“O ye of little faith”: Traditional knowledge and western science

Williams, Jim

doi:10.1080/03014220909510572

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…So, are science and TEK 'apples and oranges', as Dickison (2009 this issue) puts it, or do they share similar characteristics (Agrawal 2009), or are they complementary (Berkes 2009), or are they all of these? If Western science is fundamentally a body of facts and a method of inquiry 'free of personal and cultural biases' (Dickison 2009) with hallmarks being its use of hypothesis, prediction and the testing of predictions (Crawford 2009 this issue), does it share anything with TEK which is characterised by situated knowledge (Chambers 2009 this issue;Thomas 2009 this issue) within a spiritual world view (Williams 2009 this issue) and embedded in cultural and linguistic framework (Wehi et al 2009…”

Section: Characterising Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Where new information is created or adopted solely within an indigenous context, it is mediated and applied according to the social regulation and spiritual controls in place. If useful, it will form part of the intergenerational transfer of knowledge of a healthy community (Gaze & Smith 2009;Robson et al 2009;Williams 2009). But in other circumstances, where control and decision-making authority rests for example with government management agencies, negotiations need to occur and new institutions must be created to ensure indigenous groups have a substantive role (Zurba 2009 this issue).…”

Section: Interfacing Tek and Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

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Cross‐cultural environmental research and management: Challenges and progress

Stephenson

Møller

2009

Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand

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The Royal Society of New Zealand encouraged this Forum on cross-cultural environmental research and management following the publication of a special issue of the New Zealand Journal of Zoology in September 2009 called "Mātauranga Māori, science and seabirds" (Moller 2009). Mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) is concerned with all aspects of Te Ao Māori (the Māori world view), including their version of what overseas scholars have variously termed Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), Traditional Knowledge, Local Knowledge, Ethnoscience or Ethnobiology. The most widely used definition of TEK is "a cumulative body of knowledge, practice, and belief, evolving by adaptive processes and handed down through generations by cultural transmission, about the relationship of living beings (including humans) with one another and the environment" (Berkes 2008: 7). Mātauranga Māori, and especially its interface with science, is a particularly important issue for New Zealand because of its colonial history, the partnership principles derived from the Treaty of Waitangi, and the government's Vision Mātauranga to 'unlock the innovation potential of Māori Knowledge, Resources and People' (MoRST 2005). The Mātauranga Māori, science and seabirds special issue of New Zealand Journal of Zoology featured 10 papers from the Kia Mau Te Tītī Mo Ake Tonu Atu ("Keep the Tītī Forever") research project. Tītī is the Māori term for 'muttonbirds', the chicks of sooty shearwater (Puffinus griseus). The 'tītī project' was a 14-year collaboration of Rakiura Māori kaitiaki (environmental guardians) and their mātauranga with University of Otago ecologists and mathematicians (Moller et al. 2009c). Its main aim was to assess the sustainability of the current harvest of tītī and identify ways that the tītī can remain plentiful enough for the Rakiura mokopuna (grandchildren) to be able to continue their cultural heritage of muttonbirding. However, another aim of the project was compare science and mātauranga (or TEK in its international context) as ways of knowing and guiding ecological management. As the tītī project is a long-running and detailed example of a cross-cultural science-mātauranga partnership, the Royal Society of New Zealand enabled us to invite a range of researchers to comment on the lessons from the tītī project, and more generally to explore challenges and enablers of partnerships between knowledge systems of different cultures.

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Section: Characterising Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Interfacing Tek and Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

Cross‐cultural environmental research and management: Challenges and progress

Stephenson

Møller

2009

Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand

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“…Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions Sebastian S. Uhlmann 1 and Bettina S. Almstadt 2 Cross-cultural partnerships require a mutual understanding of their respective disciplines, e.g., traditional environmental knowledge (TEK) and ecological science (Moller 1996;Crawford 2009 this issue). Such understanding may be hampered by a lack of spiritual awareness within the scientific approach or among participating researchers (Moller et al 2009a;Williams 2009 this issue). While we do not question the success of the Kia Mau Te Tītī Mo Ake Tōnu Atu research project (hereafter tītī project) we wish to stimulate debate on whether cross-cultural participatory action research initiatives require spiritual input within and beyond what is currently considered the "ideal scientist" role model (Moller et al 2009a: 224).…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

Beyond the great divide: Do cross‐cultural partnerships require spiritual scientists?

Uhlmann

Almstadt

2009

Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand

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“…What is required is better integration to produce clearer ideas on the relationships between biological and cultural systems in the hope of achieving a sustainable future where both ecological and social systems are resilient to external pressures through the maintenance of diversity (Rapport 2006). Research and development policies and practice need combined approaches that centre on conservation of diversity both in socialecological systems (Kates et al 2001;Clark & Dickson 2003), and in knowledges of different groups of people within their contexts (Gadgil et al 2000;Williams 2009). Such integration to produce interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary research requires attention to (1) choice of appropriate disciplines, (2) a process by which they work together, (3) an agreement that disagreements will not result in individuals withdrawing, and finally (4) care that not every discipline should be involved at any one time (focused bilateral arrangements are more likely to work than efforts to bring every possible discipline together unless trust is very high) ).…”

Section: The Emergence Of New Sub-disciplines and Knowledge Linksmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One reason for natural scientists' tendency to overlook, or even dismiss, local knowledge is that it is rarely generalizable (Jacobson & Stephens 2009;Williams 2009). It tends to be locally-distinct, place-based and set within a local cultural context.…”

Section: The Emergence Of New Sub-disciplines and Knowledge Linksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interdisciplinary progress in approaches to address social-ecological and ecocultural systems

Pretty

2011

Envir. Conserv.

110

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SUMMARYThe emergent human cultures have shaped, and in turn been shaped by, local ecosystems. Yet humanity's intense modification of the environment has resulted in dramatic worldwide declines in natural and cultural capital. Social-ecological systems are becoming more vulnerable through the disruption of livelihoods, governance, institutions, resources and cultural traditions. This paper reviews the environmental sub-disciplines that have emerged to seek solutions for conservation and maintenance of the resilience of social-ecological systems. It shows that a central component is engagement with the knowledges of people within their contexts. Local knowledges of nature (traditional, indigenous, local ecological knowledge and ecoliteracy) are used by place-based cultures to guide actions towards nature. The importance of new engagements between different knowledges is now becoming more widely recognized by scientific institutions. Yet there still exist many false dualisms (for example local knowledge versus science) which tend to emphasize a superiority of one over the other. Ecocultures retain or strive to regain their connections with the environment, and thus improve their own resilience. Revitalization projects offer ways to connect knowledge with action to produce optimal outcomes for both nature and culture, suggesting that systems can be redesigned by emphasis on incorporation of local and traditional knowledge systems.

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“O ye of little faith”: Traditional knowledge and western science

Cited by 6 publications

References 4 publications

Cross‐cultural environmental research and management: Challenges and progress

Cross‐cultural environmental research and management: Challenges and progress

Beyond the great divide: Do cross‐cultural partnerships require spiritual scientists?

Interdisciplinary progress in approaches to address social-ecological and ecocultural systems

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