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.
Using indigenous knowledge for wildlands conservation in Papua New Guinea
Papua New
Guinea contains the largest unexplored tracts of forest in the South Pacific. While both
the international community of environmentalists and the government of Papua New Guinea
recognize the importance of conserving these forests, neither has the resources needed to
study them thoroughly. The present project is using indigenous knowledge to develop a
conservation strategy for one of the largest unexplored areas in Papua New Guinea: the
Central Range wilderness at the headwaters of the Strickland River. Described in the 1993
Conservation Needs Assessment as "a wilderness with a low human population",
this is the homeland of the Hewa--a group of swidden horticulturalists scattered
throughout the mountainous terrain between the highlands and the Sepik lowlands. No roads
have been cut through the forest in this region, and no bridges span the Laigaip, Om or
Strickland Rivers in the Hewa territory. Although an airstrip was built in 1992, the
continuing isolation of the Hewa offers an opportunity for exploring the relationship
between traditional lifestyles and wildlands conservation in New Guinea. The project has
three main objectives:
Research has concentrated on indigenous knowledge of birds because they are the best
known of New Guinea's fauna. Birds are the primary agents of seed dispersal in New
Guinea's forests. Human activity alters the forest and therefore impacts directly
upon avian diversity, forest regeneration and the conservation of biodiversity.
Both
western ornithologists and the Hewa associate some species exclusively with the primary
forest, and others with forests that have undergone at least 20 years of regeneration. Up
to now 128 Hewa categories of birds have been recorded. They correspond to 171 species.
According to the Hewa, cutting forest will eliminate 56 species of birds, roughly 33 per
cent of the species found here. The Hewa also predict that shortening the fallow period of
their gardens will eliminate another 42 bird species (25%). Station counts seem to confirm
these predictions.
Although preliminary, such data provide insight into the relationship
between traditional activity and biodiversity conservation. It is hoped that such data
will empower the Hewa to play a larger role in the conservation of their lands, by
involving them in the development phase of such projects.
For more information, please
contact: William H. Thomas, 507 Barr Avenue, Linwood, N.J. 08221 USA. Tel.: +1-609-926
0978. Fax: +1-609-822 8978. E-mail: PNGEXPLORE@AOL.com
Ayurvedic herbal recipes for treating spinal problems
Spondylosis is a physiological
disorder caused by degeneration or disintegration of inter-vertebral discs, which are
present between the bones of the spinal column to protect them from shock. Spondylosis
results in pinched nerves and stiffened muscles, which can cause unbearable pain in the
neck and back. This condition is becoming increasingly common in India, probably as a
function of stress. A survey has revealed that the disorder is more prevalent and more
severe among women. This has to do with the nature of their domestic work, with
child-bearing, and above all, with the lack of a nutritionally balanced diet.
The symptoms
of spondylosis are usually treated by having patients wear a neck collar or lumbar belt,
or—in serious cases—by removing the offending disc. But neither of these
treatments results in permanent recovery or a cure. Recently, however, Professor B.A.
Hegde of the Botany Department, Shivaji University, Kolhapur (India), and Dr Vivek
Haldavnekar have studied an Ayurvedic medicine which clinical trials have shown to be
effective in fostering the regeneration of damaged discs.
Ayurveda is an originally Indian
medical system. It has its beginnings more than 2500 years ago, in the 6th century before
the present era. The basic principle of Ayurveda is that everything in the universe is
composed of five elements. The human body is made of up of these elements plus the soul.
The five elements are "Prithvi" (earth); "Apa" (liquid);
"Tejas" (fire); "Vayu" (air) and "Akash" (the void). In
their biological form in the human body, the elements are each made up of three components
(Doshas), which in turn are made up of other components (Panchamahabhuta). All of these
components must be in balance and harmony. Only then can a person maintain good health. If
one element is disturbed, it sets off a series of disturbances in other elements. In
Ayurveda, diseases are first diagnosed and then treated with medicine made from various
plants, or parts of plants. Certain plants have been identified as having a stabilizing
effect on the doshas or elements, thereby restoring a person to their previous condition.
In Ayurveda it is not a question of a single plant being used to treat a single ailment,
but rather that combinations of substances with different properties are derived or
concocted from different plants.
Two Ayurvedic recipes for treating spondylosis were
tested: "Shwadanshtradi guggul" and "Pasmak kitta yoga". The first is
made from dried parts of a number of plants, including the fruit of Burra Gookeroo
(Pedalium murex Linn.), Fagonia critica, Bergenia ligulata, ginger rhizome (Zingiber
officinale), black pepper (Piper nigrum), pepper (Piper longum infloresence), and gum of
Balsamodendrom mukul. The second recipe, Pasmak kitta yoga, is prepared by using
"mandoor bhasma" and dry stems of Prunus cersoides, devoid of bark. Mandoor is a
sort of iron, derived from the processing of several plant extracts. The two recipes are
used in combination to treat patients; both are powders taken orally with water.
Clinical
trials were carried out on 150 patients whose symptoms had been confirmed by X-ray. With
the exception of patients who stopped the treatment, nearly all patients were cured.
Amazingly, X-rays revealed that after three months of treatment discs were fully
regenerated. Absolutely no side effects were noted, and follow-up studies did not uncover
any recurrence of the disorder.
Chemical analysis of the recipes reveals that
Shwadanshtradi guggul contains mainly flavonoids and glycosides, which play a major role
in the regeneration of tissue. Pasmak kitta yoga has been proven to increase the level of
body fluid, thereby preventing the dehydration which is responsible for disc degeneration.
For more information, please contact: B.A. Hegde, Professor and Head, Department of
Botany, Shivaji University, Kolhapur - 416 004, India. Fax: +91-231-656 133. Or: Dr Vivek
Haldavnekar, 38, Lic Colony, Tararani Cgowk Kolhapur 416003, Maharashtra, India.
Six villages in India and their effective systems for using the land and its resources
The northeastern part of India is a region rich in both cultural and biological diversity.
Many tribes living in this area are fully dependent on natural resources and hence have
extensive knowledge of those resources. One of these tribes is the Konyak Nagas. In June
1996, with financial assistance from Earth Love Fund (UK), the Applied Environmental
Research Foundation (AERF) started a research project under the title Ethnobiology of
Konyak Nagas from Northern Nagaland, India. The aim is to examine the role of indigenous
knowledge in the management of natural resources, and to assess its significance in the
modern context. Research was conducted by Dr Archana Godbole and Ms Swapna Prabhu from the
AERF. They were assisted by a Konyak student, Mr Loipong Konyak, who was trained in plant
identification and data collection techniques. The team used techniques of rapid rural
appraisal (RRA) and participatory rural appraisal (PRA), along with interviews and group
discussions in order to gain insight into the local systems for managing resources.
Photographs and a herbarium are also helping to create a permanent record of the
region's biodiversity.
Data were collected from six villages that live mainly from
crops grown under a system of shifting cultivation ("jhum"). The cycle is around
10-12 years. Fieldcrops are supplemented with fruit, vegetables, construction materials,
fuelwood and game that is either grown in home gardens or gathered from communal forests.
Each village is self-sustaining; there is no local marketing system.
More than 50
varieties of rice and numerous varieties of millet, maize and Elephant's-ear
(Colocasia esculenta) are grown under the jhum system. Konyak home gardens are very
diverse in size and location as well as in terms of the plants they contained. In the home
gardens of a single village, 122 species were found. The research team recorded these,
together with their uses, which varied from food and medicine to basket fibres and fish
poison. By using different combinations of trees, shrubs and other plants, and by
organizing and managing land use well, the local populations are making maximum use of
available land.
After two years of data collection, the researchers prepared a report,
which was translated into the common Konyak language and circulated in the villages. The
report is the first technical document about natural resources ever available in this
language. It has been well received by the villagers. The people now want to record all of
their knowledge, which up to now has been available only in oral form.
A strong community
organization plays an important role in any effort to preserve indigenous knowledge. Since
it has administered the local system of land use—setting the rules, designating land
for individual or communal use, conducting inspections, and imposing sanctions on anyone
who breakes the rules—it is an excellent source of information. The community
organization prevents overexploitation of resources and regulates the choice of crops so
as to ensure sustainability.
But a strong community organization is not enough to preserve
systems based on indigenous knowledge. Members of the community are subjected to outside
influences—modern education, for example—which undermine indigenous knowledge,
especially among the younger generations. The introduction of exotic cash crops and hybrid
varieties leads to the loss of local varieties. In an effort to make local people more
aware of the value of their own systems as well as the dangers that threaten them, the
AERF held interactive workshops in two of the villages. Villagers discussed the varieties
of crops, animals and wild plants and began a process of documentation. Insights gained
from this exercise will be used to design a general strategy for preserving indigenous
knowledge and using it for purposes of sustainable development.
For more information,
please contact: Dr Archana Godbole, Applied Environmental Research Foundation (AERF),
917/7, Ganga-Tara Apts., Ganeshwadi, Near British Library, Pune 411 004, Maharashtra,
India. Tel.: +91-212-350 239. Fax: +91-212-639 203. E-mail: hanul@giaspn01.vsnl.net.in
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