Elsevier

Applied Geography

Volume 24, Issue 4, October 2004, Pages 281-302
Applied Geography

Sustainable environmental resource utilisation: a case study of farmers’ ethnobotanical knowledge and rural change in Bungoma district, Kenya

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2004.03.002Get rights and content

Abstract

This paper examines farmers’ ethnobotanical knowledge, innovation and rural change, and indicates one way in which indigenous technical knowledge complementing scientific knowledge may be documented for use by development planners and agencies. This paper firstly identifies plant species recognised as resources by farmers, and considers the value of these resources. Secondly, the paper documents and assesses the ethnobotanical knowledge associated with the utilisation of plant species, before turning to examine how plant resources are defined by use and culture. It also demonstrates that some components of ethnobotanical knowledge have potential for the sustainable development of plant species. The study shows that farmers have started to domesticate some of the ‘traditional’ plants, and new crops have been introduced associated with corresponding innovations in local agricultural systems. Since the farmers have a relatively strong tradition in natural resources conservation, this study suggests that it will be possible to introduce community-based gene banks linked to formal or government facilities. The paper demonstrates that it is important to combine and interweave ‘modern’ and indigenous knowledges to produce a more realistic and sensitive understanding and management of natural environmental resources for sustainable development.

Section snippets

Introduction and theoretical underpinnings

Discussion concerning developmental policy has progressed since the 1950s, when importance was allocated to ‘catch up’ by modernising the economy, thus assuring rapid growth and increasing productivity. Despite this attention, a general developmental theory has yet to be found, although it is evident that there is a connection between economic, social and ecological problems, and a recognition of the pressure put on the natural environmental resources by an ever-increasing population. This

Bungoma district and agricultural dynamics

The study area lies in Western Kenya on the slopes of Mt. Elgon, covering 307,400 ha (Fig. 1). Recent statistics show that the population is growing faster than the rest of the country, with the growth rate estimated at 3.9 per cent over the 1989-99 period, while the country recorded a 3.8 per cent growth rate (Obudho, 1997). The population of the study area is estimated to be over 900,000, and about 50 per cent is under the age of 15 years, implying a high dependency on the available limited

Surveying knowledge

Data were collected over a period of four months between June and September 1997. A questionnaire was designed, using Marlin (1995) and Davies (1997) as guidelines, to gather information from farmers. The advantages of questionnaire surveys are widely recognized and response rates are maximized when surveys are carried out face to face (Pero & Crowe, 1996). The questionnaire was designed to elicit information on, for example, the demographics, farm innovations adoption, ethnobotanical knowledge

Farmers’ identification/recognition of plant species as resources and their cultural adaptation and change

During the elicitation of data for this study, a total of 82 species of trees and plants/vegetation were identified during the fieldwork (Table 1). Some plant species within the same genus share the same local name—this is a drawback in using local names. Some 90 per cent of the plant species being identified by the sample farmers by local names—suggesting that the recognition of plant species by farmers is functional or utilitarian in nature. Almost 98 per cent of the species in the study area

Implications

The case study brings to light some of the complex issues involved in sustainable environmental resource utilisation and farmers’ ethnobotanical knowledge and rural change in Bungoma district, Kenya. The crucial role of natural environmental resources in farmers’ livelihood strategies is unquestionable. The extent to which these resources are utilised depends on their availability in the local environment and various institutions particularly those which mediate rights of access and

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the two anonymous referees for their critical and constructive comments and suggestions made in the initial draft of this paper. Many thanks also to the Editor for his attention and specific details to the paper including the encouragement to re-write the paper. My thanks are extended to the Kenya Government for granting permission to conduct this research; to the farmers and research assistants for their invaluable information and fieldwork, and Ms Felicity de

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