For further information contact: m.chiba@unesco.org | Exploring Linkages between Cultural Diversity and Biological Diversity Safeguarding the Transmission of
Local and Indigenous Knowledge of Nature
14, 15 April 2005, Auditorium, Aichi Prefectural University, Nagoya, Japan In an increasingly global world, the homogenisation of social and ecological systems is a growing concern. With 90% of world languages expected to disappear this century and biodiversity loss estimated at 100 times greater than natural rates, urgent measures are required to maintain the world's cultures and environments. Cultural diversity and biological diversity are intertwined in multiple and complex ways. While cultures have been inspired and nurtured by natural environment, much biodiversity is created, maintained and managed by local communities, with language, knowledge and know-how as tools and conceptual frameworks. To ensure the continuing dynamism of local knowledge and views of the world within indigenous communities, steps must be taken to safeguard their transmission from generation to generation. What can be done to sustain the dynamism of knowledge and know-how in local & indigenous communities? How can the transmission of traditional knowledge from elders to youth be revitalised? What are the challenges and opportunities of international community? We have yet to have exhausted our debate on the importance of local & indigenous communities and their knowledge as cradle of world's cultural and biological diversity.
For more information, download the draft working document prepared by the UNESCO Secretariat. This paper aims at providing a short introduction to the issues to be discussed as well as background information on the UNESCO perspective on local and indigenous knowledge and its transmission. The full conference report will be available soon. Also available: Conference Report | Programme | List of Participants | Abstracts | Poster
Coordinating Team
UNESCO
- Cultural Policies and Intercultural Dialogue, Culture Sector
- Intangible Heritage Section, Culture Sector
- Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) Project, Natural Sciences Sector
Japan Centre for Area Studies, National Museum of Ethnology
Aichi 2005 | JCAS web |
Safeguarding the Transmission of Local and Indigenous Knowledge of Nature
Thursday, 14 April 2005
Opening
Welcoming Remarks: SASAKI Yuta, President, Aichi Prefectural University
Opening Remarks: OSHIKAWA Fumiko, ABE Ken-ichi, JCAS
Introduction: Douglas NAKASHIMA (background, topics, objectives, expected outcomes), UNESCO
Session 1. Ecosystem-Social System Interactions and Local Knowledge Transmission
Chair: ONUKI Yoshio (Little World Museum of Man)
Rapporteur: N. CRAWHALL
Moderate Management and Use of Natural Resources in the Andes and the Himalayas
INAMURA Tetsuya, Aichi Prefectural University, JAPAN
Cultural Diversity and Ecology: Building Yunnan Ethnic Cultural and Ecological Communities
YIN Shao Tin, Yunnan University, CHINA
Integration of Diverse Societies to Achieve Harmony in Natural Resource Use: MAP, A Symbol of Collaboration in Southwestern Amazonia
Elsa MENDOZA, Institute of Environmental Research of Amazonia, BRAZIL
Culture, Food, and Biodiversity: Shaping Crop Evolution
Pablo EYZAGUIRRE, International Plant Genetic Resources Institute(IPGRI), ITALY
Session 2. Indigenous Knowledge Transmission: Characteristics, Threats and Challenges
Chair: YAMADA Isamu (Kyoto University) / Lucien CHABASON (Commissariat General de Pavillon de la France, Exposition Universelle de 2005, Aichi Japan)
Rapporteur: J. ISHIZAWA
Traditional Environmental Language, Knowledge, Practice, and Biodiversity in Venezuela: Looking at Linkages, Transmission Processes, Current Trends, and Conservation Actions
Stanford ZENT, Venezuelan Centre for Scientific Research, VENEZUELA
A Balanced Diet: Preserving Development, Developing Preservation - A Case of Yui Labor System, Shirakawa-go, Japan
Ron CARLE, National Museum of Ethnology, JAPAN
Hunter-Gatherers in Africa: Threats and Opportunities - Cases of South Africa, Tanzania and Gabon
Nigel CRAWHALL, Indigenous Peoples of Africa Co-ordinating Committee, SOUTH AFRICA
Loss of Traditional Knowledge, Loss of Culture and Livelihood: A Case of Urak Lawoi Sea Nomadic People in the Andaman Sea
Supin WONGBUSARAKUM, Deputy Investigator on a UNESCO and NOAA co-funded project, THAILAND
Session 3. ROUND TABLE : Policy Challenges for Local Knowledge Transmission
Chair: Paul. JORION (former Officer, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations)
Rapporteur: S. MORRISON
Indigenous Knowledge and the School Curriculum: A Case Study from Botswana
Herman BATIBO, University of Botswana, BOTSWANA
Rethinking Vanuatu Education: The Indigenous Knowledge Component
John NIROA, Ministry of Education, VANUATU
Venezuela in Search of a Participative and Intercultural Education for the Survival of its Indigenous Cultures
Marie Claude MATTÉI, Comisión Nacional de Cultura y Educación de los Pueblos Indígenas Venezuela, VENEZUELA
Friday, 15 April 2005
Session 4. ROUND TABLE : From Policy to Practice: challenges and lessons learned
Chair: Pablo ENZYGUERRE(International Plant Genetic Resources Institute)
Rapporteur : S. ZENT
Sustaining Indigenous Languages and Indigenous Knowledge: Developing Community Training Approaches for the 21st Century in Maluku Region, Indonesia
Margaret FLOREY, Monash University, AUSTRALIA
The Transmission of Knowledge: The Case of Coastal Communities in Brittany
Paul JORION/ Geneviève DELBO, former Officer, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) ,BELGIUM/ Musée national des arts et traditions populaires, FRANCE
What are the Future Challenges and Possibilities in Sustaining Transmission of Local Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Practice for the Sustainable Use of Natural Resources and Human Well-Being? : Maori Cases
Sandy MORRISON, University of Waikat, NEW ZEALAND
Biodiversity Regeneration and Intercultural Knowledge Transmission : Andean Cases
Jorge ISHIZAWA, Proyecto Andino de Tecnologias Campesinas, PERU
Session 5. GENERAL DEBATE : Identifying Key Concerns, Priorities and Follow-Up Action
Chair: Douglas NAKASHIMA (UNESCO)
Rapporteurs: M.CHIBA and S. KUBE (UNESCO)
Concluding Debate
