Traditional Ecological Knowledge
Humans acquire information about their environment through years of living in it. They learn which methods work best and what doesn't work at all. Each generation builds on and hands it down to the next generation, and the knowledge base grows. The sum of the information, labeled traditional ecological knowledge or TEK, provides a blueprint for living with an ecosystem rather than at the expense of the ecosystem.
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Subject Matter
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TEK encompasses the interaction between humans and the environment. The information includes techniques for planting, harvesting and preserving crops; animal husbandry; hunting and gathering in the wild; construction techniques for survival in a particular climate; and crafts based on local supplies. Observations regarding the habits of local wildlife and how to best utilize it without depleting the population form another aspect of the study. TEK teaches living with the environment rather than at odds with it.
Research Methods
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Artifacts can provide clues to how a culture interacts with its environment. Researchers employ many techniques to gather information. Structured interviews with members of a given population cover specific topics. Unstructured interviews allow the subject to offer information on any topic and can result in discoveries which might have been overlooked otherwise. Observation of techniques and study of artifacts in the field can lead to understanding of why things have traditionally been done a certain way. Researchers compile data from multiple personnel and locations to compare differences and similarities across groups and geographic locations.
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Scientific Applications
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Scientists in a number of fields benefit from data accumulated from traditional ecological knowledge. Understanding how a population has used a tool or plant in its society aids archaeologists in identifying artifacts and their meanings. Ethnobiologists look at the techniques employed by earlier groups to use and preserve an ecosystem as resources for conservation today. Sociologists compare the way different cultural groups approach the same situations or observe the same phenomena. Other fields include anthropology and biological research.
Benefits
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As researchers gather data, they realize benefits both to the local population and society as a whole. Society gains through the dispersion of knowledge which might otherwise be lost. The scientific community obtains insights into subjects without the need to conduct experiments which might prove difficult and expensive. The local subjects benefit from the organization and publication of materials dealing with the traditional methods they use. Often, the groups conducting the research provide copies of their materials to the subjects, aiding them in teaching the next generation. In some cases, the findings strike a chord with the public, such as the series of Foxfire books. The series began as a magazine edited by Georgia students since 1966, documenting the skills and traditions of southern Appalachia.
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References
- Photo Credit clean water image by drx from Fotolia.com wood necklace image by Allyson Ricketts from Fotolia.com
