Indigenous Knowledge

The phrases indigenous, traditional, folk knowledge, farmer's wisdom, and/or local knowledge relate to information and know-how that have been gathered through many generations and have shaped human cultures’ countless interactions with their environment. Even though these names have various implications, their definitions are sufficiently consistent for us to use them interchangeably. These knowledge systems ensure the survival of the human race by preserving the environment, guaranteeing food security, and providing early warning systems for catastrophic risk management. Indigenous knowledge is valued by the impoverished as social capital and is crucial for ensuring survival and food production. The invasion of development notions, which promise sustainable development goals or solutions, is causing the progressive extinction of local knowledge. For the native populations in the area, it is tragic that this knowledge is vanishing, and when local knowledge, skills, and teachings are lost, the repercussions can be harmful to others. A richness of indigenous knowledge that is passed down through the generations, internalized by the communities through a process of socialization, and is a part of their way of life has been documented through anthropological investigation of numerous traditional societies in Asia and the Pacific.