Beneficiaries are actors too.pdf - Southern Institute of Peace ...

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Introduction Since time immemorial traditional local communities have continued to rely heavily on IK to conserve the environment and deal with natural disasters. This has enabled communities to identify themselves easily with IKS which have enabled them to live in harmony with their environments for generations. The systems are vital tools in the day to day living of rural communities in Africa, they play a key role in environmental conservation and natural disaster management, and have a great potential in enhancing sustainable development. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recognises the role of IK in the conservation of natural resources and management of natural disasters. Sadly IK has been under utilised and overlooked in the pursuit of various sustainable development initiatives and policies in Africa. Such policies have largely failed because they have overlooked the already existing knowledge, i.e. IK. The paper compares IK and western science examining the problematic characteristics of IK which cause challenges in its use in development. The discussion advocates for the use of IK to spearhead all development initiatives in sectors such as health, agriculture and environmental management as a way of achieving sustainable development. Definition of key terms Sustainable development. The term sustainable development is used to denote development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs – development that does not require a continuous input from outside to sustain itself (Hirji et. al, 2002:315). Development. Development is the process of improving the quality of human life through multi-dimensional changes in structures, attitudes and institutions. The three important aspects of development include raising people's living levels, creating conditions conducive to the growth of people's selfesteem through the establishment of social, political and economic systems and institutions which promote human dignity and respect; and increasing people's freedom to choose by 61
enlarging the range of their choice variables. This is aimed at reducing inequality and eradicating absolute poverty (Todaro, 1996). Indigenous Knowledge. Indigenous knowledge is knowledge that is unique to a given culture, community or society. It is contrasted and differentiated from the knowledge gained at formal institutions. Indigenous knowledge systems encompass all aspects of life, such as the management of natural environment. It forms the basis of survival for the people who own the knowledge. Indigenous knowledge may be part of an on-going experiment or maybe even be an established local tradition (Slum, 2006). Indigenous knowledge is a result of many generations and is cultivated over prolonged years encompassing experiences, careful observations and trial and error experiments evolving over centuries (Martin, 1995). Thus over centuries, indigenous people of various localities would have developed their own specific knowledge on plant resource use, management and conservation (Cotton, 1996). Knowledge. The question of defining knowledge has occupied the minds of philosophers since time immemorial dating back to the classical Greek era and culminating into many epistemological debates (Alavi and Leidner, 2001:109). Knowledge is processed in the mind of an individual and can be described as internalised information relating to facts, concepts, ideas and observations. However, it is essential to note that knowledge building is a social process that occurs in all local communities. Nonaka (1994) explicated two dimensions of knowledge: Explicit knowledge which is articulated, codified, expressed and communicated in symbolic form and in natural languages; and Tacit knowledge which comprises both cognitive (that is an individual's mental modes) and technical which refers to the concrete knowhow, crafts, skills elements. Explicit knowledge can easily be encoded, explained and understood. Tacit knowledge is highly subjective and personal, making it difficult to formalise and encode and is susceptible to 62
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Sustainable peace and development a
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Sustainable peace and development a
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Contents Introduction: The primacy
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its work on community, with special
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in Africa. The paper highlights the
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1 Women's access to microfinance an
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all household members, especially i
Page 15 and 16: family well-being are often higher
Page 17 and 18: “[b]y plugging the gap left by th
Page 19 and 20: As at 30 July 2011 the country's ba
Page 21 and 22: analysis will also be as much infor
Page 23 and 24: not about bemoaning the limited acc
Page 25 and 26: approach the MFIs, is that “it wi
Page 27 and 28: d) Indicators of the social and eco
Page 29 and 30: Illiteracy creates a situation of d
Page 31 and 32: Disabilities: Lessons from Zambia a
Page 33 and 34: Abbreviations and acronyms CBNRM Co
Page 35 and 36: (Murindagomo, 1990). Its main appro
Page 37 and 38: percentages to the gross domestic p
Page 39 and 40: some trees were not supposed to be
Page 41 and 42: formulation will ensure their total
Page 43 and 44: the commons'. The concept of commun
Page 45 and 46: esources in these government estate
Page 47 and 48: management in Botswana and Namibia:
Page 49 and 50: Introduction This article seeks to
Page 51 and 52: esearchers come to study with backg
Page 53 and 54: the land US$750.00. Mudzi laid the
Page 55 and 56: case the chief's court sought the t
Page 57 and 58: The chief's personality This influe
Page 59 and 60: process of reporting a case is too
Page 61 and 62: and implies that offenders should r
Page 63 and 64: Cases reported to Chief Chounda bet
Page 65: 4 The role of Indigenous Knowledge
Page 69 and 70: this also served to promote food se
Page 71 and 72: development strategies in Africa sh
Page 73 and 74: countries seriously questioned why
Page 75 and 76: especting their realities and prior
Page 77 and 78: competing knowledge systems, charac
Page 79 and 80: impressive in transforming poor peo
Page 81 and 82: must be recognised if it is to be i
Page 83 and 84: implications for sustainable conser
Page 85 and 86: Pretty, J. N. (1994) Alternative sy
Page 87 and 88: Introduction The United Nations Edu
Page 89 and 90: Science educators have failed in th
Page 91 and 92: education in this historical era th
Page 93 and 94: esult may be disastrous. The HIV an
Page 95 and 96: affairs and ultimately the adoption
Page 97 and 98: esources, increasing green house ef
Page 99 and 100: years, and yet it is less than 100
Page 101 and 102: Fuchs, S. (2000) A social theory of
Page 103 and 104: 6 Re-examining the role of NGOs in
Page 105 and 106: that NGOs are involved in when tryi
Page 107 and 108: to see the causes of conflict as go
Page 109 and 110: which the oil is located are disgru
Page 111 and 112: communities putting into question t
Page 113 and 114: The controversies surrounding NGOs'
Page 115 and 116: conflict ridden African states, whe
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in resolving conflict and peace bui
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Recommendations To work effectively
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Juma, M.K. (2008) Conflict Preventi
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Introduction The Zimbabwean land re
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Government or private agencies. Thi
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credit facilities, new farmers in Z
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control 49 percent in any business
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implementation of investment progra
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the ice-berg. Disadvantaged areas m
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eventual agreement on the implement
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they are simply recipients of polic
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the government embarks on a nationw
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farm ownership in the country. The
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8 Community-driven conflict resolut
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approximately 800,000 Rwandans and
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their mediation skills.” The cell
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well as centre-periphery thesis whi
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justice In the post-genocide era, t
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marginalized and disenfranchised fr
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summarized and simplified versions
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In Rwanda for example, citizens cou
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Although the use of carrot and stic
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abunzi and the formal system beckon
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Kauzya, John-Mary. (2007) Political
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Conclusion All through the papers,
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About the editor Samuel Maruta is t
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