Exploring the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) of locals towards ecotourism in Samar, Philippines: Insights for sustainable development

Indigenous knowledge held by women are different from men due to their daily roles, interests, and experiences. Despite their perspective, knowledge help by women is seldom integrated into the decision-making process. In the present study, elderly village women from Sri Lanka are enquired about the value of water to them, the local practices for use, storage and conservation, and the loss of indigenous knowledge. The findings of the study demonstrate the importance of water as perceived by these women when they relate water to life. The elderly respondents identify several local water use and conservation practices including recycling the wastewater to water the plants and for cleaning up soot from used pans and pots. However, the elderly village women unanimously stated that indigenous and local water knowledge and practices are declining rapidly since households get piped water supply and people do not have any more motivation and need to save water compared to previous times. Hence, the local practices that were adopted to save water are no more practiced leading to loss of knowledge. The study demonstrates the gap in integration of indigenous knowledge while planning for piped water supply to households. In case of any future disruption in supply, the local people will be in despair as they do not hold the indigenous knowledge anymore. The current study highlights the importance of integrating indigenous water knowledge held by village women into the decision-making process for future water sustainability.KeywordsWater knowledgeGendered approachIndigenous knowledgeLocal water practicesWater reuseSri Lanka

Indigenous community knowledge is indeed essential for the sustainable development of community and University-Industry Linkage (UIL) initiatives. It provides valuable local contextualized expertise, engages local indigenous stakeholders, bridges the gap between academia, industry, and the community, incorporates local traditions and indigenous cultural practices, and creates a long-term impact on society, universities, and industries towards achieving sustainable development goals. Therefore, this study aims to examine the existing indigenous knowledge models for sustainable UIL and community development, thereby developing a unique indigenous knowledge model showing how it transforms the UIL and community development to sustainable development through integrated systems nexus. The study utilizes an in-depth literature review as its methodological approach, examining existing data from literature and conceptual frameworks of innovation development models. The results obtained from this comprehensive review indicate that many research findings have portrayed indigenous knowledge as a primitive method of knowledge sharing. However, the findings of this current research, along with a few other studies, demonstrate that indigenous knowledge serves as a foundation and baseline for UIL and community development, aligned with indigenous culture. This allows for the easy communication and diffusion of knowledge to the user community through their native way of life. The findings have also revealed the dynamic interaction among indigenous communities, industry, universities, and government, showing how these stakeholders collaborate synergistically to achieve sustainable development goals for both the community and UIL initiatives. The model is distinctive in that it introduces the Indigenous Quadruple Helix Nexus Model, which provides a novel perspective on contemporary knowledge. This model highlights the interplay and collaboration among indigenous communities, industry, universities, and government, emphasizing the unique contributions and interactions of each stakeholder group in shaping and advancing knowledge in the present context. In conclusion, this study has assessed the existing literature related to indigenous knowledge and its linkage with UIL and introduced a unique helix model that integrated the community, industry, university and government.

Disasters which are resulted due to the natural or anthropogenic environmental damage processes such as deforestation, desertification, loss of biodiversity, soil erosion etc. and are increasing day by day. As such there are potentialities for outbreaks and their high risk at any places at any time. There are many literatures which suggest the possibility of disaster risk reduction and early warning through local indigenous knowledge and practices. The present study is an attempt to explore, evaluate andanalyse the local knowledge and skills that are being practiced and used to reduce the risk of various types of natural hazards. Kailali district lying in the Sudur Paschim Province of Nepal is chosen as the study area. Chure rural municipality lying within Hill areas and Tikapur urban municipality lying within Terai plain areas of the district were selected as the research sites to evaluate the landslide and flood related local indigenous knowledge and practices respectively. Using a multi-assessment methodology of collecting information through targeted group discussions, key informant interviews, household surveys, and field observation methods, an attempt has been made to analyse the data to explore indigenous local knowledge, skills, and traditional practices related to disaster risk and mitigation in the study area. The indigenous knowledge, skills and practices on disaster risk reduction and early warning system have been developed by generations and tested in the absence of the scientific developments. However, many communities have lost their local knowledge, skills, and traditional practices because of non transfer by the senior citizens to the young generations. The findings of the study indicate that indigenous and local knowledge and practices are valuable resources that can support in the process of disaster management, prevention, preparedness, and cost-effective disaster risk reduction. Therefore, the researchers view that it would be wise decision focusing the policy framework by integrating indigenous and local knowledge, wisdom, and skills of the local people.

a Case Study in Mae Klong River, Samut Songkhram,

Every region of the world is confronted with ongoing ecosystem degradation, species extinctions, and the loss of cultural diversity and knowledge associated with indigenous peoples. We face a global biocultural extinction crisis. The proposition that traditional knowledge along with scientific understanding can inform approaches to solving practical conservation problems has been widely accepted in principle. Attempts to promote a more bilateral approach, however, are hampered by the lack of a common framework for integrating the two knowledge systems in a way that is coherent and useful. This problem can be addressed by drawing upon, as a case study, the principle elements of traditional knowledge and their practical application to governance as articulated by the Kuuku I’yu Northern Kaanju people of Cape York Peninsula, Australia. Four points of contact can help bridge traditional and scientific knowledge in addressing the biocultural crisis: post-normal science; conservation values and goals; land management; and sustainable development. Key insights that emerge from these considerations include the propositions that holders of traditional knowledge can be validly seen as members of the extended peer community needed to address post-normal science problems; that traditional knowledge provide guideposts to the positive values being lost from view by an increasingly urban-based society; that there are practical conservation benefits to be derived from adopting a “two-tool box” approach; and that traditional knowledge provides the basis for criteria to help discern for a given community and landscape the kinds of economic activities which are ecologically and culturally compatible. There are multiple benefits for society that arise from appropriate recognition of biocultural resources in legislation and decision making.

Autonomous conservation: A literature review of concepts, local practices, and their relevance in the tropics

Combined approaches to conserve both biological and cultural diversity are seen as an alternative to classical nature conservation instruments. The objective of this study was to examine the influence of urbanization coupled with exclusive conservation measures, on land use, local knowledge and biodiversity in two Quechua speaking communities of Bolivia located within the Tunari National Park. We assessed and compared the links between land use, its transformation through conservation practices, local institutions and the worldviews of both communities and the implications they have for biodiversity at the level of ecosystems. Our results show that in both communities, people’s worldviews and environmental knowledge are linked with an integral and diversified use of their territory. However, the community most affected by urbanization and protected area regulations has intensified agriculture in a small area and has abandoned the use of large areas. This was accompanied by a loss of local environmental knowledge and a decrease in the diversity of ecosystems. The second community, where the park was not enforced, continues to manage their territory as a material expression of local environmental knowledge, while adopting community-based conservation measures with external support. Our findings highlight a case in which urbanization coupled with exclusive conservation approaches affects the components of both cultural and biological diversity. Actions that aim to enhance biocultural diversity in this context should therefore address the impact of factors identified as responsible for change in integrated social-ecological systems.

There is increasing recognition of the role of Indigenous and local knowledge systems in sustainable land use and conservation practices. However, the evidence base remains fragmented, while local knowledge remains marginalised in many national biodiversity strategies and development plans. This applies to the Tonga people of Zambia and Zimbabwe. Here, we synthesise existing evidence of Tonga knowledge and practices to explore their potential contribution to the implementation of integrated landscape approaches that aim to incorporate multiple stakeholders’ objectives in landscape-scale management. Based on a semi-systematic literature review, we identify how various dimensions of Tonga knowledge contribute to biodiversity, food security, soil conservation, and other well-being dimensions. Research gaps identified include significantly less documented evidence of Tonga knowledge and practices in Zimbabwe and limited attention to the biophysical impact of local practices on land and natural resources. Furthermore, there is limited attention to the historical processes that have led to the erosion of Tonga local knowledge and the political disempowerment of Tonga knowledge holders. The findings contribute to greater recognition and validation of Tonga local knowledge and practices in natural resource governance, particularly how such knowledge can contribute to integrated landscape governance. Finally, the review helps to define a future research agenda based on the knowledge gaps identified.

Until recently, local innovation capacity and management practices and institutions developed by local communities through their traditional knowledge have received little attention. This chapter illustrates not only the results of scientific research into innovation systems but also on how local communities, through their participation with GMCL in a network of supportive partnerships, can draw knowledge for others and combine this with their own and generate innovations in their local practices. In this chapter we refer to the concept of “capacity” as capacity to use the traditional ethnomedicine knowledge in a way that it enhances socio-economic development of local communities. We define this new concept of capacity with the term “ethnomedicine capacity”. The innovation that we shall describe in the chapter consists in the capacity of local stakeholders to use the ­traditional knowledge, and in particular ethnomedicine, in a way to boost income generation, local health practices and environmental conservation. We shall define the innovative processes through which this capacity is created and reinforced as a “capacity development” process.

Local agricultural practices to adapt with climate change. Is sustainability a priority?

Toward a holistic understanding of pastoralism

This book presents a detailed and insightful account of indigenous water knowledge, values, and practices with examples from across the Global South. The main objective of this volume is to explore and understand the diverse indigenous knowledge that exists in the Global South and document the local water use and conservation practices adopted by indigenous people and local communities. The book includes several examples of water values and conservation practices that are still functional and practiced. In addition, the book includes a section on the spiritual and/or religious and cultural values of water which opens a new arena of understanding water resources and valuing them. In the process of exploring and understanding the existing indigenous and local knowledge and practices, the book identified several commonalities, one of which is the lack of integration of indigenous and local knowledge into mainstream policy-making. This chapter introduces the key concepts and definition, objectives, and organization of this book.KeywordsIndigenous knowledgeWater valuesWater resourcesCultural valueIndigenous peopleLocal practicesTraditional knowledge

The study was conducted to assess and explain indigenous knowledge and factors related to practice of forest conservation among forest dependent community in the three kebeles in Dawuro Zone, Tocha District. The communities involved were Malla and Manja. In light of this, both primary data and secondary data were used. Primary data was obtained through structured questionnaire, key informant information and focus group discussion while secondary data was obtained from published and unpublished materials, books, journals and project reports. A total of 162 sample respondents were identified using simple random sampling technique. According to the binary logit analysis age, religion, extension service and education were one of socio-economic factors found to be significantly related to the practice of forest conservation while sex, marital status, family size, ethnicity, occupation and residence to forest were not significantly related. The communities’ awareness about the general function of the forest was identified as indirect benefits like having high tendency to bring rain, maintaining soil fertility, protecting from extreme sun light and protecting the soil from erosion and direct benefits like getting non timber forest products (NTFP) and timber and other forest associated products are the well known contribution of forest. Even though, these two well contribution forests are known the communities understanding on indirect benefit is higher than direct benefits of forest. The forest communities are more associated with the forest and they have different conservation methods in their area due to their indigenous knowledge. This indigenous knowledge of community related towards the practice of conservation was for the purpose of traditional belief, medicinal value, for the extraction of honey and coffee shade and others. Though forest is conserved and protected by the communities, forest being deforested and reduced in coverage. Hence, forests were being depleted intentionally or unintentionally in the study area. This is due to expansion of agricultural land, population growth, logging of timber, high demand of charcoal, fuel wood and so on. Because of these pressures there is high level of deforestation in the area. Generally, for the protection and utilization of forest in sustainable manner it is recommended that traditional ecological culture should be done wisely.

Conservation practitioners' perspectives on decision triggers for evidence‐based management

Sustainable development (SD) balances conservation and exploitation of natural resources. The concept mandates that biodiversity conservation and ecological integrity are fundamental considerations in environmental decision-making. Loss of biodiversity is a serious global issue and is one of Australia’s most pressing environmental problems. Increasing recognition of the role of indigenous knowledge (IK) is part of effective solutions to biodiversity loss and ways to achieve benefits for industry and agriculture. Research on IK provides information for understanding the role and importance of customary livelihoods within SD. The importance of combining indigenous and non-indigenous knowledge for conservation and resource management is reflected in the adoption of international principles and instruments which link SD, biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation. There are a number of innovative tools being developed to embed IK principles into the legal framework for natural and cultural resource management. In Australia and globally, the focus remains on legal protection for IK through intellectual property, contract and trade practices law. There are important policies, programs and projects that value and use IK in Australia but they are piecemeal and generally unsupported by law. More comprehensive constitutionally-based and specific purpose-built legislative models are being developed in Europe, Asia and South America to incorporate IK into environmental decision-making which could be used as a blueprint for Australia. These legislative models should include provisions for the custodians of that IK, to have efficient and inexpensive access to courts and tribunals to enforce duties and protect rights in relation to sustainable resource management.