BLACKHERBALS.COM

CHALLENGES FACING INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE

BY: KABATABAZI PATRICIA,  ENVIRONMENTALIST

       P.O. BOX 8277 , KAMPALA - UGANDA .

       TEL: 256-7722-680093.

Email: kabatabazi1@yahoo.co.uk

It is commonly accepted that we are living in the “information age”. We are generators of vast knowledge. True as it may seem, it has been noted that the present generation is actually losing more information than it is acquiring. Most shocking is the erosion of culturally based knowledge represented by thousands of disappearing (RAFI, 1997). For example, experts in linguistics note that half of the 6000 languages spoken in the world will die out during the 21^st century.

As each language vanishes, tens of thousands of years of cultural heritage and indigenous knowledge is lost. Loss of this cultural diversity is intricately linked with loss of agricultural biodiversity. Loss of biodiversity puts at stake food security and nutrition and overall agricultural development.

The movement of people is leading to loss of farming communities, languages and indigenous cultures; all represent the erosion of human intellectual capital on massive scale.

Development of sustainable agriculture systems depends upon the innovative capacity of farmers, forest dwellers, pastoralists, and fisher-folk together with their accumulated knowledge. Therefore recognising, rewarding and protecting indigenous knowledge systems is critical for agricultural development, food security and nutrition.

Successful strategies should be formulated and implemented to save our indigenous knowledge through environmental impact assessment awareness/research, documentation, and publication.

 “The responsibility of conserving our indigenous knowledge is for all of us, white and black. We came from one person, our CREATOR.”

ROLE OF CULTURE IN SUSTAINABLE USE OF NATURAL RESOURCES.

In Africa, I salute our great ancestors who carried out studies on nature-given resources to name items as food, medicine, shelter materials etc for our use.

This valuable intellect has been passed on from generation to generation mainly in verbal communication. We are quite an intelligent race to preserve information in that way for many centuries without any written text to be left behind for the coming generations, until writing finally reached Africa for us to access it and preserve the knowledge.

The light of knowledge in Africa remained burning and it is still burning even through the interventions of Arabs and colonial masters. These external forces nearly exterminated the pillars of African education in skills and technology. The intruders` referred to Africa knowledge of skills and technology as satanic, primitive, backward and outdated, even up to today.

Given the nature of L.Nalubale ( Victoria ) basin climate, soil types and fresh waters, these three are responsible for the wealth of biodiversity of plants, animals, ants, birds etc. People of the ancient past took advantage of the environment and were able to survive many problems using the environment as answers to overcome their day to-day challenges.

In Africa, each item is believed to belong to the Almighty, the creator, giver and overseer of all creations, visible and invisible ones. And that invisible power of creation is believed to be the giver and taker of life.

The second way an Africa perceives nature is by way of association and identification of themselves with in terms of totems, clans, etc.

The third way Africans have looked at nature is by taboos. It is taboo whenever a member in any one's given community treated nature in a way perceived to result in spoiling or destruction of the status quo.

The fourth way is to have sacred people, animals, rocks, caves, trees, rivers, mountains etc.

The list is endless, but the important aspect in all these efforts is to create controls and wise use and management of nature- given resources.

Recommendations: -

• There is need to carryout research on the culture aspect for sustainable use of natural resources. There should be functional and participatory research in the world.

• There is a need to integrate culture aspects into modern ways for natural resource management.

OBJECTIVE OF THE INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE STUDY

The study broadly will deal with the general issues regarding the question of natural resource management and conservation. It will first deal with the cultural practices of the people around Africa/world wide. Second, it will deal with socio- cultural conservation norms and taboos together with what the result might be if they are violated.

Third, the role and impact of gender, religion and western culture on natural resource conservation will also be highlighted and the cultural tools or arrangements for conserving natural resources will be described.

Fourth, past and present cultural practices, knowledge and socio- cultural institutions involved in conserving natural resources will be brought on light on one hand. On other hand, the role and place of ethnicity, government policies and institutions in enhancing or inhibiting cultural practices of conserving natural resources will be discussed.

Fifth, an explanation of the role and place of socio-cultural practices of conserving natural resources in a dynamic and changing world will be attempted.

Study Methodology/strategy

 The study will include:

• The Significance of indigenous knowledge and its impact to human beings worldwide using mediums of ancestors.

• Field visits and personal interviews/ discussions with the communities’ cultural mentors.
• Visiting and listing historical conservation sites.
• Literature review.
• Recording some case studies.
• Identification of communities cultural mentors
• Identification of cultural norms.
• Local cultural mentors workshop.
• Identification of cultural tools and records their uses, relevant to conservation of nature.
• Listing some of the known conservation norms.