Indigenous Knowledge and Development
Monitor, December 1998 Indigenous Knowledge and Development
Monitor, December 1998
Contents IK Monitor 6(3) | IKDM Homepage | Suggestions to: ikdm@nuffic.nl | (c) copyright Nuffic-CIRAN and contributors 1999.
IMPORTANT NEW BOOKS
The appearance of important new publications is signalled here, and the books are briefly described. We have requested review copies, which will be sent to experts for their opinions regarding the books' practical usefulness. The reviewer's comments will be published in a subsequent issue of the Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor.
Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO (ACCU) (1998) AJP materials (1) Herbal plants.
Keeping our traditional wisdom alive. (2) Caring for our town environment - Reduce, reuse,
recycle of garbage. Each booklet: 11 pp. Published by ACCU, No. 6 Fukuromachi,
Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162,-8484 Japan. Tel.: +81-3-3269 4559. Fax: +81-3-3269 4510. E-mail: literacy@accu.or.jp
These booklets are prototypes of materials produced for neo-literates in rural areas
through the Asia-Pacific Joint Programme (AJP), which is being conducted in cooperation
with the UNESCO Principal Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. Master versions of AJP
materials are first produced in English through the cooperative efforts of experts in 19
participating countries, including Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Iran and the
Philippines. They are distributed to organizations for comments and field testing, and
then further refined before being made available to literacy organizations throughout the
regions. The literacy organizations are encouraged to adapt the prototypes and create
their own versions, which are better suited to the daily lives and learning environments
of the target learners. So far, 56 prototypes have been developed and put to use.
The two
latest booklets are targeted to neo-literates in rural areas and neo-literates in urban
areas. Their respective subjects are the use of locally available plants for the treatment
of common ailments, and the reduction and re-use of waste materials. Apart from providing
reading material for new readers, the booklets make learners aware of issues relevant to
sustainable development. The booklets are attractively illustrated. For a closer look at
the AJP materials, please visit the Asia-Pacific literacy database at http://www.accu.or.jp/litdbase
INASP—the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications
(1998) The INASP directory of organisations and networks in rural development: Africa.
Pilot edition. Published with support from UNESCO. 229 pp. Copies are sent free of charge
in response to requests from developing countries. For requests from elsewhere, there is a
nominal charge of £10 for packaging and postage. INASP, P.O. Box 2564, London W5 1ZD, UK.
Tel.: +44-181-997 3274. Fax: +44-181-810 9795. E-mail: inasp@gn.apc.org
http://www.oneworld.org/inasp/
This directory is the first step in INASP's effort to help rectify the global
imbalance with regard to scientific information. The aim is to identify institutions in
the countries of the South which produce research results and are willing to share them.
Questionnaires were sent to institutions directly, and other data was gathered from the
Internet and secondary sources. A number of entries resulted from the Call for Information
published in the December 1997 issue of the Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor. For the purposes of the directory, rural development is defined in its broadest
sense, and includes all aspects of agriculture, forestry, environment, and community
development. Only the field of health has been excluded, since INASP expects to publish
the INASP Health Directory later this year, a companion volume to the present pilot
edition. The main focus of the present directory is Africa, which accounts for some 100 of
the 150 entries so far. INASP decided to concentrate its initial efforts on Africa because
this is the source of most of the requests it receives for support related to information.
The directory has three parts:
Haugen, Christine and Patrick B. Durst (1997) Directory of selected tropical forestry
journals and newsletters. 2nd Edition. RAP Publication 1997/17. FORSPA Publication No.
19/1997. viii + 130 pp. Individual copies of the directory are free. For larger shipments,
postage and handling may be charged. Please write to: Patrick Durst, regional forestry
officer, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Regional Office for
Asia and the Pacific, 39 Phra Atit Road, Bangkok 10200 Thailand. Fax: +66-2-280 0445.
E-mail: Patrick.Durst@fao.org
The first edition of this directory, which was published in 1993, was well received around
the world. In recent years there has been a spectaculair increase in the volume of
information produced on tropical forestry and forestry-related development. For these
reasons, FAO agreed with the compilers of the first edition (USDA Forest Service, the
International Society of Tropical Foresters and the Society of American Foresters) to
support the update and revise the directory.
Mr Soetatwo Hdiwigeno, assistant
director-general and regional representative of FAO, writes in the foreword that knowledge
and experience in the field of tropical forestry are increasingly being shared through the
use of modern technology: fax machines, e-mail, and homepages on the Internet, for
example. But for the vast majority of users, especially in developing countries, printed
materials continue to be the primary vehicle for exchanging information. The present
directory is intended to help professionals to identify and obtain useful publications and
materials.
The directory lists and describes 450 periodicals focusing on tropical
forestry. These range from scientific journals to informal newsletters. The directory is
organized by region, and within regions by country. E-mail addresses and Internet sites
are given whenever possible as an additional aid to help readers contact publishers. The
compilers urge users to be selective when ordering periodicals that are listed as free of
charge, since many publications are produced with the help of limited funds.
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