Importance Of Indigenous Knowledge Research Articles

Study on Plant-Based Traditional Knowledge for Pest and Disease Management of Crop Plants in Pokhara Metropolitan City Ward No.32, Kaski

Indigenous traditional knowledge (ITK) is knowledge belonging to a particular community or the native group that has been developed over time and still continues to grow with time. A case study was conducted from March to Mid-May of 2023 in villages of ward no.32 of Pokhara metropolitan city, Kaski district of Nepal to explore the indigenous practices followed by traditional farmers of Pokhara-32 for the management of pests and diseases of major crops using plants and their by-products. The data was collected via in-person interviews with the local farmers. A total of 40 farmers were considered for interviews that used a pretested questionnaire. From the interviewed respondents, many common practices using the plants and their by-products in pest and disease management were noted down such as the use of plant debris and wood ashes, intercropping, green manuring, mulching, and using some local plants as pest and insect repellent. A total of 19 plant species were found to be used by local farmers for pest and disease management. During the study, it was discovered that farmers are slowly starting to shift towards the use of chemical insecticides and pesticides. In the study, it was discovered that almost all the farmers are using insecticides and vitamins to increase their yield. The study recommends the concerned stakeholders need put more focus on the preservation of the ITK, document all the indigenous knowledge, and aware people about the importance of indigenous knowledge in producing healthy and organic crops.

Transdisciplinary science and the importance of Indigenous knowledge.

As we move ever closer to the brink of global environmental collapse, it is vital that we work collaboratively and collectively as global, national, and local communities to design multiscale change. Protecting future generations and reversing (or substantively slowing) the current trends require rapid sustainable progress at the required scale. It is more urgent than ever that we understand and more fully realize the power of transdisciplinary (Td) research to support sustainable practice. A defining factor of Td is the focus on collaboration and codesign and the extent that participation and attention to local context is integral to the knowledge building. Specifically, there is greater ability for community knowledge, values, and aspirations to influence and shape research inquiries to effect meaningful change in real-world decision-making and outcomes. Business-as-usual (BAU) approaches that perpetuate unequal knowledge sharing and dismiss other forms of knowledge beyond traditional science no longer suffice. Transdisciplinary approaches seek to achieve and support sustainable change, but the extent of transformation required to meet ecological protection and regenerative sustainability requires very different operating models for knowing and doing science than the limited traditions of positivist science. However, these powerful defaults and operating paradigms are more deeply ingrained than we might realize, and so challenges persist. This article illustrates how Td science differs from typical research paradigms, particularly in terms of the underlying epistemology; the focus on knowledge and/or power; attention to boundaries and scope; and the degree to which local knowledge, context, and community participation underpin the research process. Active conversations are required to better identify and overcome fundamental challenges for science and Td research approaches to support the necessary transformational change. Importantly, we suggest that Indigenous partnerships, knowledge, and values are vital in achieving the potential of Td research to provide transformational interventions to address complex social and environmental issues such as pollution. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:805-816. © 2023 SETAC.

Connecting conservation & culture: The importance of Indigenous Knowledge in conservation decision-making and resource management of migratory marine species

Migratory marine species (e.g., seabirds, marine mammals, fish, and sea turtles) cross and connect distant communities and ecosystems throughout their transboundary journeys. Due to their multi-jurisdictional and cross-cultural movements, studying, managing, and protecting migratory marine species as well as their habitats and migration routes are deeply political and geographically complex tasks. Despite a place-based cultural connection to migratory marine species; inherent rights, responsibilities, and authority to manage Sea Country (marine territory), Indigenous communities are far too often excluded from marine conservation decision-making. In this paper we conduct a narrative review and synthesis of relevant literature and analyze four community-driven case studies (both terrestrial and marine) that recognize the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge to support the governance and management of a culturally significant migratory species. The case studies are presented from an Australian Sea Country context as well as from a Canadian marine territory setting. Together these case studies highlight how Indigenous knowledge can increase the understanding of connectivity as well as provide a spatio-temporal baseline for species with limited science-based knowledge. It is essential that Indigenous communities as rights holders to Sea Country (marine territory) and owners of vast amounts of relevant marine knowledge be at the forefront of migratory marine species conservation decision-making for both coastal and distant offshore areas such as Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. Bringing Indigenous knowledge and scientific monitoring data together has the potential to respond to Indigenous priorities for Sea Country and further contribute to the understanding of migratory marine species distribution, abundance, life cycles, threats, and oceanic connectivity.

“Bharat Singh’s Stuffed Otter”: discovery in 1818 of Ailurus fulgens, the Himalayan red panda

Thomas Hardwicke’s use of a Nepali vernacular name “Wah” for Ailurus fulgens (red panda, also known as the lesser panda or red bear-cat) in his 1821 report to the Linnean Society of London, and its eventual publication in 1827, has enabled a connection to be made between a mysterious “stuffed otter” found in a Kathmandu bazaar in 1818 and an illustration from Hardwicke’s natural history collection held at the Linnean Society of London. The “stuffed otter” was referred to in letters from Edward Gardner of the British Residency in Kathmandu to Nathaniel Wallich in the Calcutta Botanic Garden. These reveal the seminal role played by Bharat Singh in the realization that this animal was unusual and in his procuring further specimens and ecological information about it from traders in Nepal. Singh was one of Wallich’s plant collectors stationed in Kathmandu and was probably also the source of red panda specimens sent to Paris by Alfred Duvaucel. Duvuacel’s specimens were used by Frédéric Cuvier as the basis of the first scientific description of the species in 1825, which predated that of Hardwicke by two years. The importance of indigenous knowledge in scientific discovery in the Indian subcontinent and role of communication networks are demonstrated. Hidden stories such as these can be uncovered by close scrutiny of archival sources, in this case predominately the Wallich Correspondence at the Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden and the Hardwicke material at the Linnean Society of London, and make a significant contribution to the decolonization of collections held in the West.

Engaging Young People in Running Clubs: Best Practices from Marathon Kids’ Volunteer Coaches

ABSTRACT Introduction Current deficiencies in children’s leisure-time physical activity in the United States and globally underscore a pressing and ongoing need to enhance child ecosystems that include school and out-of-school time settings with physical activity supports and opportunities. Marathon Kids (MK) is an international nonprofit organization that promotes children’s physical activity via school and community-based running clubs and programs. Building from the importance of indigenous knowledge and colearning with stakeholders within real-world settings for children’s physical activity promotion, we explore best practices for the implementation of children’s running clubs based on a national sample of U.S. adult volunteer MK coaches. As a secondary aim, we describe selected implementation characteristics of MK running clubs as relates to when clubs are implemented and average weekly minutes scheduled for running clubs. Methods This study was guided primarily by a phenomenological approach to qualitative research. Data were collected in 2019 from MK coaches via an online survey that included open and closed-ended items on MK delivery and best practices. Qualitative analyses were based on thematic analysis; quantitative analyses were based primarily on descriptive statistics. Results MK coaches (n = 478 out of 676 coaches; 70.7% response) from across the United States (n = 35 states) participated. Eight primary themes encapsulated the best practice recommendations: running club leadership and support network; general organization and planning; student recruitment; running club implementation; tracking/logging miles; social support; communication and public promotion of running clubs; and guiding principles for running clubs. MK coaches reported an average of 112 weekly minutes scheduled for running/walking. Conclusions MK coach best practice recommendations hold promise to enhance and further disseminate the establishment of volunteer-led running clubs for young people.

Two-Eyed Seeing and developmental origins of health and disease studies with indigenous partners.

Globally, mortality of Indigenous persons is greater than that of their non-Indigenous counterparts, which has been shown to be disproportionately attributable to non-communicable diseases. The historically subordinate position that Indigenous Knowledge (IK) held in comparison to Western science has shifted over the last several decades, with the credibility and importance of IK now being internationally recognized. Herein, we examine how Marsahall's (2014) Two-Eyed Seeing can foster collaborative and culturally relevant Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) studies for health and well-being by using '..the best in Indigenous ways of knowing…[and] the best in Western (or mainstream) ways of knowing…and learn to use both these eyes for the benefit of all.' At its core, Two-Eyed Seeing also includes the principles of ownership, control, access and possession, and Community-Based Participatory Research, which further reinforces the critical role of Indigenous peoples taking active roles in DOHaD research. Additionally, we also present a partnership model for working with Indigenous communities that includes the principles of respect, equity and empowerment. As researchers begin to fill the gap in Indigenous health, we outline how Two-Eyed Seeing should form the basis of DOHaD studies involving Indigenous communities. This model can be used to develop and guide projects that result in robust and meaningful participatory partnerships that have impactful uptake of research findings.

Indigenous land systems and emerging of Green Infrastructure planning in the Peruvian coastal desert: tensions and opportunities

ABSTRACT For many, Green Infrastructure (GI) is a modern ecological planning concept focusing on stormwater runoff. This paper argues for the importance of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) in GI planning and policy through the case study of the Tumbes Basin. The Basin serves as home to a diverse array of Pre-Hispanic Indigenous networked agro-ecological practices and landscape interventions guided by a worldview marrying humans and landscapes dating back to immemorial times of human habitation in the Americas (∼36,000 BP). By 900 BCE–1100 CE this planned regional network was actively managing landslides, stormwater runoff, and riverine flooding, all challenges are currently being exacerbated by climate change and urban development. Today, this landscape-level network is one of the biggest GI systems in Peru and yet remains unacknowledged in emergent GI policy and planning. By examining existing Peruvian scholarship on landscape practices, and visualizing Pre-Hispanic landscape networks in the Tumbes Basin, this study makes the case for Peruvian GI policy to be guided by Indigenous Knowledge and governance systems. Such a transformation requires a deeper integration of Indigenous conceptualizations of GI with other infrastructure systems and regional urban planning and design.

Preservation and Use of Indigenous Knowledge Practices in Public Libraries in Nigeria

ABSTRACT Indigenous knowledge (IK), a key component of knowledge, is considered crucial in any country’s knowledge system. However, despite the importance of indigenous knowledge in promoting the knowledge economy, it has been observed that many indigenous knowledge systems in developing countries such as Nigeria are gradually becoming extinct due to cultural, educational and economic developments. This paper investigated the preservation and use of indigenous knowledge in public libraries in Southwest Nigeria. A survey method anchored on the positivism paradigm was employed for the study. Based on this, copies of the questionnaire was used as a data collection instrument. One hundred and fifty (150) library personnel were randomly selected from the five (5) purposely chosen public libraries in Southwest Nigeria. The study’s findings revealed that educational purposes were the primary reason for using the indigenous knowledge in the libraries. It was also revealed that video and audio recordings were significant sources of preserving IK in public libraries. Access to IK resources by the users was through the use of ICT tools such as computers and compact discs, while inadequate funding was identified as the major challenge facing the development of IK. The study recommends, among others, increased budgetary allocation to public libraries for the management of IK resources; and that practical steps should be taken to create awareness on the need to preserve IK activities in video or audio formats. This study contributes to knowledge in IK development by providing new data and information relevant to policymaking and IK research.

“It’s important to know about this” - risk communication and the impacts of chronic wasting disease on indigenous food systems in Western Canada

Wildlife diseases, such as Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) are growing in prevalence in ungulates in western Canada with many questions being asked about the impact on ecosystems and peoples. A collaborative research project involving a university and a regional Indigenous organization was initiated in 2007 to explore how CWD risk is being communicated to Indigenous peoples, how associated risk is being interpreted and the extent to which information about CWD and perceived risk is affecting harvest and food security. Data collected between 2008–2018 with 105 harvesters from 22 northern Alberta communities reporting about hunting in roughly 61 management units (WMU) confirm previous research about the importance of moose, white-tailed deer and mule deer to the diets of Indigenous peoples. Findings affirm the significance of ungulates to the food security of Indigenous peoples in western Canada with over 97 % of respondents reporting their motivation for harvest of moose (Alces alces), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) being food. Insights about risk communication and perception of CWD are also highlighted with the most significant finding being the high level of concern of harvesters in all areas and all years of the study. A second key finding relates to the relationship between information received about CWD which declined from 2008 to 2018 despite significant increases in the number of positive cases of CWD in Alberta. A third key finding is the importance of Indigenous Knowledge; over 97 % of respondents shared indicators of healthy moose and deer which they use to assess animals in hunting. This high degree of confidence in their own knowledge may suggest Indigenous knowledge is a mediator of risk perception (i.e., hunters are confident they can find and harvest a health animal despite the rising number of CWD cases). Although Indigenous right to lands and resources including wildlife harvesting have been little respected in the past, recognition of such rights, as well as Indigenous knowledge, is key to moving forward and developing more collaborative approaches to monitoring and managing the growing threat of CWD and other wildlife disease.

Indigenous Wholistic Theory: A Knowledge Set for Practice

In this article, the author, establishes a knowledge set for Indigenous social work practice based on Indigenous wholistic theory. An overall framework using the circle is proposed and introduced followed by a more detailed and elaborated illustration using the four directions. The article identifies the need to articulate Indigenous wholistic theory and does so by employing a wholistic framework of the four directional circle. It then systematically moves around each direction, beginning in the east where a discussion of Spirit and Vision occurs. In the south a discussion of relationships, community and heart emerge. The western direction brings forth a discussion of the spirit of the ancestors and importance of Indigenous knowledge and Indigenous knowledge production. The northern direction articulates ideas surrounding healing and movements and actions that guide practice. Finally, the article begins with a discussion on all four directions together with a final examination of the center fire where all elements interconnect and intersect. Lastly, the article proclaims the existence of Indigenous wholistic theory as a necessary knowledge set for practice.

Indigenous Knowledge in Disaster Risk Reduction

The importance of indigenous knowledge in reducing risk from disasters and natural calamities has been widely discussed in the social sciences by scholars arguing for integrative frameworks and participatory processes. This type of knowledge is vital for archipelagic developing countries, such as the Philippines, situated in a geographical area exposed to natural hazards. However, despite its potential contribution to disaster prevention, mitigation, response, rehabilitation and recovery, along with possible combination strategies with western scientific knowledge towards reducing vulnerability and disaster risk management, the literature on the integration of specific communities' indigenous knowledgebased disaster preparedness and adaptation is still limited. The novel contribution of this article is in the discussion of the unique indigenous knowledgeidentified in the cases of San Miguel Island, Camotes Island and Alabat Island, which is utilized even up to the present. Particularly, this study identifies substantial aspects of indigenous knowledge that contribute to disaster risk reduction in the three selected cases. Findings reveal myriad indigenous knowledge pertaining to intensity, height, direction and movement of ocean waves; intensity of winds; sudden surfacing of deep-sea creatures and unease of animals; different patterns of clouds, darkening of skies and foggy horizons, among others. In closely examining indigenous knowledge, this study sheds new light by providing meaningful insights for its contribution to disaster preparedness.

Indigenous Wholistic Theory: A Knowledge Set for Practice1

In this article, the author establishes a knowledge set for Indigenous social work practice based on Indigenous wholistic theory. An overall framework using the circle is proposed and introduced followed by a more detailed and elaborated illustration using the four directions. The article identifies the need to articulate Indigenous wholistic theory and does so by employing a wholistic framework of the four directional circle. It then systematically moves around each direction, beginning in the east where a discussion of Spirit and vision occurs. In the south, a discussion of relationships, community, and heart emerge. The western direction brings forth a discussion of the Spirit of the ancestors and the importance of Indigenous knowledge and Indigenous knowledge production. The northern direction articulates ideas surrounding healing and movements and actions that guide practice. The article begins with a discussion on all four directions together with a final examination of the Centre fire where all elements interconnect and intersect. Lastly, the article proclaims the existence of Indigenous wholistic theory as a necessary knowledge set for practice.

Indigenous Knowledge Regarding Agricultural Practices among the Tharu tribe of Bahraich

In recent decades an increased awareness has been observed of the failure of conventional agricultural practices to be effectively and equitably applied to the different types of zones in which agriculture is practiced. This has resulted in greater attention diverted to local or indigenous knowledge. The importance of indigenous knowledge can be understood when one realizes that there are no rice or wheat plants found lying around in the forests. What are found in the forests are wild plants out of which communities of men and women over generations have bred races of several food and cash crops. Thus the present study is based on indigenous knowledge of Tharus tribe of Bahraich

The Importance of Indigenous Knowledge in Curbing the Loss of Language and Biodiversity

Biodiversity inventory, monitoring, and species-recovery efforts can be advanced by a dynamic collaboration of Western, citizen, and ethnoscience. Indigenous and local traditional knowledge of place-based biodiversity is perhaps the oldest scientific tradition on earth. We illustrate how an all taxa biodiversity inventory network of projects in collaboration with the Comcaac (Seri people) in northwestern Mexico is advancing not only biosystematics but also species recovery, habitat restoration, language conservation and maintenance, and the maintenance of traditional livelihoods. We encourage scientists to establish collaborations with indigenous and other place-based communities to better understand the wealth of knowledge held in local categorization systems. It is essential to not merely seek out one-to-one correspondences between Western and indigenous knowledge but also to recognize and respect the creative tensions among these different knowledge systems, because this is where the most profound insights and fruitful collaborations emerge.

Indigenous Knowledge and Public Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

The discourse on indigenous knowledge has incited a debate of epic proportions across the world over the years. In Africa, especially in the sub-Saharan region, while the so-called indigenous communities have always found value in their own local forms of knowledge, the colonial administration and its associates viewed indigenous knowledge as unscientific, illogical, anti-development, and/or ungodly. The status and importance of indigenous knowledge has changed in the wake of the landmark 1997 Global Knowledge Conference in Toronto, which emphasised the urgent need to learn, preserve, and exchange indigenous knowledge. Yet, even with this burgeoning interest and surging call, little has been done, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, to guarantee the maximum exploitation of indigenous knowledge for the common good. In view of this realisation, this paper discusses how indigenous knowledge can and should both act as a tool for promoting the teaching/learning process in Africa's public education and address the inexorably enigmatic amalgam of complex problems and cataclysms haunting the world.

Fidelity Level and Knowledge of Medicinal Plants Used to Make Therapeutic Turkish Baths

The value and importance of indigenous knowledge are now being increasingly acknowledged all over the world. For this reason, the aims of this study is not only to identify the medicinal plants use...

Capacity building of knowledge management among research institutes: Reflections from the GDNET experience

As the knowledge management and research communications arm of the Global Development Network, GDNet builds the capacity of researchers from developing and transition countries to inform global development research and policy. In its early years, GDNet focused on information and knowledge management staff in developing country research institutes, recognising the importance of this group in moving locally generated research into policy. From 2005 onwards, GDNet piloted a series of knowledge management workshops in Africa, and in 2007, organised a two‐day conference in Cairo, in partnership with the ACBF and the World Bank Institute, to share and examine its findings with others. Called “Knowledge Management as an Enabler of Change and Innovation in Africa”, the conference brought together the experiences and lessons learned from efforts to build knowledge management capacity from across the African continent. In 2007, the discussion centered on two key themes: the need to create an enabling environment for the adoption of knowledge management practices in Africa and the importance of indigenous knowledge assets as inputs to poverty alleviation strategies. In exploring these themes, speakers highlighted several key challenges in “efforts towards building effective communication strategies and building a ‘knowledge friendly culture’ in the continent” (GDN, 2007). The 20th anniversary of ACBF is a timely opportunity to revisit the discussions of 2007, to question progress made towards meeting these challenges and share with delegates how GDNet’s capacity building activities have evolved in the light of the conference findings.

Ecological implications of traditional livestock husbandry and associated land use practices: A case study from the trans-Himalaya, India

The importance of indigenous knowledge is being increasingly realized for identifying sustainable interventions enabling environmental conservation coupled with socio-economic development of local communities. This study aimed to evaluate livestock diet composition, diet overlap, forage selection and livestock husbandry and associated land use practices in a typical traditional village landscape in the cold arid region of the trans-Himalaya, India. The village territory (4300–4600 m amsl.) was differentiated into (i) irrigated cropping on terraced slopes, (ii) meadows valued for hay and mulch material and (iii) meadows grazed by cows, non-lactating dzomos (female offspring of cow–yak cross), goats, donkeys and sheep. The traditional livestock husbandry and grazing management practices included: (i) dependence of livestock almost exclusively on grazing during summer (May–September) and on stall feeding during winter (November–March), (ii) regulation of utilization of hay and mulch material by the village council, (iii) divison of grazing area into blocks, each grazed for 5–7 days followed by an equally long rest phase and (iv) regulation of animal movements by herders such that donkeys did not mix with other animals and all animals spent almost equal foraging time in moist depressions dominated by graminoids and dry slopes by legumes and forbs. The livestock types did not differ significantly in respect of foraging period and bite rate. Bite size and daily forage intake of goats and sheep were markedly lower but search cost higher as compared to those of dzomos, donkeys and cows. Sheep and goats foraged on all plant species, while Astragalus zanskarensis was excluded by cows, Caragana versicolor by cows and dzomos and Thermopsis inflata and Potentilla fruticosa by cows, dzomos and donkeys. Goats showed the highest degree of selection for T. inflata and all other livestock types for Carex infuscata. The highest level of similarity in diet composition during grazing was observed between sheep and goats followed by that between donkeys and cows. Goats and dzomos showed the highest diet breadth value (0.73) followed by sheep (0.53) and cows or donkeys (0.44). The bulk of stall-feed comprised the species that were not preferred during grazing. Local people consider Cousinia thomsonii and Cicer microphyllum to be the best quality winter feed for all livestock. Thermopsis inflata was considered harmful to dzomos, cows and donkeys and Seseli trilobum to dzomos and cows. People do not harvest C. versicolor, a poor forage but an excellent fuelwood species, from village lands as they consider it as a ‘keystone’ species facilitating regeneration and growth of high-quality forage species. The traditional land use and animal husbandry systems need to be improved with appropriate scientific and institutional inputs to meet the challenges arising from market forces on one hand and environmental conservation on the other.

000214 FISH ANALYSIS IN CERVICAL DYSPLASIC LESIONS AND SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA USING TISSUE MACRO-ARRAYS

Archaeology and indigenous history of Native Amazonian peoples in the Upper Xingu region of Brazil reveal unexpectedly complex regional settlement patterns and large-scale transformations of local landscapes over the past millennium. Mapping and excavation of archaeological structures document pronounced human-induced alteration of the forest cover, particularly in relation to large, dense late-prehistoric settlements (circa 1200 to 1600 A.D.). The findings contribute to debates on human carrying capacity, population size and settlement patterns, anthropogenic impacts on the environment, and the importance of indigenous knowledge, as well as contributing to the pride of place of the native peoples in this part of the Amazon.

Amazonia 1492: pristine forest or cultural parkland?

Archaeology and indigenous history of Native Amazonian peoples in the Upper Xingu region of Brazil reveal unexpectedly complex regional settlement patterns and large-scale transformations of local landscapes over the past millennium. Mapping and excavation of archaeological structures document pronounced human-induced alteration of the forest cover, particularly in relation to large, dense late-prehistoric settlements (circa 1200 to 1600 A.D.). The findings contribute to debates on human carrying capacity, population size and settlement patterns, anthropogenic impacts on the environment, and the importance of indigenous knowledge, as well as contributing to the pride of place of the native peoples in this part of the Amazon.