently ignored indigenous structures, and projects whose success at meeting their objectives can be linked to the deliberate incorporation of indigenous knowledge.
Richard E. Leakey and L. Jan Slikkerveer (eds) 1991. **Origins and Development of Agriculture in East Africa: The Ethnosystems Approach to the Study of Early Food Production in Kenya**. Studies in Technology and Social Change No. l9. 302 pp. $20.00 (plus $3.00 postage). Checks in U.S. currency should be made out to Iowa State University and mailed with the order to CIKARD, 3l8 Curtiss Hall, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 500ll, USA. The 20 contributors to these conference proceedings represent the fields of anthropology, palynology, geography, agricultural history, ethno-archaeology, extension science, botany, and plant breeding. Papers explore the origins of food production in Kenya through ethno-archaeology and the study of contemporary indigenous agricultural knowledge systems in East Africa.
Evelyn Mathias-Mundy, Olivia Muchena, Gerard McKiernan, and Paul Mundy 1992. **Indigenous Technical Knowledge of Private Tree Management: A Bibliographic Report**. Bibliographies in Technology and Social Change No. 7. l75 pp. $18.00 (plus $3.00 for postage). Checks in U.S. currency should be made out to Iowa State University and mailed with the order to CIKARD, 3l8 Curtiss Hall, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 500ll USA. This bibliographic study and report was prepared at CIKARD under contract with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The report gives an overview of indigenous technical knowledge on private tree management and discusses how it might be applied in development programmes. It focusses on practices in development countries.
Oluwayomi David Atte 1992. **Indigenous Local Knowledge as a Key to Local Level Development: Possibilities, Constraints and Planning Issues**. Studies in Technology and Social Change No. 20. 60 pp. $8.00 (plus $3.00 for postage). Checks in U.S. currency should be made out to Iowa State University and mailed with the order to CIKARD, 3l8 Curtiss, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 500ll USA. This monograph surveys the literature on indigenous knowledge in the African context, particularly as it relates to local-level self-reliant development.
D.M. Warren 1992. **Preliminary Analysis of Indigenous Soil Classification and Management Systems in Four Ecozones of Nigeria**. Nigeria, ARCIK/NISER, in collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) 28 pp.
D. Michael Warren, L. Jan Slikkerveer and David Brokensha (eds) 1993. **Indigenous Knowledge Systems: the Cultural Dimension of Development**. International Library of Development and Indigenous Knowledge. ISBN 0-7103-0411-0. This book contains 33 chapters presenting different aspects of indigenous knowledge, as well as a section entitled 'International institutions and indigenous knowledge'. The book is the first volume in the series The International Library of Development and Indigenous Knowledge, which will present studies that examine the relationship between indigenous knowledge and development policies and practice. Enquiries about this and subsequent volumes should be directed to: Kegan Paul International Ltd., P.O. Box 256, 118 Bedford Court Mansions, Bedford Avenue, London WC1B 3SW, United Kingdom. Tel: +44-71-580-5511. Fax: +44-71-436-0899.
Edvard Hviding and Graham B.K. Baines. **Fisheries Management in the Pacific: Tradition and the Challenges of Development in Marovo, Solomon Islands**. UNRISD Discussion Paper. UNRISD, Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland. The authors address the following question: can traditional resource management systems remain viable in the face of the modernization and commercialization of production systems, the increasing levels of resource exploitation caused by population pressures and integration into market systems, and the changes in social relations which these transitions imply? The authors conclude that some form of community management based on customary marine tenure is not only viable, but also the best option for the management of lagoon and near-shore marine resources.
Krishna B. Ghimire. **Parks and People: Livelihood Issues in National Parks Management in Thailand and Madagascar**. UNRISD Discussion Paper. UNRISD, Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland. The author asserts that the present approach to managing these countries' national parks results in greater bureaucratic control of forests, socio-economic decline for many social groups, rural dissension, and often further environmental deterioration in surrounding areas.
Dharam Ghai. **Social Dynamics of Environmental Changes in Africa**. UNRISD Discussion Paper. UNRISD, Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland. This discussion paper outlines the ways in which colonialism undermined customary systems of resource use and management, and examines the increasing pressures on resources as a result of post-dependence policies and rapid growth in animal and human populations. Transfer of responsibility to local communities and organizations is called for.
**Will Social Issues be addressed at Rio?** Summary of UNRISD Conference on the Social Dimensions of Environment and Sustainable Development, April 1992, Malta. A detailed report on the conference (with sessions on indigenous resource management systems) is being prepared by UNRISD and will be available on request. Contact person: Adrienne Cruz, Programme Information, UNRISD, Palais des Nation, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland.
H. David Thurston 1991. **Sustainable Practices for Plant Disease Management in Traditional Farming Systems**. Westview Press, 280 p., photos, tab. bibl., index. ISBN 0-8133-8363-3. US$ 42.00. Westview Press, 5500 Central Avenue, Boulder, Colorado 80301-2847, USA. This comprehensive work discusses natural pesticides, biological control methods, host-plant resistance, post-harvest storage and, at greatest length, cropping practices. The author evaluates the sustainability of the various systems, and the labour and external inputs needed for their management.
Gill Shepherd. **Managing Africa's tropical dry forests: a review of indigenous methods**. ODI Publications. ISBN 0-85003 169-9. 9.95. ODI, Regent's College, Inner Circle, Regent's Park, London NW1 4NS. This publication identifies a range of indigenous forest- management practices in dryland Africa, and encourages the forestry profession to take more account of them. Rising population densities and the weakening of local authorities have often narrowed the population's possibilities for cooperative management. At the same time the State's ability to protect forests is so diminished that the best solution is to pass management and ownership over to appropriate local people.
Kirsi Viisainen 1992. **Nicaraguan midwives: the integration of indigenous practitioners into official health care**. University of Helsinki, Institute of Development Studies, Report B 23/1992. ISSN 0359-9493. ISBN 951 45 6132 5. The process of integration is described both at the level of government policy and at the level of training. The author stresses the importance of a critical medical anthropological approach for overcoming perceived conflict between traditions.
Coen Reijntjes, Bertus Haverkort and Ann Waters-Bayer 1992. **Farming for the future: an introduction to low-external-input and sustainable agriculture**. ILEIA/Macmillan, London. ISBN 0-333-57011-1. 250 p. The central concepts of this book are Low-External-Input and Sustainable Agriculture (LEISA) and Participatory Technology Development (PTD). Drawing from the experience of members of an extensive network of innovative farmers, fieldworkers and scientists, this handbook offers methods and principles for helping small farmers to increase production in a sustainable way, making use of low-cost local resources. A practical guide for development workers who are supporting small-holders' constant efforts to adapt their agriculture to changing conditions.
Chris Reij 1991. **Indigenous Soil and Water Conservation in Africa.** International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), Gatekeeper Series No SA 27. IIED, 3 Endsleigh Street, London WC1H ODD, UK. Engineering practices for soil and water conservation (SWC) are analyzed, using case studies from several countries.
IFAD 1992. **Soil and Water Conservation in Sub-Saharan Africa: towards sustainable production by the rural poor**. Report prepared for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD, Africa Division, 107 Via del Serafico, 00142 Rome, Italy) by the Centre for Development Cooperation Services (CDCS), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The process of land degradation is described, together with techniques used by the local population to conserve land and water. The various aspects (technical, socio-economic, institutional) of designing programmes are considered, and recommendations are made for national strategies. The report is well illustrated.
Brent Berlin 1992. **Ethnobiological Classification. Principles of categorization of plants and animals in traditional societies**. Princeton University Press (41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, USA). ISBN 0-691-09469-1. 326 p. $ 45.00. The author explains the regularities in classification that persist across local environments, cultures, societies and languages. People recognize and name a grouping of organisms quite independently of its actual or potential usefulness or symbolic significance in human society.
Geeti Sen (ed) 1992. **Indigenous Vision. Peoples of India, attitudes to environment**. Sage Publications (6 Bonhill Street, London EC2A 4PU, UK). ISBN 8039-9450-8. 314 p. 35.00. Case studies present traditional practices, rituals and myths.
Edvard Hviding 1992. **Upstream Development and Coastal Zone Conservation : Pacific Islands Perspectives on Holistic Planning**. Discussion paper commissioned by Greenpeace Pacific Campaign (139 Townsend Street, San Francisco, CA94107, USA). 10p.
U.S. National Research Council 1992. **Conserving biodiversity: a research agenda for development agencies**. Report of a panel of the Board on Science and Technology for International Development. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. This report presents an agenda for research in areas critical to the conservation of biodiversity in the world's developing countries. It addresses the biological aspects of conservation as well as the socioeconomic factors and cultural context that must be considered for successful, sustainable conservation in these countries. The report also argues that research should promote the application of local knowledge to modern resource management. This information enables development agencies to design projects that benefit indigenous people and that benefit from local knowledge.
Hernando Bazalar and Constance M. McCorkle (eds) 1989. **Estudios etnoveterinarios en communidades altoandinas del Peru**. Lluvia, Lima, Peru. This volume brings together nearly a decade of research on ethno-veterinary medicine conducted through the programme 'Sociology and Animal Health Projects' of the Small Ruminant Collaborative Research Support Program (SR-CRSP) in Peru. The first section contains three studies of indigenous veterinary knowledge and practices in peasant communities of Peru's central and southern sierra. The second section presents the results of controlled, on-farm experimental studies of four traditional remedies used by small-holders to control ovine ecto- and endoparasites. Findings demonstrate the effectiveness of all treatments. [Based on an abstract by the authors.] Copies of the publication can be requested from the SR-CRSP, Apartado 110097, Lima 11, Peru.
Mark Hobart (ed) 1993. **An anthropological critique of development: the growth of ignorance**. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-07959-4 (Pb). 240 pp. To be published in September 1993. This volume argues that it is unacceptable to dismiss problems encountered by development projects as simply the inadequate implementation of knowledge. The failures stem rather from the constitution of knowledge itself, turning active participants into ignorant objects. Western specialist knowledge has become hegemonic, instead of engaging in a dialectical relationship with indigenous knowledges or encouraging dialogues between developers and those to be developed. The volume examines ways in which indigenous knowledges often prove more effective than expert western knowledge across a range of societies from Europe to Africa, Asia and Latin America.
**Indigenous Agricultural Knowledge Systems and Development**, Special double issue of Agriculture and Human Values, vol. 8, nos. l and 2, l99l. l84 pp. $l8.00. Make checks in U.S. currency payable to Agriculture and Human Values Inc., P.O. Box l4938, Gainesville, FL 32604, USA. Contributors from the fields of agricultural ecology, agricultural education, agricultural engineering, anthropology, development planning, extension education, forestry, geography, and soil science present case studies reflecting the role that agricultural knowledge systems can play in the development process.
**Indigenous Knowledge and Learning**. Special issue of Convergence, the International Journal of Adult Education. This issue contains six articles on indigenous learning, e.g. among aboriginals and members of tribes in Asia. Copies can be ordered from The International Council for Adult Education, 720 Bathurst Street, Suite 500, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 2R4. Payment by cheque or money order. Price: US$ 10 (developed countries) and US$ 8 (developing countries).
**The Economics of Biodiversity Loss**. Special issue of Ambio, a Journal of the Human Environment, volume XXI, 3, May 1992. Ten articles discuss biodiversity from an ecological, economic and policy point of view, including research agenda. Cases of conservation policies in Australia and India.
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