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Building on and Integrating Local Knowledge
Mark Calamia
Assistant Professor
University of North Texas
Local knowledge, Indigenous Knowledge, Traditional Knowledge, Environmental Knowledge, and Traditional Ecological Knowledge are terms that often are used interchangeably to denote a way of knowing that is based on an accumulation of observations but is fundamentally different from science. Local knowledge when applied to an understanding of nature and its systems is traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) is often associated with indigenous, tribal, or peasant peoples. These groups offer alternative knowledge and views that are founded on their own locally based developed practices of resource exploitation.
A considerable portion of the research on TEK emphasizes monitoring, responding to, and managing ecosystem functions and processes and ecological resilience. Throughout the world there exists considerable variation in traditional or local practices for ecosystems management. Such differences include resource rotation, multiple species management, landscape patchiness management, succession management, and techniques to address systemic change and sudden ecological perturbations. Social mechanisms underlying such traditional practices include a number of adaptations pertaining to genesis, accumulation, development, and transmission of knowledge. Other social mechanisms involve the use of local institutions that provide stewards and leaders as well as rules for social regulation. Cultural internalization of traditional practices and the cultivation of appropriate world views and cultural values are essential aspects of this approach. Some TEK systems may be characterized by the use of social local knowledge to interpret and respond to nature-based feedbacks to guide particular avenues of resource management. Of interest to contemporary resource managers is that these traditional systems share similar aspects to adaptive management with its emphasis on feedback learning, and its treatment of uncertainty and unexpected events that are inherent to all ecosystems.
Brief History
Traditional knowledge, as one way of knowing, exhibits similarities to Western science because it is based on an accumulation of observations, yet different from science in some basic ways. Environmental philosophers, anthropologists, and other social scientists have shown that these two forms of science were fundamentally distinct because the physical world is conceived in the one case as highly concrete and in the other as supremely abstract. Two different traditions of thought may be distinguished: abstract traditions, which include systems of knowledge possessed by non-Western science, knowledge that becomes encoded in rituals and in the cultural practices. Some researchers caution against placing too much emphasis on the differences between Western science and traditional knowledge and questioned of the dichotomy is real. In the last 20 years interest in TEK has been growing, due in part to the recognition that such knowledge contribute to the conservation of biodiversity, protected areas, rare species, ecological processes, and to sustainable resource use. Ecological anthropologists, conservation biologists, ethnobiologists, zoologists, botanist, developers, and ethnopharmacologists all share an interest in traditional knowledge for scientific, social, and economic applications.
The concept of “tradition” has been dropped in some contexts because the term connotes 19th- centuries attitudes of simple, primitive, and static. For this reason, some scholars have advocated the less value- laden term “indigenous knowledge.” Despite this, the term “Traditional Ecological Knowledge” has become widely accepted among others through the initiatives of the International Conservation Union (IUCN) working group of the same name.
During its earlier stages, the study of TEK began with the study of species identification and classification (ethnobiology) and continued to considerations of indigenous peoples’ knowledge of ecological processes and their relationships with the environment. Many TEK systems exhibit a component of local observational knowledge of species and other environmental phenomena, a component of practice in the way people conduct their resource use activities. It is also a component of belief on how humans relate to their ecosystems. Traditional knowledge is essentially a knowledge-practice-belief complex. The following is a widely accepted definition of TEK:
“TEK [is] a cumulative body of knowledge, practice, and belief, evolving by adaptive processes and handed down through generations by cumulative transmission, about the relationship of living beings (including humans) with one another and with their environment” (Berkes et al. 2000:1252).
Relationship of topic to Conservation
TEK should be considered as various domains of knowledge that has accumulated over time though numerous generations of close contact and interaction between human beings and nature. Managers and practitioners alike are now learning that its application through customary management practices is proving useful to many contemporary conservation projects and programs. TEK can support research designs by increasing locality-specific knowledge, including environmental connections occurring in those localities. Because many research projects occur in remote areas, local people are in an excellent position to aid researchers by furnishing specific detailed information concerning species presence and distribution, particularly about specific habitats. Most indigenous people view their local environment holistically, and are therefore more likely to be aware of linkages between various ecological processes, multiple species, and abiotic factors that influence species biology. In terms of scientific discourse, research represents mostly a one-way transfer of knowledge and power. Many of these inequities can be reduced through education, training, and cultural empowerment. Research must be conducted in a fashion by which indigenous, tribal, and peasant peoples are integrated into research designs and programs that develop feelings of ownership of that research project.
TEK may be viewed as falling into three major subcategories pertaining to ecological and conservation biology research: folk taxonomy and systematics, population-level knowledge, and ecological relationships. Folk taxonomy and systematics allows researches to investigate the ways in which different cultures organize their world. Examining these systems of classification is useful in delineating the views of local peoples about how organisms are grouped and how their world view relates groups of species to the larger world.
TEK has also been applied to concerning population-level issues, including population genetics, behavioral ecology, and population-level biology. Traditional people that regularly harvest from their environment by hunting or cultivation are often highly aware of their impacts on plant and animal populations. Their dependence on local resources allows indigenous peoples to understand the natural fluctuations in population size, habitat specificity, or dietary preferences that are yet unrecorded in the scientific documents.
The practice of some traditional peoples reflects knowledge of specific of complex multitaxa interactions ranging from host-parasite relationships to natural succession in forests and grasslands habitats. Local peoples’ TEK regarding natural and anthropogenic disturbances has influenced the development of traditional management plans. Indigenous, tribal, and peasant peoples often possess a vast storehouse of knowledge about the interactions of species gained through many years of observations; this knowledge is often useful in guiding conservation biologists in ecological restoration or management regimes.
TEK represents the accumulated knowledge about species, environments, and their interactions accrued and were passed from generation-to-generation. The term, TEK, encompasses knowledge from a variety of activities, such as household economy and trade, medical products collection, spiritual divination, and hunting. In sum, the application has led to the establishment of formalized customary ecological management practices, which have drawn the attention from biologists as frameworks on which to build management and conservation plans.
Key Resources and Tools
Berkes, F., Colding J., and C. Folke, 2000. Rediscovery of Traditional Ecological Knowledge as Adaptive Management. Ecological Applications, 10(5):1251-1262.
Berlin, B. 1973. Folk Systematics in Relation to Biological Classification and Nomenclature: Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 4:259-271.
Berkes, F., and Folke, C. 1998. Linking Social and Ecological Systems for Resilience and Sustainability. In Linking Social and Ecological Systems: Management Practices and Social Mechanisms for Building Resilience. F. Berkes and C. Folke (eds.) Pp.1-25. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, U.K.
Berkes, F., Colding, J. and Folke, C. 2000. Rediscovery of Traditional Ecological Knowledge as Adaptive Management Ecological Applications. Ecological Applications 10(5):1251-1262.
*Berkes, F. 1999. Chapter One: Context of Traditional Ecological Knowledge. In Sacred Ecology: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Resource Management. Taylor & Francis: Philadelphia. Pp.3-15.
Berkes, F. 1999. Chapter Two: Emergence of the Field. In Sacred Ecology: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Resource Management. Taylor & Francis: Philadelphia. Pp.17-35.
*Berkes, F. 1993. Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Perspective. In Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Concepts and Cases. J.T. Inglis (ed.). Pp.1-9. International Program on Traditional Ecological Knowledge and International Development Research Centre: Ottawa, Canada.
Brosius, J. P. 2004. Indigenous Peoples and Protected Areas at the World Parks Congress. Conservation Biology 18(3):609-612.
Berlin B. 1992. Ethnobiological Classification: Principals of Categorization of Plants and Animals of Traditional Societies. Princeton University Press: Princeton, New Jersey.
Boster J.S. and J.C. Johnson 1989. Form and Function: A Comparison of Expert and Novice Judgments of Similarity Among Fish. American Anthropologist 91:867-889.
Drew, J.A. Use of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Marine Conservation. Conservation Biology 19(4):1286-1293.
Gadgil, M., F. Berkes, and C. Folke, 1993. Indigenous Knowledge for Biodiversity Conservation. Ambio 22:151-156.
Feyerabend, P., 1987. Farewell to Reason. Verson: London, UK.
Warren, D.M., 1995. Comments on Article by Arun Agrawal. Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor 4(1):13.
Johannes, R.E. (editor) 1989. Traditional Ecological Knowledge: A Collection of Essays. International Conservation Union (IUCN): Gland, Switzerland.
Johannes, R.E., 2000. Ignore Fishers’ Knowledge and Miss the Boat. Fish and Fisheries 1:257-271.
Nabhan, G.P. 2000. Interspecific Relationships Affecting Endangered Species Recognized by O’odham and Comcaac Cultures. Ecological Applications 10:1288-1295.
Williams N.M. and G. Baines, 1993. Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Wisdom for Sustainable Development. N.M. Williams and G.Baines (eds). Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, Australia National University: Canberra, Australia.
Links to Organizations and Web sites
Society for Restoration (SER) International Online Indigenous’ Peoples Restoration Network
AAAS Project on Traditional Ecological KnowledgeEcocentrism and Traditional Ecological Knowledge
NTFP Conference Proceedings Changing Resource Management Paradigms, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, and Non-timber Forest Products
Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Giving Traditional Ecological Knowledge Its Rightful Place in Environmental Impact Assessment
The Nature and Utility of Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Traditional Ecological Knowledge Section Ecological Society of America
Pacific Forestry Centre
ESA Traditional Ecological Knowledge Section: An Annotated List of Links
Conserve Online
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