Abstract
This paper reviews a selection of the literature that focuses on indigenous ecological knowledge systems and the accompanying cosmology and myth. Traditional ecological knowledge may not be obvious to the western trained scientist or the development worker since it may be disguised in the form of cosmology and ritual. The paper argues that the development process must be based on an understanding of traditional ecological knowledge if projects are to be sustainable both environmentally and sociologically.
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Ellen Woodley graduated with an honors degree in Botany from the University of Guelph in 1980 before proceeding to a Masters of Science at the University of Toronto, during which time research was conducted on plant phenology in the High Arctic on Ellesmere Island, Northwest Territories. In 1982, Ellen then worked as a teacher in Sierra Leone, West Africa. From 1983 to 1985, Ellen worked as a botanist at the Wau Ecology Institute in Papua New Guinea, where she became involved in documenting traditional knowledge of medicinal plants. In 1987, Ellen entered a Masters of Science program in International Rural Planning and Development at the University of Guelph, during which time she undertook research on resource management strategies of hillside farmers in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Ellen is currently writing the results of that research in Guelph.
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Woodley, E. Indigenous ecological knowledge systems and development. Agric Hum Values 8, 173–178 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01579672
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01579672