Indigenous Knowledge, Global Ignorance? Insights from an Eastern Cape Climate Change Study

Abstract

ABSTRACTClimate change is considered by many to be one of the greatest challenges to humanity, with Africa seen as one of the most affected continents. There is a growing recognition that purely scientific and modern approaches alone are not enough to mitigate the “multiple stresses” of climate change in Africa. Nonetheless, the dominant thinking in climate change science appears to treat indigenous approaches to climate change impact mitigation as primitive or backward. Even though the debate around indigenous knowledge systems is a contentious one, some scholars have acknowledged that, if well harnessed, indigenous knowledge systems can help in empowering local communities to mitigate climate change impacts. This paper is based on findings from a study of climate change awareness and adaptation strategies in rural and peri-urban communities in East London and Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Based on empirical research with 140 respondents, the study found that indigenous knowledge plays an important role in the ways local residents adapt to, and in some ways curb, the adverse impacts of climate change. The paper highlights the relevance of indigenous African knowledge in climate change impact mitigation and the need to combine modern global approaches with indigenous knowledge to better handle climate change-related challenges.