120 MOVING FORWARD Mainstreaming and Upscaling Traditional Knowledge and Biodiversity Practices Zinaida Fadeeva Unnikrishnan Payyappallimana Contextualised Learning for Bio-cultural Diversity Bio-cultural diversity has emerged as an important component of education for sustainable development (ESD). ESD principles like value orientation, transformative education, cooperation, problem solving, participatory action, holistic perspective, and self-organisation are integral for conserving, revitalising and sustainably using related resources. At the same time, working with biodiversity issues makes ESD “come alive” in the most profound way. Looking into bio-cultural diversity through the prism of learning offers a perspective that mutually reinforces strategies of both areas. The learning reflected by this book is that of cross-sectoral multistakeholder partnerships – initiatives that often face many barriers. Good practices and pilot models that successfully engage communities in sustainable use or conservation of local bio-cultural diversity have often had to deal with policies that are not always amenable to local development ambitions. Rectifying such order of things is challenging as it is routed in the succession of practices that value different forms of knowledge and define development as a rather limited notion of “growth”. Post- Johannesburg sustainable development discourses called for radically different approaches that encourage learning and knowledge development by various stakeholders, including non-experts. Though well recognised, they are still challenging undertakings. Multiplicity of contextualised development strategies through educational interventions make the RCE network a unique place for showcasing how local multistakeholders valuing bio-cultural diversity can synergise actions under a common umbrella for collective action. They also portray the relevance of a global space for concerted action and understanding of bio-cultural diversity beyond localised geographical boundaries. Many of the case studies presented in this book are still in the early stages of their implementation. However, upscaling successful models needs immediate attention. Upscaling here does not mean simplistic replication of practices. Moreover, due to the contextual nature of such experiences they may not be amenable to abstraction, though the process learning elements can be promoted far and wide. A comprehensive strategy is needed to understand these models of local and regional networking and collective learning, to support them and enable them to make deeper impact through engagement in relevant partnerships and policy processes. RCE projects demonstrate the interlinkages between the topics of biodiversity and local development. RCEs emphasise the impact of various personal behaviours, policies, guiding concepts and development approaches on biodiversity and complexity associated with a comprehensive approach to the challenge. They have highlighted that cohesive development approaches grounded in an understanding of ecosystem-based development has to face new forms of collective education and learning in all sectors. It must include multiple stakeholders and processes such as formal and informal education and research, professional trainings, engagement with families, communities, enterprises, and markets, among others. Learning in Challenging Circumstances Often narrowly interpreted, biodiversity is a neglected area in development. Attention to it could be further complicated as its relevance to some significant groups might not be immediately evident. For example, it often remains invisible for the urban population or becomes a perceived long-term luxury for rural communities facing needs of immediate survival. Among the RCEs who have reflected on their projects in this publication, we see urban (e.g. RCE Greater Dhaka), rural (e.g. RCE Kodagu) and mixed (e.g. RCE Makana and Rural Eastern Cape) communities. With their experience of addressing issues of bio-cultural diversity in various settings through participatory problem-oriented learning, the RCEs could provide models of co-engaged, cooperative learning in settings where alienation of the stakeholders from the issue is perpetuated by lack of knowledge and/or resources or lack of immediate experience with the problem.
Traditional Knowledge and Biodiversity
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