African Water Development Report 2006 - United Nations Economic ...

African Water Development Report 2006between water resources technology and developmentdoes not lie with technology per se butwith the organization of water and land management.This raises the question of appropriatenessof technology in a given socio-economic milieu.If technology is to be considered as a tool (hardwareor software) then the question of its appropriatenessis simply a matter of choice which is ahuman responsibility. For technology transfer toAfrican countries to be effective, it must be accompaniedby a long-term process of human andinstitutional capacity building in an enabling environmentwith the necessary general infrastructure,professional climate and incentives. It is notsufficient to adopt and adapt knowledge basesdeveloped in other physical and climatic regionsto Africa’s needs. Such a knowledge must be infusedinto local knowledge and experiences withinAfrica in order to take full advantage of traditionalwisdom. It is interesting to note that twoUnited Nations Agencies have been supportingprojects in Africa involving local and indigenousknowledge systems. The International Fund forAgricultural Development (IFAD) is involved ina series of projects on soil and water conservation(SWC) with emphasis on local techniques andthe Food and Agricutural Organization (FAO)has also sponsored an information research onknowledge and management systems used mainlyby African herders.Some Examples of African IndigenousKnowledge SystemsA policy document of the International Fund forAgricultural Development on SWC in sub-SaharanAfrica has identified and analyzed a rangeof issues for designing SWC and planning strategies.The document states, “The first step in thedesign process of a new SWC programme shouldbe the identification of indigenous farming systems,and the next step should be to determinewhether and how these conservation techniquescan be used as starting points or building blocksfor a new programme, and how their efficiencycan be improved.” (Chris Reij, 1993). No fewerthan 21 countries in East, West and SouthernAfrica have benefited from the special programmefor sub-Saharan countries affected bydrought and desertification in the period 1988-1993 (table. 16.1)Local knowledge of natural resources is made upof three types of information: (a) accumulatedcultural knowledge, (b) knowledge modifiedthrough contact with other cultures, and (c) progressivelearning of the environment. In almostall cases discussed in the previous sections, theknowledge of natural resources, whether, climate,plants, water or disease, is accurate and sometimessimilar to formal science. The classificationand nomenclature of soils, geomorphology andvegetation shows detailed knowledge of microvariationin resources, and sources of environmentalrisk. The classification systems depend onthe complexity and diversity of the local environment,but will also indicate patterns and prioritiesof use. The same resource may have differentnames, and conversely, different things may havesame name because they share an underlyingconcept. For example, the Ikale of southwest Nigeriahave the same name for fertilizer, pesticide,and witchcraft because all three connote powerand control over the environment. In addition,vernacular names are often of restricted localuse, even from one village to the next. Classificationsystems, at least for plants, also appear to bemore detailed among pastoralists than farmersliving in the same area, although more comparativestudies are needed before this point can begeneralized. For example, the Amhara farmers ofEthiopia lump more plants together into genericnames than the Somali pastoralists who use thesame area (FAO CF Note 4, 1990).The process of environmental degradation is anotherecological feature that is known in detail.For example, the Fulani of northern BurkinaFaso perceive degradation by changes in plantcomposition and decrease in soil cover, and havenames for all types of soil degradation that formalscience recognizes 134 . Both the Fulani andTwareg believe certain rangelands are “dirty” or300