Indigenous Knowledge Systems and modern technology-based approaches: opportunities for biodiversity management and conservation in Mt. Malindang [Misamis Occideental, Philippines] and its immediate environs
2006
Castro, L. C. S. | Villoria, L. S. | Hanasan, J. E. | Bago, R. T.
This is a study of the indigenous knowledge systems of the Subanun in six barangays [villages] in Misamis Occidental. It benefits from a triangulation of data sources and qualitative data-gathering methods. Data are analyzed using thematic and cross-case approaches. The Subanun, one of the cultural groups referred to as indigenous peoples, were reported to be the first occupants of the Zamboanga Peninsula. They may be described in terms of their ethnic identity, territory and property rights regimes and cultural systems. Their settlement history reveals how vulnerable they had been to control of various groups much stronger than they were. The study sites, settled by immigrants from neighboring municipalities, are situated atop ridges or within valleys, with residences clustered at the center of the community, not along riverbanks, as the name suba- non('river dwellers') connotes. In their strategies for adapting to the ecosystem, the informants have seen that their crop yield depends on soil quality, climatic conditions, presence or absence of pests, and conduct of traditional farm practices. The actual experience of the people in the efficacy of their belief system is a compelling factor for them to resort to indigenous practices when no technique, singly, accounts for good or poor harvest. These practices are a function of the need for survival (dependent on crop yield) , not only for themselves but also for others, now and in the future. Certain of these farming practices are conservationist, as are some hunting and fishing practices, including rituals. These aspects of IKS bear potentials for synergy with modern technology-based approaches to biodiversity resource management and conservation.
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