Traditional Knowledge Systems, Culture and Environmental Sustainability: Concepts from Odisha, India

Abstract

The space given to traditional and indigenous knowledge has widened in recent years, with Indigenous Knowledge seen as having potential to inform observations, shape responses to climate change (Raygorodetsky, 2011) and make contributions to sustainable development (UN, 2015, UNU-IAS, 2015). Odisha, like many parts of India has rich traditions of environmentalism. These traditions and knowledge systems, however, are varied and reflect the multitude of experiences within the state itself, between modern and traditional systems, between the “mainstream” and tribal (indigenous) systems of knowledge. Yet, as people moved to cities, traditional belief systems and practices have often been altered. Communication can be seen as central to bridging the divide between conventional, modern thought and traditional environmental belief systems. This chapter examines traditional environmental knowledge systems in Odisha, thus looking at the relevance of these knowledge systems to ideas of sustainability.