IPM Working for Development
'IPM Working for Development' is a newsletter, written in non-technical language, that delivers
information on Integrated Pest Management (IPM). The second issue was presented in Costa Rica in
March, 1994 at the IPM Working Group Workshop. The aim of the newsletter is to encourage and
facilitate dialogue between members of the target audience, particularly policy-makers, agricultural
researchers, extension workers, donor and development organizations, NGOs, and the private sector.
It is produced quarterly by the IPM Working Group, which is an association of organizations with an
interest in promoting the application of integrated pest management. The second issue was produced
in Spanish, English and French. Subsequent issues will be translated into other languages; Chinese,
Russian, Arabic, Hebrew and Portuguese are being considered.
The newsletter is distributed free of charge. Requests to be added to the mailing list are welcome, and
should be sent to:
Atalanta Christophers, 'IPM working for development', IPMWG c/o NRI, Chatham Maritime, Kent
ME4 4TB, UK. Tel: +44-634-880088. Fax: +44-634-880066/880077.
Gregory McIsaac and William R. Edwards (eds) 1994 Sustainable agriculture in the
American Midwest: lessons from the past, prospects for the future. pp. 300 including
index. Hard cover $32.95. University of Illinois Press, Hamden Post Office 4856, Baltimore,
Maryland 21211, USA. Tel: +1-410-516 6927. Fax: +1-410-516 6969.
This edited collection provides a general overview, historical background, and detailed discussion of
social, ecological and technical issues related to the contemporary quest for sustainable agriculture in
the American Midwest. Because agriculture does not exist in isolation, the collection develops the
concept that sustainability should be understood in the context of the many dynamic natural and social
systems characteristic of a particular region. These systems range from climate to culture. Scholars
from various disciplines, including ecology, geography, economics, agricultural engineering,
anthropology, and climatology describe this context for the Midwest. Contributors and chapter topics
include: Gregory McIsaac on the conceptual evolution of sustainability; Dennis Michael Warren on
indigenous agricultural knowledge and social change; Sonya Salmon on ethnicity and contrasting
farming systems; William Edwards on agriculture and wildlife; Bruce Hannon, Matthias Ruth and
Evan DeLucia on natural ecosystems as standards for sustainability; Richard Weinzierl on insects and
pest management; James Power on sustainable cropping systems; Kenneth Olson on soil formation,
erosion and management; Wayne Wendland on climate; and Folke Dovring on energy farming. 'The
most provocative chapters take on some sacred cows... All advance our thinking by projecting beyond
today's knowledge to the future', according to Dennis R. Keeney, Director of the Leopold Center for
Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. This volume is second in the interdisciplinary series
'The Environment and the Human Condition', which focusses on issues affecting natural, cultural,
rural and urban environments, paying particular attention to the societal context or human dimension
of environmental change.
Jim Taylor 1994 A social, political and ethnoecological study of community forests and
rural leadership in Northeastern Thailand. ISBN 1-86342-337-0. pp. 87. AUD $7.00. The
Executive Director, Indian Ocean Centre for Peace Studies, University of Western Australia,
Nedlands, Western Australia, 6009.
The presently politicized issue of community forests in Thailand is tied to wider questions of rural
democracy, and to the need for frontier communities to take part on a larger scale in state-initiated
rural development programmes that were launched in the 1960s.
Alternative development strategies, seen as counter-ideologies, have recently emerged in the
countryside in response to the imposition of programmes by the state and capital. These alternative
development strategies have incorporated traditional knowledge systems and forms of resistance. They
are championed by local leadership, including a socially active order of Buddhist monks.
The research examines the background and present situation of community forests in Thailand in
social, political and ethnoecological terms.
Michael K. McCall 1994 Indigenous technical knowledge in farming systems of eastern
Africa: a bibliography. pp. 101. ISBN 9-945271-34-4. $12.00 plus $2.00 postage (for
shipments outside the US, $3.00) Orders can be placed with CIKARD, 318 Curtiss Hall, Iowa State
University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA. Checks should be made payable to Iowa State
University.
This bibliography includes over 1200 items concerning indigenous knowledge in eastern Africa:
farming systems, biomass products, natural resource management, land tenure and organization, and
related topics. References are dated up to 1993. Some 200 items refer specifically to methods for
eliciting indigenous knowledge, and for applying it in the form of local initiatives and/or outside
interventions.
Phoebe Robins Hunter 1994 Language extinction and the status of North American
languages. pp. 65. ISBN 9-945271-35-2. $12.00, plus $2.00 for postage (outside the US,
$3.00). Orders can be placed with CIKARD, 318 Curtiss Hall, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
50011, USA. Checks should be made payable to Iowa State University.
To provide an indication of the enormity of the loss that has been suffered as a result of the extinction
of Native American Indian languages, is one of the purposes of this paper. It is hoped that the paper
will also serve as an informative introduction to, and general overview of, languages indigenous to the
North American continent. Chapter two examines the linguistic families and phyla of Native North
American Indian languages, their distribution across the continent prior to the arrival of Europeans,
the estimated number of speakers, and some of their linguistic features. Chapter three consists of a
brief look at the processes which have resulted in the actual extinction of, or threat of extinction to,
so many languages. The current status of Native American Indian languages is examined in chapter
four. This section includes a survey of the languages which are already extinct, languages which are
threatened with extinction, the number of speakers of surviving languages, and the prospects for those
languages. Recent legislative and political set-backs and advances are also covered. Chapter five
focusses on the efforts being made to preserve languages on the verge of extinction and to strengthen
those which are still viable.
H. Waaijenberg 1994 Mijikenda agriculture in Coast Province of Kenya: peasants in
between tradition, ecology, and policy. pp. 320. ISBN 90-6832-089-0. NLG 65.00. Royal
Tropical Institute, Mauritskade 63, 1092 AD Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Tel: +31-20-5688272.
Fax: +31-20-5688286. (IT Publications Ltd, 103/105 Southampton Row, London WC1B 4HH, UK.
Tel: +44-71-4369761. Fax: +44-71-4362013).
This dissertation analyses the past and present agriculture of the Mijikenda people in order to identify
constraints on performance and to explore possibilities for the future development of agriculture. The
studies combine a farming systems approach with awareness of the constraints imposed by ecological
and economic conditions, and of the role of historical processes in shaping today's reality.
The dissertation includes short descriptions of the daily life of Mijikenda peasants, an analysis of the
changes in traditional society and agriculture, and descriptions of present agriculture, both as spatially
differentiated land use determined by ecological conditions, and as farms characterized by pattern of
settlement, composition of the household and organization of the fields. The production of maize and
the economic roles of the coconut palm are discussed in detail.
John Best and Paul Baxter (eds) 1994 The Rural Extension Bulletin. Number 4.
pp. 48. Agricultural Extension and Rural Development Department, 3 Earley Gate, The University of
Reading, Whiteknights Road, Reading RG6 2AL, UK.
This special issue of the Bulletin concentrates on 'development for pastoralists'. The editorial
emphasises that 'pastoralists are experts', and that agencies 'need to pay attention both to what
pastoralists know and to what they want.' Paul Baxter writes of 'the efficiency and resilience of
traditional pastoralism and pastoralists', and claims that 'Traditional pastoralism, combined with
modern veterinary medicines, is still...probably the most effective mode of producing food in arid and
semi-arid lands.' Other contributors also stress the value of pastoralists' indigenous knowledge. The
Bulletin includes useful reviews of both literature and films. (D. Brokensha)
Evelyn Mathias 1994 Importance and use of indigenous knowledge in sustainable
development. International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR), Silang, Cavite 4118,
The Philippines.
This training module is meant to raise awareness of the value of IK as an alternative in development.
It is intended for organizations and individuals involved in the planning and implementation of
projects and programmes.
The module consists of:
Evelyn Mathias 1994 Indigenous knowledge and sustainable development.
Working paper No. 53. International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR), Silang, Cavite 4118,
The Philippines.
This paper reviews various characteristics and uses of indigenous knowledge for sustainable
development and resource conservation. It describes how IK is preserved within communities, and
how it can be put to use outside those communities. The author discusses current issues related to
intellectual property rights, and describes the challenges for the future in terms of studying IK and
taking action to put it to use.