The Hybridisation, Resilience, and Loss of Local Knowledge and Natural Resource Management in Zambia
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2024

The contribution of Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) to natural resource management has recently gained increasing prominence in academia, policymaking, and civil society. However, persistent knowledge gaps concerning the contribution of ILK to sustainable landscape management remain. We investigate existing local knowledge and practices of the Tonga of Kalomo District, Zambia, and their contribution to sustainable landscape management by combining walking interviews with photovoice. Especially Tonga women and youth are important knowledge holders for land management, agricultural practices, and tree conservation. We found that local knowledge is often ‘hybridised’ with ‘external knowledge’ when local knowledge alone is deemed insufficient. In some cases, introduced ‘external knowledges’ are simply reconstituted long-standing local practices. Nevertheless, local communities often perceive external knowledge holders as “knowing better.” Finally, we show how local knowledge and associated practices have been simultaneously eroded and lost and describe those that have remained resilient to provide insights into the complexity of hybridisation processes where different knowledge systems interact.

Natural resource management

Zambia

Tonga

Integrated landscape approaches

Kalomo District

Decolonising knowledge

Knowledge hybridisation

Indigenous and local knowledge

Författare

Malaika Yanou

Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Fysisk resursteori

Universiteit Van Amsterdam

Mirjam A.F. Ros-Tonen

Universiteit Van Amsterdam

James Reed

Center for International Forestry Research, West Java

Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences

Shine Nakwenda

Research Assistant

Terry Sunderland

Center for International Forestry Research, West Java

University of British Columbia (UBC)

Human Ecology

03007839 (ISSN) 15729915 (eISSN)

Vol. In Press

Ämneskategorier

Social och ekonomisk geografi

Annan samhällsvetenskap

DOI

10.1007/s10745-024-00545-x

Mer information

Senast uppdaterat

2024-11-06