Question

Environmental information traditional and modern

Answer 1

if it is correct please mark as excellent

While much has been written in general terms about indigenous peoples’ knowledge of and care for their environmental resources, only a few detailed case studies in widely scattered areas of the Pacific can be found in the literature. Outstanding among these are the work of Johannes (1978, 1981) on fishing in Palau, of Barrau (1956a) on agriculture in New Caledonia, and of Spriggs (1981) on taro irrigation in Vanuatu. References to environmental knowledge elsewhere in the literature are dispersed and often anecdotal. At times, their environmental context and importance have not even been understood.

This review examines the scope of traditional Kanak knowledge of the environment and of their approaches to environmental conservation and management in New Caledonia, insofar as these can be determined from published sources. Discussions with both Kanaks (the Melanesians of New Caledonia) and ethnologists provided additional indications and examples of the extent of traditional knowledge. The perspective used is that of an ecologist rather than an ethnologist, and thus without any pretension to ethnological rigour. All the published sources cited are by Europeans (with the inevitable disadvantage of viewing a culture through foreign eyes), and some are known to be unreliable or biased in their interpretations, but such weaknesses may be less apt to affect environmental information than other dimensions of traditional culture. However, in one instance in this study where it was possible to check with knowledgeable local informants, erroneous information published by a well-known ethnologist was apparently given to him as a joke. While the detailed information in many published sources still requires confirmation by the Kanaks themselves, the general conclusions seem to be valid.

I hope it will help u