Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
generation through oral tradition and by practice. It can be divided into two, namely
technical and non-technical. Technical knowledge refers to that knowledge which
incorporates skills and is manifested in production systems and socio-cultural
systems such as arts and music. Non-technical knowledge refers to value systems,
beliefs, customs, and rules of behaviour. Hountondji (1997) has described tradi-
tional technical knowledge research as ethno-technology, and within the realm of
science as ethno-science, which is defined as the study of a corpus of knowledge,
information, and know-how handed down from generation to generation. Examples
of these are ethno-zoology, the study of traditional zoological knowledge, ethno-
botany, the study of traditional botanical concepts, and ethno-minerals, the study of
traditional knowledge of mineral resources. Following this concept, PLEC activities
can be described as ethno-biodiversity, the study of traditional knowledge in biodi-
versity conservation and management systems.
Traditional knowledge has several characteristics, including the following:
•
its qualitative nature
•
its location specificity, i.e. traditional knowledge relates naturally to a specific
place
•
its coverage of several areas of human activities, such as cultural, social, and
production organizations, festivities, music, religion, land management, and
conservation.
Indigenous knowledge of any group of people, especially rural people, is made
accessible to outsiders only through learning from such people themselves or,
occasionally, through ethnographic literature using anthropological jargon.
Furthermore, indigenous knowledge exists in immeasurable forms among
immeasurable groups of people in immeasurable environments.
Scientific knowledge, on the other hand, refers to knowledge that is based on,
regulated by, or done according to facts and the laws of science. Some important
characteristics of scientific knowledge are that it is systematic and exact. It is
obtainable or accessible to other people or can be shared with other people
through topics, journals, and information-retrieval systems. Scientific knowledge
is therefore communicated, taught, and is available all over the world and, there-
fore, has universal acclaim.
The development of information technology, specifically the internet,
has made both scientific and indigenous knowledge accessible to a wider
audience.
Scientific approach to measurement of soil fertility
There are several scientific ways of assessing soil fertility and classifying soils.
The classification is often based on the use to which the soil is going be put. It may
be based on the physical, chemical, or biological properties of the soil. The meas-
urements are often based on routine laboratory techniques.
