Mr. Douglas Nakashima
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· Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) project launched the first volume in its publication series Knowledges of Nature. This book, entitled “Reef and Rainforest: An Environmental Encyclopedia of Marovo Lagoon, Solomon Islands”, provides a meticulous documentation of Solomon Islander knowledge of reef and land topography, and of marine and terrestrial animals and plants. Containing more than 1200 Marovo terms with descriptions in both Marovo and English. It is hoped that the volume will support the transmission of indigenous knowledge and worldviews from elders to youth, and encourage similar efforts in the Pacific and elsewhere, to maintain the dynamism of indigenous environmental knowledge in local communities. Guidelines for its use inside the classroom are presently in development.
· LINKS has submitted a 3-year project proposal concerning indigenous knowledge and biodiversity conservation and monitoring in the Pacific small islands developing States of Palau, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. In addition to mobilising local knowledge, in particular women’s knowledge, to assess and monitor the biodiversity of nearshore marine habitats, activities are planned with respect to ‘bothways’ education that will enhance the transmission of indigenous knowledge, practices and worldviews, alongside Science, in national curricula and local schools. National Education Strategies in Palau, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu recognise the vital importance of building traditional knowledge into education curricula as a contribution to the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.
· LINKS also is undertaking activities aimed at reinforcing conceptual clarity and rigor in the indigenous knowledge field. They include the elaboration of a Manual for IK documentation, safeguarding and wider application in biodiversity conservation and sustainable development processes, including the identification of guiding concepts and methodologies. As a contribution to the elaboration of the Manual, an International Experts Workshop is to be organized in Cairns/Townville, Australia in 2007, involving scientific and indigenous knowledge experts. This activity will consolidate much of the thinking, concepts and practices that have emerged over past decades on indigenous knowledge as the nexus between biological and cultural diversity, while serving as a springboard to take this development approach forward to field practitioners and policy makers.
· A LINKS project was recently concluded in the south-western Indian Ocean (Mauritius, Rodrigues and Réunion) on the creative blending of women’s medicinal knowledge, anchored in the local flora and shaped by the diverse cultural traditions of India, China, Madagascar, East Africa and Europe. A publication is foreseen for 2007, based on the information gathered.
· A research case study entitled “cultural practices improving sustainable local use of biodiversity: the Archipelago Boloma Bijagos biosphere reserve case » (Guinea Bissau) is currently being conducted. This research is done in partnership with Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), IBAP (institute for Biodiversity and Protected area, Bissau) and INEP (institute for research, Bissau).
· Interregional meeting on cultural diversity entitled: ‘Islands as Crossroads: Cultural Diversities in Small Island Developing States’, foreseen for April 2007. One of the key features of SIDS which requires further interrogation is the extent to which they have served as “cultural crossroads” or plural and hybrid sites for identity formation, intangible heritage and global inter-connectivity from pre-colonial times to the contemporary phase of globalization. Issues such as ethnic plurality, mobile populations, global diasporas, global tourism, global media, cultural industries and so on that affect and impact on cultural diversities and sustainable development will be the focus of the conference, followed by a publication.