COMMUNICATIONS - PUBLICATIONS

George C. Kajembe 1994 Indigenous management systems as a basis for community forestry in Tanzania: a case study of Dodoma urban and Lushoto Districts pp 194. ISSN 0926-9495. Wageningen Agricultural University, Tropical Resource Management Papers, No 6. Wageningen Agricultural University, Department of Forestry P.O. Box 342, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands. Tel: +31-8370-84426. Fax: +31-8370-83542.
This book aims both 'to demonstrate empirically the gap between indigenous and professional forest management systems' in Tanzania and 'to suggest ways of bridging the gap'. Recently there has been an increasing amount of literature dealing with indigenous forest management practices in various parts of the world. There has also been some literature arguing that community forestry projects ought to be built upon such practices, or should, at least, take them into account in project implementation.
Unfortunately much of the literature has been anecdotal and rather simplistic. A very pleasing aspect of this book is the way in which Kajembe has taken definitions and models of indigenous forest management systems outside Tanzania (particularly from Nepal) and used these as a basis for analysis. An improved understanding of indigenous systems generally is likely to follow from such comparative analysis.
According to Kajembe, indigenous forest management in the areas he has studied tend to be mostly concerned with agroforestry on essentially 'private' land (at the household level) rather than on 'common' land at the supra-household level. (This seems, ironically, to be at least partly a result of the government's enforced villagization programme in the past.) Kajembe acknowledges the importance of indigenous knowledge of forests, but concentrates on forest management practices rather than on IK.
An important contribution of the book is the use of 'actor-oriented analysis'. The essential argument is that the clash between externally sponsored and indigenous systems should not be seen simply as a clash of two different agenda. Instead, there is a need to take into account the concerns and behaviour of individual actors. Farmers are not passive victims of government policy. Local extension staff are not simple representatives of a professional agenda imposed by their seniors, but actively attempt to compromise and live at the interface between two different worlds. The emphasis is on the way groups and individuals deal with changing circumstances.
The book will be of interest to practitioners and theoreticians interested in community forestry generally, as well as to those with a special interest in Tanzania. There are excellent discussions, with broad implications, of the dynamism of indigenous knowledge, the nature of forestry extension, the limitations of linear models of development, and the application of social theory to the study of the process of community forestry. (R.J. Fisher)

Doug Aberley (ed) 1993 Boundaries of home: mapping for local empowerment pp. vi + 138. Can $11.95 or US$9.95 + US$2.50 for postage. New Society Publishers, P.O. Box 189, Gabriola Island BC, Canada V0R 1X0 or 4527 Springfield Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19143, USA.
The 15 contributors to this book provide a wide range of community-based, creative maps that show more than roads and political boundaries. Using overlays, tapestries and stories, communities are mapping what is crucial to them: water and air flow, community patterns, distribution of species and local history. The focus of this book is a step-by-step description of how to use accessible sources-- from libraries and oral histories to indigenous knowledge and sophisticated computers--to compile empowering images of one's home place. Case studies include approaches to mapping by various aboriginal communities, including creative ways in which indigenous knowledge is enhanced through the use of geographical information systems. (Mike Warren)

Dharam Ghai (ed) 1994 Development and environment: sustaining people and nature pp. 263. Blackwell Publishers, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK or 238 Main St., Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
The nine contributions to this volume offer a human and social perspective on the processes generating environmental degradation and conservation in the rural areas of developing countries. Drawing upon original data gathered through field research in 14 countries, the essays analyze key environmental problems and policies within a holistic framework integrating physical and ecological with economic, social and political processes. Supported by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, the studies reveal how communities interact with ecological settings and react to ecological changes with community-based conservation initiatives. Contributors to this volume include well-known researchers on indigenous knowledge such as Edvard Hviding, Graham Baines, Kojo Amanor, and Madhav Gadgil. The topics of case studies include community-based fisheries management in the Solomon Islands, ecological knowledge and environmental management in Ghana, community-based forestry in south and south-east Asia, the environmental movement in India, national parks management involving local communities in Thailand and Madagascar, and gendered ecological knowledge in Malaysia, Mexico and Kenya. (Mike Warren)

J. Schneider, C.A. Widyastuti and M. Djazuli 1993 Sweetpotato in the Baliem valley area, Irian Jaya: a report on collection and study of sweetpotato germplasm pp. 54. International Potato Center and Central Research Institute for Food Crops, Jalan Merdeka 147, Bogor 16111, Indonesia.
In the highlands of Irian Jaya, sweetpotato is the most important staple food. A conservative estimate indicates that more than 1000 local cultivars exist in the western part of the highlands. This report focuses on the Baliem valley area. It describes the local sweetpotato cultivation system, the division of labour, and the indigenous knowledge of specific cultivars. (Dr E. Mathias)
Copies of this report can be requested from CIP-ESEAP, Jalan Merdeka 147, Bogor 16111, Indonesia. Fax: +62-251-316264. E-mail:157:CGI193.

G.D. Prain and C.P. Bagalanon (eds) 1994 Local knowledge, global science and plant genetic resources: towards a partnership pp. 320. Proceedings of the International Workshop on Genetic Resources. UPWARD, Los Banos, Laguna, The Philippines.
The rapid, progressive loss of genetic biodiversity has triggered efforts to collect and store plant genetic resources in genebanks. In the past, these rescue efforts have encountered two major problems: (1) insufficient labelling of the collected materials and (2) genetic erosion within ex situ collections. This volume addresses these issues and presents some methods and approaches that have been explored in the collection of varieties, the documentation of local knowledge, and the conservation of varieties. It also describes UPWARD's experiences with user-participative evaluation of unfamiliar varieties, and a number of other experiences from Latin America and Asia. (Dr E. Mathias)
For further information, please contact:
Gordon Prain, UPWARD, P.O.Box 933, Manila, The Philippines. Fax: +63-2-8182087. E-mail: G.Prain@CGNET.COM.

Hilary Sime Feldstein and Janice Jiggins (eds) 1994 Tools for the field. Methodologies handbook for gender analysis in agriculture West Harford, Kumarian Press. hb and pb.
Available from:
* Kumarian Press, 630 Oakwood Avenue, Suite 119, West Hartford, CTT 06110-1505, USA (USA only);
* Women, Ink., 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA (all Countries); and
* IT Publications, 103-105 Southampton Row, London WC1B 4HH, UK. (Europe only)
Available in hardback and paperback
Prices: US$6-15.50 (airmail) or 15.95 from IT Publications, or, for those who cannot afford commercial copies, the book can be obtained by writing to: Kirsten Moore, The Population Council, 1 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA.
Tools for the field presents the experiences of farming systems researchers in creating, using and adapting methods and approaches to gender analysis and to working with women farmers in technology development. Contributors include men and women, social scientists and agricultural scientists from many different countries. Both the commonalities as well as the diversities in concepts and applications are visible, none the less bound by the shared understanding that gender analysis 'adds a little complexity to gain a lot of insight' and that neglect of women's roles in farming is neither efficient not effective.
Key lessons are the need for listening to what men and women farmers themselves see as critical system relationships, resource flows and linkages; and for researchers and farmers to find ways of sharing their information and knowledge. Both sets of actors contribute insights vital to problem definition, the search for solutions, and the exploitation of opportunities within the dynamic of system change. In this perspective 'indigenous knowledge' is not something to be studied, abstracted from its context and stored, but a continuous and creative act based on purposeful experimentation, analysis and reflection which adds to and adapts the existing store of information and experience.
The material is organized in sections reflecting the sequence of technology development from preliminary diagnosis through research, adaptive testing, evaluation and sharing of results. It focuses on the 'how to' questions with frank reflection on successes and failures which in turn have led to further methodological innovation.
The tone is conversational. Reading the book is rather like dropping in on friends at the end of a day's fieldwork to compare experiences, discuss the difficulties encountered and overcome, and plan the next steps. A valuable contribution, both for professionals already in the field and for graduates planning a career in agricultural research and development.

Janice Jiggins 1994 Changing the Boundaries. Women-centred perspective on population and the environment Washington D.C., The Island Press. pb. US$22.00 + p&p.
Available from:
Earthscan Publications Limited, 120 Pentonville Road, London N1 9JN, UK. (Europe) Tel: +44-71- 2780433. Fax: +44-71-1781142. or The Island Press, P.O. Box 7, Dept. 5AU, Covelo, CA 95428, USA. (all countries)
Changing the Boundaries examines the inter-related areas of food supply, the management of agricultural and natural resources, and the management of human sexuality and fertility against the claims of neo-malthusian doomsayers who are forecasting that population growth is out of control, cannot be managed and will lead to ecological catastrophe. The author challenges the deeply gendered definitions and standards commonly used to define, measure and value relationships between men and women; the manufacture, exchange and consumption of goods and services; and the ways in which people relate to their environment. In doing so she illustrates her central message: 'Protecting and strengthening the capacities of girls and women...is the bottom line in the survival of humankind as a species dependent on its environment'.
She argues further that it is not enough for experts to study and 'take account of' women's views. When women are empowered to speak with their own voice and to be at the table when decisions are being made, the agenda changes, whether at the village level or at global forums. Women's information and knowledge is distinctive because women are situated differently to men in their social and environmental landscapes. The perspectives they bring to current debates offers the chance that together non-coercive solutions can be found. Conversely, without the women's voice, action on a scale and within a timeframe that offers a chance of a sustainable future is not possible.
Case studies, taken mainly from South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, drive home the point with reference to women-centred perspectives on trees, fuelwood and cookstoves, reproductive health technologies and services, education, natural resource management, and agricultural development. The author skillfully weaves together the micro-level details that govern social and environmental outcomes in the spheres of the household and community, and the macro-level consequences. At the same time, the material shows convincingly and constructively how the 'worst case' scenarios can be avoided without recourse to draconian and authoritarian measures, if policy is shaped also by women- centred knowledge, information and experience.

Ian Scoones and John Thompson (eds) 1994 Beyond Farmer First: rural people's knowledge, agricultural research and extension practice pp. 288. Pb. ISBN 1-85339-250- 2. œ3.95. Hb ISBN
1-85339-237-5. œ 14.95. IT Publications Ltd., 103/105 Southampton Row, London, WC1B 4HH, UK. Tel: +44-71-4369761. Fax: + 44-71-4362013.
The interest and support that the Farmer First philosophy has received has led to a virtual revolution in the agricultural sciences. While many hail this populist perspective as a step in the right direction, some have argued that it fails to capture the complex cultural, social and political dimensions of knowledge creation, innovation, transmission and application within rural societies and scientific organizations. Because they do not adequately address these fundamental issues of power and knowledge, critics charge that some Farmer First initiatives encounter many of the same problems as conventional strategies for transferring technology.
The purpose of Beyond Farmer First is to reveal how agricultural research and extension, far from being discrete, rational acts, are in fact part of a process of coming to terms with conflicting interests and viewpoints, a process in which choices are made, alliances formed, exclusions effected, and worldviews imposed. By going beyond Farmer First, this theoretically informed perspective describes agricultural development as what it is: a highly ideological and political process. As Robert Chambers notes in his foreword, the concerns of Farmer First with performance and Beyond Farmer First with process, indicate that a radical rethinking of knowledge, power and agricultural science is well under way.
This book consists of some 36 contributions representing the disciplines of agronomy, agricultural science, anthropology, ecology, entomology, forestry, geography, management science, pedagogy, sociology and others. Contributors are drawn from academia, local NGOs and national and international research and development agencies, with detailed case material from Africa, Australia, Central and South America and Europe.

E. McGregor (ed) 1994 Indigenous and local community knowledge in animal health and production systems: gender perspectives. A working guide to issues, networks and initiatives.
This guide is edited, designed and developed by Dr Elizabeth McGregor, president of the World Women's Veterinary Association in collaboration with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture and the World Council of Indigenous Peoples. It is available through the World Women's Veterinary Association, 181 Fourth Ave., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 2L5, Tel: +1-613-594 9149. Fax: +1-613-594 5946, for US$15.00 for non-governmental and volunteer organizations and US$30.00 for research institutions, governments, and donor agencies.
The guidebook is divided into ten sections: introduction; discussion paper ('Healthy communities, healthy animals: reconceptualizing health and wellness'); policy issues in local and indigenous knowledge systems: comparative approaches; field studies and research methodologies; networks, centres and research; the UN system, development banks and organizations; highlights in the literature; moving forward to Beijing - Fourth World Conference on Women: action for equality, development and peace. This 300-page document focusses on the study of women's local knowledge systems in animal health and production systems. (Mike Warren)

K. Ruddle 1994 A guide to the literature on traditional community-based fishery management in the Asia-Pacific tropics pp. 114. FAO fisheries circular no. 869. FAO, Rome.
This is a guide to the literature on traditional fisheries management systems in the Asia-Pacific tropics. The introductory section discusses the geographical distributions of such systems, their principal characteristics including authority, rights, rules, and monitoring, accountability and enforcement. It notes that information on these systems is fragmentary and much remains anecdotal and unsynthesized. It calls for greater research efforts on these systems and highlights some major research issues including the nature of management boundaries and the traditional ecological knowledge base. The main body of the guide provides, on a country by country basis, a summary of the present knowledge on traditional management systems of marine and estuarine fisheries in the Asia-Pacific tropics. (Mike Warren)

C.M. Hladik, A. Hladik, O.F. Linares, H. Pagezy, A. Semple and M. Hadley (eds) 1993 Tropical forests, people and food: biocultural interactions and applications to development pp. 852. ISBN 92-3-102879-0. Man and Biosphere Series, Vol 13. UNESCO, Paris and The Parthenon Publishing Company, Carnforth, Lancashire and Pearl River, NY, USA.
This book contains 74 papers from an international symposium held in Paris in September 1991. The symposium aimed to review 'current understanding and recent advances in respect to potential food production, biological adaptations, socio-cultural background and feeding strategies of human populations in tropical forest environments'. It also aimed 'to identify possible applications of such knowledge to development projects'.
The papers in the collection represent a multidisciplinary approach and include papers by both natural and social scientists from many fields. They are grouped in sections: Evolution and history of tropical forests in relation to food availability; food production and nutritional value of wild and semi-domesticated species; adaptive aspects of food consumption and energy expenditure; feeding strategies in relation to environmental variation; cultural factors in food choices; and food and the future of the tropical forest: management alternatives. Although there is no distinct section on indigenous knowledge, IK is a major underlying theme. The collection represents an excellent resource for researchers and others interested in tropical forests and the people who inhabit them. It identifies major threats to such people (including market forces) and positive examples of change. (R.J. Fisher)

L.F. Brooke 1993 The participation of indigenous peoples and the application of their environmental and ecological knowledge in the Arctic environmental protection strategy pp. 119. Inuit circumpolar conference: Ottawa.
This is the first volume reporting on findings regarding the indigenous environmental knowledge of the Inuit of Canada, and prepared by The Inuit Circumpolar Conference for Indian and Northern Affairs, Canada. The subjects of the four chapters are: indigenous peoples and the Arctic environmental protection strategy; facilitating the participation of indigenous peoples; a research programme on indigenous knowledge; and proposed actions and recommendations to ministers. This study recognizes that the Arctic environmental protection strategy and its implementation 'must incorporate the knowledge and culture of indigenous peoples. It is understood that the cultures and the continued existence of the indigenous peoples have been built on the sound stewardship of nature and its resources.' The research programme on indigenous knowledge recommends that 'management, planning and development activities which may significantly affect the Arctic ecosystems shall...take into account the results of scientific investigations and the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples.' (Mike Warren)

Devika Tamang, Gerard J. Gill and Ganesh B. Thapa (eds) 1993 Indigenous management of natural resources in Nepal pp 375. HMG Ministry of Agriculture/Winrock International, P.O. Box 1312, Kathmandu, Nepal. (No price given.)
This book contains the proceedings of a workshop held in Nepal in June 1992. It contains 24 papers on topics which include management of crops, livestock, soil, irrigation, forests and pasture as well as several review articles and papers dealing with policy issues. A view underlying the collection is that, regardless of extreme views about the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of indigenous systems of resource management, extensive local experience means that local resource users 'are often more competent and knowledgeable as resource managers than highly trained experts from outside' and, consequently, 'a more systematic analysis of indigenous systems could encourage more flexible and constructive internal interventions.' (Page 2, paper by Thapa.) There have been many recent publications on indigenous forest management in Nepal. This useful book brings together papers on a much broader range of topics. (R.J.Fisher)

Stanley F. Stevens 1993 Claiming the high ground: Sherpas, subsistence, and environmental change in the highest Himalaya pp. 537. ISBN 0-520-07699-0. US$ 55.00. University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles and Oxford.
A great deal has been written about the environment of the area around Sagamartha (Mt. Everest), on the border between Nepal and Tibet. It has been argued that the traditional resource management practices of the Sherpas who live in the area have been destroyed in recent years as a result of increasing tourism and the nationalization of forests in Nepal (1957). Using an approach based on cultural ecology and oral history, Stevens argues that the process of change has not been as sudden or dramatic as others have argued. Sherpa history represents a continuing process of adjustment of resource management practices in the light of changing circumstances, including external factors (such as changing government policies and, more recently, tourism and the existence of the Sagamartha National Park). There have also been variations over time as individual economic choices and concerns are balanced against cooperative goals. Sherpas continue to make active decisions about the management of natural resources, including forests. The effectiveness of these practices now, as in the past, is imperfect, and can be seen as a process of adjustment rather than any tendency towards balance or homeostasis. Stevens successfully avoids romanticising traditional (or contemporary) practices, but shows the merits and achievements of these practices. His discussion of local knowledge as a basis for decision-making about crop use is based on extremely rich data and shows just how much of an intellectual achievement is involved in the scheduling and managing of Sherpa agriculture in a harsh and risky environment. This is an excellent book. (R.J. Fisher)

Gender and environment research in Asia: present focus, emerging concepts and gaps in the literature: an overview.
Women's relationship with the environment in the countries of the South has emerged as a topic from the development debate. It is widely recognized now that women and their environment should be understood together. Being the prime users of natural resources for subsistence, poor rural women in the South take the most immediate brunt of environmental degradation. As a result of growing poverty in the fast-urbanizing South, poor urban women also suffer from the deteriorating environment. The result is a low quality of life, social ills such as prostitution, and suffering caused by the adverse consequences of rural to urban migration. When choices are made for development strategies, no consideration is given to women's point of view, nor to their needs and constraints. Their knowledge and experience is ignored. The fact that women and men have different social, economic and environmental roles as a result of gender relations, is not always fully recognized. Not only are women the main victims of environmental degradation, but they also play significant roles as managers, protectors and rehabilitators of the environment. Hence, women have to be seen as equal partners when solutions to environment-related problems are sought. Women have to be involved in planning and decision-making.
The prevailing development mode perceives the South as a homogeneous mono-culture. In view of the diversity of Asian countries, inter-country and intra-country information flows are imperative for mutual learning and partnership. The needs that exist at the grass-roots level must be brought to the surface through research and the documentation of experiences. In this publication, an attempt is made to describe the general focus of current research in the field of gender/women and environment, and to identify gaps in this research. The attempt is based on the results of a survey of recent literature in the fields of gender, women and environment, and on data elicited through questionnaires administered to organizations and individuals in Asia who are working in these fields. The publication of this paper is expected by January 1995.
Contact: Ms Seema Saeed, Gender and Development Studies, SERD AIT, P.O. Box 2754, Bangkok 10501, Thailand. Tel: +66-2-5245668. Fax: +66-2-5162126. E-mail: hs5240@rccvax.ait.ac.th

Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor on-line
The Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor will be electronically available through the CIESIN Kiosk by January 1995. The CIESIN Kiosk is a one-stop electronic distribution centre for documents on global change and the environment, developed by the Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN). It is available through Internet mechanisms such as Gopher, World Wide Web, electronic mail and FTP. At the moment CIESIN and CIRAN are testing issue 2(2). As soon as the test is completed we will also bring the previous issues of the Monitor on- line, as well as all future issues. The issues are stored in the section 'electronic journals' of the KIOSK electronic bookshelf.
For more information please contact:
for technical details:
Dr B. Rajasekaran, CIESIN.
E-mail: Raja@ciesin.org
or:
for questions on the contents:
Ms Akke W. Tick, Nuffic-CIRAN, P.O. Box 29777, 2502 LT The Hague, The Netherlands. Tel: +31-70-4260321. Fax: +31-70-4260329. Editor: ikdm@nuffic.nl

Publications in French
Thanks to a grant from IDRC, several documents on indigenous knowledge have been translated into French:

• 'Using indigenous knowledge in agricultural development' by D.M. Warren (1991, World Bank), is entitled 'Utiliser la connaissance endogène dans le développement agricole' (price not yet set).
• TSC monograph no. 20 by David Atte (1992), 'Indigenous local knowledge as a key to local level development' will appear as 'Connaissance endogène locale comme clef du développement au niveau local: possibilités, contraintes et problèmes de planification dans le contexte Africain' (US$8.00).
• TSC monograph no 17 by S.O. Titilola (1990), 'The economics of incorporating indigenous knowledge systems into agricultural development: a model and analytical framework' is entitled 'Economie de l'incorporation des systèmes de connaissance endogène dans le développement agricole: modèle et cadre d'analyse (US$7.00).
• The paper presented by Dr D.M. Warren at the annual meeting of the African Studies Association in December 1993, 'Indigenous knowledge and sustainable agricultural and rural development in Africa: policy issues and strategies for the twenty-first century' has been translated as 'Connaissance endogène et développement rurale et agricole durable en Afrique: politiques et strategies pour le 21e siècle' (US$5.00).

Helen Appleton and Ilek Illercacon Women's roles in the innovation of food-cycle technologies (1994) The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), in collaboration with Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG), UNIFEM, 6th floor, 304 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017, USA.
This source book is one of a continuing series of Unifem publications aimed at increasing awareness of the range of technological options and sources of expertise, while acknowledging the complexity of the problem of designing and successfully implementing technology development and dissemination programmes. While the other titles in the series concentrate on specific technical areas of the food cycle, this particular book explores the wealth of knowledge and skills that grass-roots women possess in a variety of technical areas, and stresses the value of consulting them and adding to their own experience.
The book questions the low status accorded to women's technical knowledge, and challenges the assumption that it is inferior and non-scientific. It proposes a re-definition of 'science and technology', to include not only systematic research and development carried out in formal institutions, but also the generation of knowledge and skills through informal trial-and-error processes at the grass-roots level.
The basic message to readers is that when technologies are being developed, it is women, as users and producers, who need to be consulted first, because they are the real 'experts'.
The source book is divided into five sections: local technical knowledge; technological change and innovation by women; case studies of women's local knowledge; women's local technological innovation and external support; and lessons learned from the case studies and guidelines for development practitioners.
A list of organizations and initiatives which advocate the recognition of women's grass-roots technological knowledge and skills, and promote participatory approaches to technology development which are based upon this local capacity, is included in Appendix I. The publications and papers used in the preparation of the book are listed in Appendix II.

NISER research reports
NISER has published several research reports on indigenous knowledge:

• Bello-Imam, I.B., S.A. Aziegbe, A.T. Okoosie, F.O.N. Roberts (1993), 'Indigenous selection of political leadership in Nigeria', Political Development Unit, pp. 66.
• Oni, B., P.O. Okunola, N.B. Mbanefoh, W.O. Akande, N.A. Bello, (1993) 'Indigenous education and training in Nigeria: a cross-cultural study'. Human Resources Development Dept., pp. 54.
• Ayodele, A.S., J.B.O. Aregbeyen, 'Sade Taiwo (1994), 'Fiscal and monetary operations in the traditional Oyo Empire: A study of Nigeria's indigenous knowledge system'. Economic Development Dept., pp. 55.
• Laditan, G.A.O., O.D. Kajogbola, F.M. Adeyinka, S.A. Ayorinda, A.O. Esubiyi, A.J. Kumuyi, P.A. Alli, O.O. Oyeyinka (1994), 'Indigenous textile weaving technology in Nigeria'. Business and Technology Development Dept., pp. 74.
• Physical Development Dept.,(1994), 'Settlement planning in pre-colonial Nigeria', pp. 79.
• Agriculture and Rural Dept., (1993), 'Indigenous methods of controlling agricultural pests and diseases in selected areas of Nigeria', pp. 45.

Joycelin Massiah (ed) 1994 Women in developing economies: Making visible the invisible pp. 300. ISBN 0-85496-346-4 (BERG). ISBN 92-3-102807-2 (UNESCO). Berg Publishing Inc., 150 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JJ, UK or UNESCO, 7 Place de Fontenoy, 75700 Paris, France.
Even after twenty years of debate about the invisible work of women, very little has been done to collect information, to analyze women's contribution to national economies, or to give women adequate financial support and training. Women's productivity remains, therefore, at a low level.
Women in Developing Economies is a selection of studies and articles aimed at sensitizing planners and decision-makers to the invisible socio-economic and cultural contribution of women in developing countries. The authors address such questions as how to make the contribution of women visible and more productive; how to better utilize the resources of women, even illiterate women; how to build on traditional wisdom in order to modernize; and how to reduce poverty and prevent women from being excluded from the more lucrative activities of the informal sector. (Spore, 49)

IT studies on indigenous knowledge and development
General editors: Dr David Brokensha, Dr L. Jan Slikkerveer and Dr D. Michael Warren.
Technical editor: Dr Wim H. J. C. Dechering.
IT Publications announces the launch of this series of books, which will highlight the contributions to local, national and international development made by indigenous knowledge systems -- and the tensions which ignoring that knowledge can create. The series constitutes an important and continuing contribution to the instruments available to both the development and the academic community, in their search for a better understanding of these processes.
D. Michael Warren, L. Jan Slikkerveer and David Brokensha (January 1995) The cultural dimension of development: Indigenous knowledge systems ISBN 1-85339-251-0 pb. œ14.95. ISBN 1-85339-264-2 hb œ35.00.
After nearly fifty years of international development, increasing attention is now being paid to the potential of indigenous knowledge and practice, which is usually considered in relation to a few specific domains, such as agriculture, forestry, and human and animal health. This volume includes forty-seven papers from a wide variety of disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, geography, and the agricultural sciences. Contributors come both from academia and from international organizations. This volume includes twenty-seven case studies and six general conceptual papers.
The main conclusion from this array of expertise is that local people do know a great deal about their environment, in which they have often lived for generations, and that this knowledge must be taken into account in the planning and implementation of development, if it is to be both effective and acceptable to the people. These essays provide powerful evidence in support of these two propositions.
Among the titles expected to follow soon thereafter are:
Peter Castro (January 1995) Facing Kirinyaga: a social history of forest commons ISBN 1- 85339-253-7 œ14.95.
Forest resources are an integral part of livelihoods throughout sub-Saharan Africa (and many other parts of the world), supplying timber, fuel, food, fodder and other vital products, and contributing to the environmental stability of local production systems. Trees often have spiritual, folkloric, or other cultural significance for communities. The use and management of forest resources are embedded in a complex array of micro- and macro-level institutions, ranging from individual households to global markets.
This book, which examines the issues concerned with the management and use of common-property forests, groves and trees in Kirinyaga, on the southern slopes of Mount Kenya, demonstrates the long- standing relationship between Kenyans and their forest resources, and illustrates the connections between anthropology and forestry.
Forthcoming

• L. Jan Slikkerveer, D. Michael Warren and Paul Nkwi (eds) Etno-medical systems in sub- Saharan Africa: a cultural perspective on traditional medicine and the concept of disease.
• Donald Innis Intercropping: the scientific basis of traditional agriculture
• Constance M. McCorkle, Evelyn Mathias-Mundy, Tjaart W. Schillhorn van Veen (eds) Ethnoveterinary research and development

Heleen van de Hombergh (1994) Gender, environment and development: A guide to the literature 8.99 pound. US$14.00. Dfl. 25. ISBN 90-6224-992-2 pb. pp. 176. International Books, Alexander Numankade 17, 3572 KP Utrecht, The Netherlands. Tel: +31-30-731840. Fax +31-30-733614.
Gender, environment and development systematizes work which, though seemingly quite diverse, is highly relevant to an understanding and operationalization of the link between gender, environment and development. By exploring the relationship between different research and policy areas, Ms van de Hombergh has made a contribution to the development of a 'gender, environment, and development methodology' in research and policy.
The book is divided into two parts. The first consists of the introduction; an overview of the introductory literature; theoretical approaches to gender, environment and development; relevant global issues; local issues; two representative examples; GED in policy documents; GED methodology: some tools and guidelines; countervailing movements and organizations; information and documentation a step forward. The second part contains a bibliography, an alphabetical subject index for the bibliography, an alphabetical subject index, and information on libraries and periodicals.