Indigenous Knowledge
and
Development Monitor

Contents IKDM 9-3, November 2001

Tables and graphs, however, always appear in their entirety, as they often contain
essential information which is not provided in the article itself.

General & Communications | Articles | IKDM 9-3 as PDF file

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Articles
Editorial Indigenous hydrological knowledge in southwestern Ethiopia by Alan Dixon The highland wetlands of south-west Ethiopia perform numerous environmental functions and provide a range of products for rural communities. As reservoirs of soil moisture, they are also able to support annual crop production. The sustainability of wetland agriculture, however, appears largely dependant on indigenous wetland knowledge, its evolution and dissemination. Integration of indigenous knowledge into land-use planning for the communal rangelands of Namibia by Sabine Homann and Barbara Rischkowsky Despite the growing recognition of the value of indigenous knowledge for sustainable development, it has not yet been widely integrated into the research and development process. The present article provides an example of how this can be achieved. The position of farmers' local knowledge within agricultural extension, research, and development cooperation by Gitta Röth During the last ten years a number of participatory approaches to rural development have emerged, all of which place a strong emphasis on local knowledge systems. But what will be the position of local knowledge under the newly emerging paradigms of privatization, commercialization and the decentralization of agricultural services in developing countries? Local knowledge utilization and sustainable rural development in the 21st century by O. D. Kolawole Local or indigenous knowledge is essential for rural development. This article provides a conceptual framework to distinguish between the various knowledge systems currently in use. It is suggested that knowledge should be documented and preserved both in situ and ex situ, and urges governments to afford agencies for scheduled change, CBOs and NGOs the opportunity to access information from international centres through the Internet. Focus on: schools in Thailand Preserving local knowledge through discovery learning by Gina Lucarelli Recent legislation in Thailand has opened up the process of curriculum development to allow for decentralization to the local level. The 1999 revision of the National Education Law makes local educational institutions responsible for tailoring the content of the national curriculum to the social needs of each community and, most importantly, for teaching 'local wisdom' as part of the coursework in public schools. Curriculum content can now be developed at the local level. PLAN International, a child-centered community development organization, has supported schools and communities in northeastern Thailand in their efforts to develop local curricula. Guest column by Guus von Liebenstein LINKING LOCAL AND GLOBAL WISDOM Guus W. von Liebenstein is director of Nuffic-CIRAN, The Hague, the Netherlands

For more information, please contact the editor:
Anna van Marrewijk
Nuffic-CIRAN
P.O. Box 29777
2502 LT The Hague
The Netherlands
Tel: +31-70-4260324
Fax: +31-70-4260329/4260399
E-mail: ikdm@nuffic.nl

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