local knowledge

Mountain agrobiodiversity in Peru: Seed fairs, seed banks, and mountain-to-mountain exchange

Conservation of agricultural biodiversity has become an important paradigm in efforts to promote sustainable development throughout the world. This is especially the case in Andean countries, where ex situ conservation of crops has been a focus of attention since the 1970s. In Peru in the early 1990s, researchers and development specialists also focused on in situ conservation and...

Useful plants within a campesino community in a Costa Rican montane cloud forest

An ethnobotanical survey was carried out among a campesino community in a Costa Rican montane cloud forest. Campesino families were interviewed about how they used indigenous and introduced vascular plants along an altitudinal gradient (2000–3000 m). From a total of 590 species known in the area, 23.8% of 189 useful plant species were used for medicinal purposes, 39.7% for...

Sectoral fallow systems and the management of soil fertility: The rationality of indigenous knowledge in the high Andes of Bolivia
In the High Andes of Bolivia, sectoral fallow systems are a common form of land use. Fields in the study area (Japo, Department of Cochabamba) are cultivated for three years with potatoes as the first crop and then lie fallow for nine years. Despite the low nutrient content of the soil and the high elevation of the area (between 4000 and 4500 m above sea level), farmers achieve relatively high...
Use of Sensitivity analysis to evaluate key factors for improving slash-and-burn cultivation systems on the eastern escarpment of Madagascar
Slash-and-burn for pluvial rice cultivation (Tavy) is a predominant component in the land use system on the Eastern Escarpment of Madagascar. It causes ecological degradation and subsequent aggravation of rural poverty. After conducting multidisciplinary research resulting in an in-depth diagnosis of the area's agroecological system, the BEMA (Bilans écologiques à Madagascar)...
Natural hazards and risk communication strategies among indigenous communities: Shedding light on accessibility in Mexico's mountains

Attempts to improve risk communication strategies in order to prevent and mitigate disasters caused by natural hazards have been made worldwide. However, most such strategies target non-indigenous populations, while vulnerable communities located in remote mountain areas in the least developed countries lack information in their native language.

Awareness of risks...

Understanding links between gendered local knowledge of agrobiodiversity and food security in Tanzania

Tanzania, with many mountain ranges, has outstanding biodiversity due to diverse ecosystems. It is one of 14 biodiversity hotspot countries in the world. The majority of Tanzanian men and women depend directly on natural resources, biodiversity, and knowledge and experience of how to ensure their family's food security. Women and local communities have possessed specialised...

Participatory planning for biodiversity conservation in the high tropical Andes: Are farmers interested?
The success of participatory conservation projects depends greatly on the interest shown by the local population and on the strategies used to incorporate all stakeholders from the initial stages. In the highly diverse region of the tropical Andean páramos, threats to ecosystem integrity come mainly from agriculture and cattle grazing. Approaches to biodiversity conservation have...
Spiritual values in Madagascar: The starting point for endogenous conservation initiatives
Ancestors, taboos, spirits, rice, and cattle are Madagascar's strongest traditional foundations—indispensable “food” for most, if not all, rural Malagasy people. On the other hand, nationalism, “development,” private enterprise, and conservation of biodiversity are unavoidable modern spin-offs of globalisation that influence Malagasy life, even in the most...
Folk medicinal knowledge and conservation status of some economically valued medicinal plants of District Swat, Pakistan

This paper is based on an ethnobotanical project, carried out in the remote Hindu Kush mountain region of District Swat, Pakistan. The prime objectives of the project were to explore the conservation status, folk medicinal knowledge and traditional pre and post harvesting techniques of some economically important medicinal plants of the area. It was observed that 49 medicinal plants belonging...

Adapting to climate variability and change: A guidance manual for development planning

Climate change may pose risks and/or create opportunities for development efforts in many countries. The USAID Global Climate Change Team developed this Adaptation Guidance Manual to assist Missions and other partners to understand how climate change may affect their project outcomes and identify adaptation options to integrate into the design for more resilient projects. In developing the...

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