The cultural context of biodiversity conservation - Oapen

Local expressions of indigenous knowledge
critical point is the way knowledge and related practices are conceptualised by those
who use them; and thus the way they are ›managed‹ or ›implemented‹ by local practitioners
can be very different to how NGOs and governments might ideally proceed.
The practical consequence is that any measure and initiative to protect, promote and
facilitate the use of indigenous knowledge will have a much greater chance of success
if it is designed and presented in terms that are meaningful to the knowledge-holders
themselves. In interviews, it often occurred that people mentioned that official institutions
and non-governmental organisations did not address their real problems and
needs. Measures that had been implemented by official bodies were perceived as impositions
in a process of substitution of local knowledge. ›Projects‹ were even considered
as causing more problems by displacing integral practices and offering alternatives
only in technical terms that were not adapted to the specific local conditions.
Taking into account such reservations and the history of conflicts, the general lack
of participation in political terms and in particular the lack of communication between
local people and state agencies, it was interesting to observe an open discussion on resource
use practices between villagers, park guards and administrative agents. Initiated
for the first time in September 2002 by members of the Escuela de Biología, this encounter
eventually led to the elaboration of the aforementioned hunting calendar. After
consultation, a joint agreement to carry out a previously developed study project was
reached. In this process, the biologists had earned a supportive and advisory role in
the communities and came to function as intermediaries between the villagers and the
employees of the Proyecto Lachuá. A key element in the approach as understood by the
scientists implied an ongoing open dialogue and the finding of compromises by means
of concerted negotiation between the management personnel and the resourcedependent
population living in proximity to the ecologically valuable area. The endeavour
to achieve communication across the gap of differing worldviews rested on
the assumption that conflicts cannot be resolved until a relationship has been established
that both sides thought worth saving. Community-based conservation is a long
term process. It takes time to gain the trust of people and to neutralise the effects of
mistrust. As the farmers often do not practice conservation for its own sake, but give
social values to particular local resources, the scientists tried to adopt concepts and
categories that were relevant and meaningful to the people they worked with. This endeavour
to strengthen the dialogue between indigenous and scientific knowledge is an
example of integrated management with the target of biodiversity conservation within
the context of human resource use patterns. The combined use of indigenous and scientific
knowledge may create synergies for a sustainable management within and outside
the park boundaries. Having realised that the designation of the park as an island
worth protecting is insufficient to guarantee the long term protection of the natural
abundance in the area, it is planned to further incorporate local and scientific information
in the design of educational materials to contribute to resolving the conflicts between
conservation efforts and the priorities of the local residents.
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