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Editorial
Ethnoveterinary healing practices of Fulani pastoralists in Cameroon:
combining the natural and the supernatural by Mopoi Nuwanyakpa, Ngeh
J. Toyang, Sali Django, Christopher Ndi, and Clare Wirmum
The role of indigenous knowledge in sustainable agricultural production in
developing countries is beginning to gain recognition within scientific circles.
However, the usefulness of supernatural practices for the treatment of disease
is still controversial. A careful analysis of supernatural healing practices
used by Fulani pastoralists reveals that some of these practices are routinely
applied in animal health management. Recognition of the potential contribution
of supernatural healing practices could permit a more objective scientific
assessment of the effectiveness of many indigenous systems.
Indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants and wild edibles among three
tribal subcommunities of the Central Himalayas, India by R.K. Maikhuri,
Sunil Nautiyal, K.S. Rao and R.L. Semwal
The Bhotiyas of the Central Himalayas, who practice migratory cattle-raising and
traditional agriculture, are highly dependent on the resources which they find
in nature. The present article, which is based on years of research among three
subcommunities of the Bhotiyas, documents their knowledge of medicinal plants
and wild edibles, and the specific manner in which they are used. This
information is presented in three tables. The article ends with a discussion of
the need to conserve this knowledge in the light of the rapid acculturation now
taking place within the Tolchha, Marchha and Jadh subcommunities.
A farmers' perspective on biodiversity from Western Mexico by Peter R.W.
Gerritsen
Today the conservation of biodiversity is a major international goal. In this
endeavour, the establishment of protected areas has become a widely accepted
policy instrument. However, up to now the participation of farmers in the
management of protected areas has been minimal. This article maintains that a
farmers' perspective on biodiversity is needed as a first step towards
conservation that really works. This will be illustrated by a case study from
western Mexico.
Focus on: Agricultural development in Sierra Leone
Why agricultural development projects have failed in Sierra Leone: local
farmers' indigenous knowledge the missing element
Dr Dominic T. Ashley is director of the Centre for Indigenous Knowledge Fourah
Bay College (CIKFAB) in Sierra Leone. In August last year Dr Ashley wrote a
letter to the editor in which he pointed out that for the past nine years 'Sierra
Leone has been in a state of war with rebel factions, and that this situation
has greatly affected the functioning of the Centre (...).' But as Dr Ashley
continued on a more hopeful note, 'with peace almost a reality in Sierra Leone,
I would be grateful if you would publish this paper on the need for the
Government and the agricultural authorities to recognize the importance and
value of indigenous knowledge and practices in agricultural development. Such
recognition is almost totally lacking in Sierra Leone.' The following excerpt
sketches the situation.
Review: 'Nothing about us without us': a plea for
mainstreaming IK in rehabilitation technology by Ezinna Enwereji
This publication contains a heartfelt plea for giving equal credence to
indigenous knowledge and Western scientific knowledge, on the grounds that the
processes by which indigenous knowledge is generated are as rigorous as those of
Western science. Moreover, indigenous devices take into consideration the needs
and the customs of the disabled. It is this discussion that gave rise to the
term 'nothing about us without us', which is used in the title and throughout
the book. This argument is aimed at introducing and perfecting indigenous
knowledge within the mainstream of rehabilitation technology for, by and with
disabled persons within the rehabilitation institutions.
Communications
Guest column by Landon Myer
Indigenous knowledge for sustainable development:
Mediums and messages: developing database systems for indigenous knowledge
Landon Myer is a senior scientist at the South African Medical Research Council
and the Africa Centre for Population Studies and Reproductive Health (Wellcome
Trust, UK). With a background in socio-cultural anthropology, his research
interests are traditional subsistence systems and nutrition, ethnobotany and
public health, and the role of local knowledge in the epidemiology of
communicable diseases.
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Indigenous Knowledge
IKDM 8-2 as PDF file 
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