The evolution, resilience, and loss of local knowledge and natural resource management practices in Kalomo district, Zambia
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The document examines the evolution and integration of local knowledge in natural resource management practices in Kalomo District, Zambia, highlighting the interplay between traditional and external knowledge systems. It emphasizes the need for effective collaboration among local communities, government, and NGOs to incorporate local practices into sustainable land management policies. The study concludes with a call for evidence-based policies that value local knowledge and address power imbalances to foster equitable partnerships.
The evolution, resilience, and loss of local knowledge and natural resource management practices in Kalomo district, Zambia
- 1. The evolution, resilience, and loss of local knowledge and natural resource management practices in Kalomo district, Zambia Authors: Yanou M.P, Ros-Tonen M., Reed J., Nakwenda S., Sunderland T. (University of Amsterdam & CIFOR-ICRAF) 8th May 2023 Science Week 2023
- 2. Background context: Integrated landscape approaches “ (…) a governance strategy that engages multiple stakeholders to reconcile societal and environmental objectives at the landscape scale to identify trade-offs and potential synergies for more sustainable and equitable land management (…)” (Reed et al. 2020) Source: van Vianen et al. 2015, based on Sayer et al. 2013 Whose knowledge is used? Whose knowledge is marginalised?
- 3. The COLANDS initiative Ghana (University of Development Studies and the Forestry Commission); Zambia (Zambia CBNRM Forum, Forestry Department, and Ministry of Land and Natural Resources); Indonesia (the indigenous NGO Riak Bumi and CIFOR researchers, and the Executive Office of the President of the Republic of Indonesia)
- 4. Study area © Malaika Yanou
- 5. Research design How Tonga local knowledge and practices contribute to natural resource management? - Combined photovoice and walking interviews - Focus Group Discussion Research question Methods
- 7. Walking interviews Local knowledge dimension Local practice Stage of erosion Copying mechanism Conservation methods and livelihood traditions Tree planting Existing Knowledge integration Trees and plants used as medicine Not at risk Adaptation Grass management Data deficient on the practice Adaptation Cattle manure Existing Knowledge integration Water wells Existing Knowledge integration Seed species conservation Endangered/Extinct Knowledge integration Sacred landscape & Spiritual values Shrine’s cult (malende) Endangered Replaced by Christianity rites Beliefs and taboos Religious figures and rites Extinct Replaced by Christianity rites Climate indicators Local weather observation Data deficient on the practice N/A
- 8. Focus group discussion Share and discuss photos taken by participants during the walking photovoice activities & Share and discuss past, present and future landscape and knowledge © Malaika Yanou
- 9. Results Combined photovoice and walking interviews Communities still use local knowledge to manage natural resources External knowledges’ shared for helping communities are local practices that have been already existed for decades, e.g., manure practice Participants see external actors as having knowledge that can help them facing current challenges because the "they know better." At village and household level, NRM decision are mainly taken by headman and males Focus group discussion Communities recall local knowledge was the main knowledge to manage the landscape in the past Communities foresee less available land and the disappearance of local knowledge in the future
- 10. Discussion Local communities are hybridizing knowledge systems, while challenging and negotiating new environmental and social realities The loss of local knowledge may be overlooked during the integration and collaboration process The importance of considering how local knowledge is integrated into landscape management fits into the broader debate on decolonising knowledge
- 11. Conclusion Better understand the role of locally-embedded knowledge and which local practices contribute to sustainable natural resource management More effective collaboration partnerships should be developed amongst community, government, and NGOs in the area Development of evidence-based policy that incorporates local knowledge and ensures local voices are properly integrated within decision-making processes ILA can only provide a fertile ground for developing more equitable, ethical, and collaborative processes, if addressing issues of ethics and power imbalances.
- 12. Thanks for your attention! E-mail: [email protected] COLANDS website: https://www.cifor-icraf.org/colands/
Editor's Notes
- #2: Good morning/afternoon! Thanks for inviting me. Today I am going to present part of my PhD research………..
- #4: And that’s what is trying to address COLANDS, the project I am part of. Colands is an initiative that is trying to operationalised ILA in three different countries with local partners. Looking at the MSPs, power dynamics and the politics of knowledge.
- #6: For today’s ppt, I decided to share with you the results of one of the activities I’ve been conducting in the field across the three communities. The main RQ I wanted to answer focus on what local practices are still in use in Kalomo by the Tonga communities in the area. How? We conducted combined….
- #11: (what knowledge production means and for whom and who has the real power to make a certain knowledge and narrative more influential)