Indigenous Knowledge
It is time to stop discounting traditional expertise and make use of
this vast and valuable resource, argues Indian scientist Suman Sahai.
Science and technology have always been an important part of growth and
development plans. But accepted 'scientific expertise' is Western,
standardised and homogenous. From this viewpoint, the vast body of
scientific expertise developed in diverse societies and cultures is
discounted and ignored.
Referred to as indigenous or traditional knowledge, this is a
knowledge system distilled from generations of scientific work anchored
in rural and tribal communities. It is different to the Western system
of empirical, lab-based science — but is equally valid and efficacious.
Indigenous knowledge has developed from understanding and documenting
the processes in nature. An iteration of practices over time has led to
products and processes that are based on sound scientific principles.
Take plant extracts for example. Observing that animals did not eat
certain plants and assuming that this was because they were toxic,
communities took extracts and tested them for a range of uses. Many
were, and still are, used as pesticides in agriculture, in bait to catch
fish or to treat maggot infestations in livestock.
Because plants differ across ecological zones, each region has
developed products and uses based on their regional flora. Indigenous
science is diverse, and it is efficacious in the particular context in
which it is used.
Similarly, in
indigenous medicine, the plants used in traditional Chinese
medicine will be different to those used in India, Indonesia or Myanmar
— but all these healing systems will cure many diseases effectively.
Even today, almost 80 per cent of the population of some Asian and
African countries rely on indigenous systems for primary healthcare. [1]
Indigenous knowledge is not a panacea, but it offers as valid a
route for treatment as any other. Just as Western medicine cannot cure a
common cold or many
chronicdiseases, traditional medicines may not be as
effective as antibiotics in rapidly controlling infections.
But it has some advantages. Antibiotics lead to side effects
(which could range from allergies and rashes to more serious effects
like toxicity) and bacteria can ultimately become
resistant to them; traditional healing is more broad-based
and holistic, designed as much to prevent disease as to cure it.
Practical approach to problem-solving
Indigenous knowledge includes knowledge accumulated over
thousands of years, making it particularly useful for problem-solving.
Communities have vetted solutions and knowledge systems over time,
retaining only the efficacious ones.
When the December 2004
tsunami struck the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of
India, it was feared that local tribal communities would have perished.
But this was not the case: they had correctly read the signs of an
impending tsunami and retreated to high ground. [2]
In
foodproduction, the hallmarks of traditional science
include knowledge of genetic diversity, the suitability of crop
varieties to different land and soil types, and the use of agronomic
practices to minimise risk of crop losses. There are various options
available for growing food under almost any agro-ecological condition.
It is a pity that this knowledge is rarelyused. Instead, most
research establishments support the dominant system of food production
that involves resource-intensive agriculture, which may work for
well-off farmers on large farms, but comes at a huge ecological cost.
If rural and tribal communities in India have developed and
conserved almost 100,000 varieties of rice based on knowledge of their
properties, or the communities of the Andean highlands have developed
thousands of varieties of potato, or those in Mexico several thousand
varieties of maize, then it is because there is a strong empirical basis
to this endeavour.
Policy disconnect
But governments and policymakers, even in developing
countries that are home to indigenous scientific expertise, accept only
Western-style science as the basis of evidence-based policymaking.
A colonial past has nurtured a 'look West' elite who take their
Western inclinations into policy formulation. The
education, lifestyle and ignorance of these leaders,
even their rejection of indigenous traditions, have a cost for countries
that confine their ability to solve problems to Western science.
It is in the global community's interest to examine all available
forms of scientific knowledge and expertise. It is myopic to rely on
just one approach when several are available.
Developing countries, in particular, do themselves a great
disservice by neglecting the problem-solving and enriching potential of
their own traditions of science, which are locally valid and accepted.
Despite India having a vast repertoire of indigenous medicine,
its healthcare system is based on Western-style medicine, which is
expensive and difficult to take into remote villages. The logical
approach would be to rely largely on indigenous medicine and include the
Western system where needed. After years of neglect for traditional
medicine, this is finally beginning to happen, with efforts to include
it in
healthcare systems.
China has charted a different course, with the government
supporting the development of both Western and traditional medicine in
its healthcare system through research on what is called 'integrative
medicine'. [3]
Why should systems of science be standardised, and why should
academics and policymakers demand this? A scientific system's validity
lies not in its being credible everywhere, but in its being credible in
the culture where it was developed and where it has provided solutions.
Countries that are repositories of indigenous scientific
expertise should make this mainstream. Investing adequate resources in
indigenous science and expanding the base of education and training in
traditional knowledge systems will help to neutralise the bias against
them and assist their inclusion in official policy.
People and governments have to move away from the narrow thinking
that the Western style of science is the only science there is.
Suman Sahai is founder and chair of Gene Campaign, an
organisation dedicated to the conservation of genetic resources and
indigenous knowledge, and to working towards ensuring food, nutrition
and livelihood security for rural and tribal communities. She can be
contacted at
mail@genecampaign.org
Healing herbs and edible flowers image via Shutterstock.
http://www.scidev.net/en/health/traditional-medicine/opinions/indigenous-knowledge-is-a-form-of-science-don-t-ignore-it.html
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