WART Hog was recently on an expedition to Mafinga District. It was a rough and long way through the mountainous terrain all the way from Mkushi to Mafinga, just the way he likes it!
Mafinga is a newly established district which is in the north-eastern part of Muchinga province. The district borders with Malawi along the Nyika Plateau and Mafinga Mountains. Mafinga was part of Isoka District until it was realised that the people of that area were marginalised for lack of development.
The Mafinga District is home to the Mafinga Mountains. The Mafinga Mountains have been said to hold the highest point in Zambia having a peak of about 2 339 m above sea level.
Wart Hog was excited to learn that the Mafinga Mountains actually hold the source of the Luangwa River – one of Zambia’s four biggest rivers.
As he was preparing to go on some exploration at the water source, Wart Hog stopped at some local shop to buy some refreshments in a village called Thendele. In the shop he spoke to a Nyika woman who offered him some insight on the culture of the people of Thendele and Mulekatembo, the two villages close to the Mafinga mountains.
With a gleaming face and a very unusual Nyika smile, the woman glanced at Wart Hog and said; “you see, the Mafinga is a very big mountain range. It has several portions one of which is a sacred area. This sacred area has a fountain on its apex: it is easy to see the fountain from afar when the rains poll, it becomes spectacular water fall.”
At this moment, Wart Hog was itching to get a glimpse of the said fountain but the Nyika woman continued and said; “easy, take it easy. You see, no ordinary person will get anywhere close to the fountain and survive.
Many ordinary people have gone there but they’ve never returned, they simply disappear. The place is guarded by ancestral spirits, only those close to the place can reach the place and offer sacrifices to the ancestors.
In fact, we have heard stories that the place is infested with creatures I have never seen before; winged snakes and lions have been reported from there. I can’t say for sure if those creatures exist but this I can say for sure; if you go to the fountain, you’ll never come back.”
It occurred to Wart Hog’s mind at this moment that the source of the Luangwa River is protected, guarded by the indigenous people with indigenous ecological knowledge. So what is indigenous knowledge?
The general consensus of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is that the term ‘indigenous’ applies to people who have historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that have developed their own territories and who consider themselves distinct from other sectors of society now prevailing in those territories or part of them.
They form at present non dominant sectors of society and are determined to preserve, develop and transmit to future generations their ancestral territories, their ethnic identity as the basis of their continued existence as peoples, in accordance with their own cultural patterns, social institutions and legal systems.
Based on the CBD conception of what the term “indigenous” means, we can therefore define indigenous ecological knowledge as the culturally integrated knowledge or knowledge of small, marginal and non-western groups.
Indigenous ecological knowledge can also be viewed as the taken for granted every day common sense ways of reasoning and living, with a potential for environmental problem solving, yet confined to home contexts and hardly shared with the wider audience.
Such knowledge reflects the commonly held norms and values which shape the relationship between local people and their immediate natural environment. Indigenous ecological knowledge can also be referred to as ‘indigenous knowledge,’ ‘local knowledge’, ‘community knowledge’, or ‘traditional knowledge’. All of the above terms loosely defined referred to knowledge in local communities (people) about their everyday lived experiences including their local environment.
The Value of Indigenous Ecological Knowledge in conservation
Traditional ecological knowledge is a tool for rural development and resource conservation. In places where the Government controls Wildlife Management Areas, for example, communities act as custodians. Indigenous people can provide valuable input about the local environment and how to effectively manage its natural resources.
It is for this reason that the Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) system uses both modern and traditional knowledge simultaneously. Wart Hog is of the view that the CBNRM is very crucial to implementing indigenous ecological knowledge in places like Mafinga.
Incorporating indigenous ecological knowledge into conservation projects can contribute to local empowerment and development, increasing self-sufficiency and strengthening self-determination to sustainability.
Indigenous Ecological knowledge helps to identify and tackle the felt needs and development issues of people in a respective area.
Having learned from the failures of the top down planning and decision-making process of the past, the involvement of local communities in issues such as land use and development planning has been recognised as a fundamental principle to address poverty alleviation as well as environmental protection and achieve sustainable development in rural areas.
Utilising indigenous ecological knowledge in conservation projects and environmental management plans gives it legitimacy and credibility in the eyes of both local people and outside scientists, increasing cultural pride and thus provides motivation to solve local problems with local ingenuity and resources.
Indigenous knowledge technologies and know-how have an advantage over Science in that they rely on locally available skills and materials and are thus often more cost-effective than introducing exotic technologies from outside sources.
Local people are familiar with indigenous ecological knowledge system and so do not necessarily need any specialised training.
Indigenous ecological knowledge represents a way of life that has evolved with the local environment, so it is specifically adapted to the requirements of local conditions.
Indigenous ecological knowledge Restrains resource exploitation: production is for subsistence needs only; only what is needed for immediate survival is taken from the environment.
Indigenous ecological knowledge Diversifies production systems: there is no overexploitation of a single resource; risk is often spread out by utilizing a number of subsistence strategies.
Indigenous ecological knowledge promotes respect for nature: a ‘conservation ethic’ often exists. The land is considered sacred, humans are dependent on nature for survival, and all species are interconnected.
Indigenous ecological knowledge is flexible and infuses a sense of social responsibility: it is flexible because it is able to adapt to new conditions and incorporate outside knowledge. Indigenous ecological knowledge also promotes feelings of obligation and responsibility to preserve natural resources for future generations.
Outside interest in indigenous knowledge systems has been fueled by the recent worldwide ecological crisis and the realisation that its causes lie partly in the overexploitation of natural resources based on inappropriate attitudes and technologies.
Scientists now recognise that indigenous people have managed the environments in which they have lived for generations, often without significantly damaging local ecologies. Wart Hog feels that indigenous knowledge is critical to providing a powerful basis from which alternative ways of managing resources can be developed.
A successful integration of indigenous knowledge in the management of resources such as the Mafinga Mountains and all the biodiversity therein will undoubtedly contribute to sustainable development.
For comments or contributions write to Wildlife & Environmental Conservation Society of Zambia, Po Box 30255, Lusaka. Telefax: +260-211-251630, Cell: 0977-780770, Email: wecsz@coppernet.zm