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The environmental knowledge frontier: transects with experts and villagers
Author(s) -
Mahiri Ishmail O.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of international development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.533
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1099-1328
pISSN - 0954-1748
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1328(199806)10:4<527::aid-jid543>3.0.co;2-s
Subject(s) - transect , frontier , population , geography , interface (matter) , environmental planning , environmental resource management , sociology , ecology , archaeology , demography , environmental science , biology , capillary number , capillary action , meteorology
Knowledge of the environment has often been associated with ‘expert’ or professional interpretations. The knowledge and views of villagers have consequently been obscured and underused. Comparisons of ‘expert’ and local perspectives in the field are rare. Local knowledge is gaining wide recognition in Western social science, but is often still not accepted in other disciplines or other societies. This paper explores one knowledge interface between ‘experts’ and ‘locals’ on environmental issues. It focuses on the interface between official policy and local everyday life of the rural population, by presenting findings from transects conducted with separate groups of villagers and ‘experts’ in Nyando Division, Kisumu District, Kenya. The transects were used both for basic evaluation of the environment and as a forum to elicit opinion from ‘experts’ and ‘locals’. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.