New address!!!
INDKNOW mailing list
Since September 1993 seven organizations have been working
together to create an open, electronic forum for discussing issues
associated with indigenous knowledge systems and traditional ecological
knowledge.
INDKNOW, as this forum or electronic mailing list is called, will carry
notices which individuals and groups wish to disseminate regarding
publications, projects and questions, and will make possible a rapid,
global exchange of ideas and information. The ultimate purpose of the
electronic forum is to contribute to the understanding, validation and
application of indigenous knowledge systems and traditional ecological
knowledge; to promote the use of indigenous knowledge as complementary to
the scientific tradition; to help countries to fulfil their obligation to
support IKS under provisions contained in Agenda 21, the Biodiversity
Convention and other international agreements and conventions applying to
indigenous peoples; to work for the preservation of IK and for the just
compensation of the communities that have shared their knowledge; and to
support the international indigenous knowledge and development network.
To subscribe to the INDKNOW list, send a message to:
Listproc
Send a single line of text: subscribe indknow <Your Name>.
The INDKNOW list is facilitated by the Center for Indigenous Environment
and Development (CIED), Seattle, Washington, USA; the Center for Indigenous
Knowledge for Agriculture and Rural Development (CIKARD); the Center for
Traditional Knowledge (CTK), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; the Centre for
International Research and Advisory Networks/Netherlands Organization for
International Cooperation in Higher Education (Nuffic-CIRAN), The Hague,
The Netherlands; Cultural Survival (CS), Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA; the
Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and
Institutions (SRISTI) and the Honey Bee Network, Ahmedabad, India; and the
University of Washington Chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology
(SCB-UW), Seattle, Washington, USA.
Facilitators help maintain INDKNOW as an open forum for discussion and do
not necessarily subscribe to all of the views expressed. Other IKS networks
are invited to become facilitators of INDKNOW.
For more information please contact:
Preston Hardison, List Manager CIED and SCB-UW, 4224 University Way
Seattle, WA 98105, USA. Tel: +1-206-547 2361. Fax: +1-206-547 1666.
E-mail:cied@u.washington.edu or pdh@u.washington.edu
REBRAF
The Brazilian Agroforestry Network (REBRAF; Rede Brasileira
Agroflorestal) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization with a staff
of ten full-time professionals. REBRAF started five years ago with the help
of a grant from the Ford Foundation.
The network has two purposes:
TMWG
Transmara Western Group of Kenya is a private group of volunteers whose aim
is to advocate and promote sustainable development--using indigenous
knowledge--for the rural poor. Attention is focussed on agriculture,
health, education, and socio-economic systems.
TMWG's immediate objectives are:
ETFRN
The European Tropical Forest Research Network (ETFRN) was initiated in
September 1992 by the Commission of the European Communities. ETFRN is
intended to serve as a catalyst for research cooperation and coordination,
and to bridge gaps between policy and science and between Europe and the
tropics. The job of ETFRN is to stimulate workshops on tropical forest
issues as well as to represent the research community in dealings with the
European Commission and perhaps under other circumstances as well.
ETFRN encourages a holistic view of the tropical forest environment by
supporting workshops, offering access to scientific advice, fostering
scientific exchange and cooperation, and coordinating research efforts to
meet demand and requirements. ETFRN supports such central services as
information processing and documentation, and stimulates the development
and exchange of information on research activities, projects, institutions
and individuals.
ETFRN sends its quarterly newsletter free of charge to anyone interested in
issues of tropical forestry. It contains information about ongoing projects
and possible funding sources, and presents results of completed
programmes.
Contact: Dr H. Freiberg, Coordinator ETFRN, c/o
Arbeitsgemeinschaft Tropische und Subtropische Agrarforschung e.v.,
Ellerstrasse 50, 53119 Bonn, Germany. Tel: +49-228-984616. Fax: +49-228-
984699
The Healing Forest Conservancy
The accelerating rate of tropical deforestation has focussed worldwide
attention on its effects. Forest ecosystems and forest peoples are
vanishing rapidly. In 1989 the non-profit organization known as the Healing
Forest Conservancy was founded to promote the conservation of tropical
forests and the welfare of tropical forest peoples. While the causes of
deforestation are complex, the Conservancy focusses support on projects
that serve its own aim, which is to secure the long-term survival of:
ALIN
The Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN) is a network of people who are
working in arid or semi-arid areas of Africa. Its objectives are to enable
project workers to gain access to appropriate information, and to provide a
platform for sharing experiences and views.
ALIN was set up in 1988 as an OXFAM programme, and has evolved into an
independent NGO with headquarters in Dakar (Senegal). It reaches over 1000
individual and 120 institutional members across Africa's Sahel and other
dryland regions. Alin publishes a newsletter entitled 'BAOBAB', which
appears three times a year: in March, July and November. Alin also
publishes booklets on topics of special interest to community development
workers. All network publications are available in English and French.
For more information, please contact:
ALIN, C.P. 3, Dakar-Fann, Senegal. Tel: +221-251808. Fax: +221-254521.
FRLHT
Medicinal plants form the basis of traditional medicine in India and are
its main resource. Over 7000 species of plants found in different
ecosystems are used for medicinal purposes. The task of revitalizing
India's medical heritage is so large and multi-faceted that coordinating
centres can fulfil a useful task. The Foundation for Revitalization of
Local Health Traditions (FRLHT) functions as such a coordinating
centre.
FRLHT is a non-governmental foundation which has contacts with influential
sections of the traditional medical community, as well as with modern
physicians, community health organizations, scientists, industry and
government. Its objectives are directed towards:
CIESIN
The Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)
was established in 1989 as a private, non-profit membership corporation
with members from leading universities and non-government research
organizations. The Consortium was formed to respond to an initiative by the
United States Congress, and is dedicated to furthering the
interdisciplinary study of global environmental change. It is
agency-neutral and specialized in integrating information from the
physical, natural, and social sciences and making it accessible across
agency missions and scientific disciplines. The CIESIN mission is to
provide access to and enhance the use of information worldwide, advancing
understanding of human interactions in the environment and serving the
needs of science, and public and private decision making.
CIESIN efforts are directed toward making the data collected by US
government agencies, the scientific community, NGOs, multilateral
organizations and international governmental organizations available for
widespread use in scientific research, public policy making, and
education.
The Consortium is developing the following resources and capabilities:
Third world
network
The Third World Network (TWN) is an independent non-profit international
network of organizations and individuals involved in issues relating to
development, the Third World and North-South affairs. Its objectives are to
conduct research on economic, social and environmental issues pertaining to
the South; to publish books and magazines; to organize and participate in
seminars; and to provide a platform which broadly represents Southern
interests and perspectives at international fora such as the UN Conferences
and processes.
Its recent and current activities include; the publication of the daily
SUNS (South-North Development Monitor) Bulletin, the
fortnightly Third World Economics, the monthly Third World
Resurgence, the Third World Network Features (a service to
the media providing three feature articles a week); the publication of
books on environmental and economic issues; the organizing of various
seminars and workshops; and participation in international processes such
as the UN Conference on Environment and Development and the World Bank-NGO
Committee.
The TWN has a collaborative relationship with the Group of 77 and the South
Centre in Geneva and has been invited to participate in the Non-Aligned
Movement's Expert Group on Third World Debt.
The TWN's International Secretariat is based in Penang (Malaysia). It has
offices in New Delhi, Montevideo (for South America), Accra (for Africa),
Geneva and London. TWN has affiliated and collaborating organizations in
several Third World countries, including India, The Philippines, Thailand,
Malaysia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Uruguay, Peru, Venezuela, Ghana, Ethiopia,
South Africa and Senegal. It also cooperates with several organizations in
the North.
TWN's general policies are drawn up and reviewed by an International
Committee consisting of Mohamed Idris (Malaysia, Chairman), Chakravarthi
Raghavan (India), Roberto Bissio (Uruguay), Charles Abugre (Ghana), Iqbal
Asaria (Uganda), Vandana Shiva (India), and Martin Khor (Malaysia).
The work programmes of TWN are planned by the International Committee and
the Secretariat, together with issue-based committees and working groups.
Its operations are financed by the sale of subscriptions and publications
and aided by grants for research and seminars.
Contact: TWN, 228 Macalister Road, 10400 Penang, Malaysia. Tel:
+60-4-2293511. Fax: +604364505. E-mail:twn@igc.apc.org