Local people's knowledge in natural resources research

Innovation and knowledge about natural resources come from many different sources; application of new knowledge does not occur in a vacuum but has to be incorporated into specific social and ecological contexts. Farmers have been developing agricultural systems, domesticating animals, breeding new crop varieties and constructing irrigation systems throughout the centuries without the aid of formalised scientific approaches and agricultural extension systen1s. In order to develop sustainable strategies it is important to take account of, and learn from, what local people already know and do, and to build on this. A variety of terms have been used in the development literature to refer to the collective knowledge of local people: indigenous knowledge, indigenous technical knowledge, 'traditional' knowledge and rural people's knowledge. The term 'local people's knowledge' (LPK) is used here to include local knowledge of people in both rural and peri-urban and urban communities who use natural resources in some way. This includes farmers - and those with other occupations, such as pastoralists, foresters, hunters and gatherers - fisherfolk, artisans, food processors and traders. Although many are likely to be poor, relatively powerless and marginalized, local knowledge is also held by those in Government and the private sector