Indigenous Knowledge for Millennium Development
Goals: 5 Days at a Glance
Day 1:
Introduction:
Indigenous Knowledge and the Millennium Development Goals
Day 2:
Indigenous Knowledge and Healthcare:
Combat HIV/AIDS
&
Improve Maternal Mortality
Day 3:
Indigenous Knowledge, Agriculture and Biodiversity Conservation:
Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger &
Ensure Environmental
Sustainability
Day 4:
Validation and
Protection
of Indigenous Knowledge:
Develop a Global Partnership for Development
Day 5: An Action Plan
National
and Community Level Strategies
Introduction:
Overview of Indigenous Knowledge and the Millennium Development
Goals
Objectives
The objective of this module is to provide an overview
of the course and help the participants understand how IK can
be used to help achieve the MDGs. Each local facilitator will
briefly introduce the participants from each center to help them
get to know each other. This will be followed by four presentations
by the local facilitators to provide the participants with an
overview of the status of IK in each country (India, Sri Lanka,
Uganda and Tanzania). This will provide the context to help the participants
start to think of ways of building on these experiences to incorporate
IK into their work.
Course overview
Nicolas Gorjestani, World Bank Indigenous
Knowledge Program Director, Washington DC
Country presentations
Sri Lanka: Mrs. Hemanthi
Ranasinghe, Sri Lanka Resource Centre for IK, Colombo;
National Policy
on Indigenous Systems of Medicine in Sri Lanka
Uganda:
Mrs. Joyce Mwanga, Uganda National Council for Science and Technology,
Kampala; Overview of
IK Applications in Uganda
Overview of IK Applications in Uganda
India: Dr. Darshan Shankar, Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Traditions, Delhi
Tanzania: Mr. George Shemdoe, Council for Science and Technology, Dar es Salaam
Videos
President Mkapa of Tanzania highlights the importance of IK for Africa's development Using local knowledge on medicinal plants and seeds to help achieve the MDGs
At the end of the module, participants should
be able to:
- Understand how to address development challenges through the
unique perspective of Indigenous Knowledge (IK)
- Appreciate the role of IK in helping achieve the Millennium
Development Goals
- Focus on success stories in using IK to help increase food
security and agricultural productivity, reduce maternal mortality
and treat opportunistic diseases associated with HIV/AIDS
- Learn from the experiences of India, Sri Lanka, Uganda and
Tanzania to help scale up IK practices from the grass roots
to the policy level
- Think of ways to incorporate IK into their programs/ policies
and promote South-South dialogue/ cooperation among IK practitioners
and institutions
Learning Methods
The module is delivered via distance learning technologies:
Synchronous learning: video conference presentation (speaker,
case study and video film) and inter active discussion between
participants from East Africa and South Asia.
Asynchronous learning: preparation assignments, online course
material, E-discussions and reading materials.
Duration
1 day: 2 hrs Synchronous learning and 1.5 hrs Asynchronous learning
Module
1: Traditional medicine can help treat HIV/AIDS
Objectives
The objective of this module is to provide evidence that traditional
medicine can help combat HIV/AIDS. A case study will be used to
demonstrate how traditional healers in the Tanga region of Tanzania
have used herbal remedies to treat over 4000 AIDS patients of
the opportunistic infections related to HIV/AIDS. The treatment
is administered by an NGO - the Tanga AIDS Working Group (TAWG)
in partnership with the regional hospital. It provides an affordable
alternative to expensive drugs and prolongs the lives of patients.
Speakers: Dr. Samwell Mtullu
and Dr. Firmina Mberesero, Tanga AIDS Working Group
At the end of the module, participants should
be able to:
-
Describe how traditional medicine can help
combat HIV/AIDS through effective treatment of its opportunistic
infections.
-
Understand the need to strengthen linkages
between traditional and modern health practitioners.
-
Develop strategies to incorporate traditional
medicine into National AIDS Programs.
-
Promote South-South dialogue and cooperation
to adapt the African model to combat the AIDS epidemic in
South Asia and build on the regions Ayruvedic treatments.
Learning Methods
The module is delivered via distance learning technologies:
Synchronous learning: video conference presentation (speaker,
case study and video film) and inter active discussion between
participants from East Africa and South Asia.
Asynchronous learning: preparation assignments, online course
material, E-discussions and reading materials.
Duration
1 day: 2 hrs Synchronous learning and 1.5 hrs Asynchronous learning
Course Materials
Module
2: Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) can help decrease maternal
mortality
Objectives
The objective of this module is to provide evidence that TBAs
can help reduce the high incidence of maternal mortality in developing
countries. A case study will be used demonstrate how bridging
the gap between traditional and modern health practitioners can
help save lives. For example, ICTs (walkie talkies) were used
to connect TBAs in rural areas and enable them to make easy referrals
to district hospitals. In the Iganga district of Uganda, the process
helped reduce maternal mortality rates by 50% in three years.
Speaker: Dr. Francois Farah,
United Nations Population Fund, New York
At the end of the module, participants should
be able to:
-
Describe how traditional birth attendants
can help save lives through effective application of their
knowledge of traditional healthcare and practices.
-
Understand the need to strengthen linkages
between traditional and modern health practitioners in order
to reduce maternal mortality rates.
-
Develop strategies to integrate traditional
and modern health practitioners through innovative and cost
effective mechanisms such as ICTs at the project and policy
levels.
-
Promote South-South dialogue and cooperation
to adapt the Iganga model to countries with high maternal
mortality rates such as Afghanistan.
Learning Methods
The module is delivered via distance learning technologies:
Synchronous learning: video conference presentation (speaker,
case study and video film) and inter active discussion between
participants from East Africa and South Asia.
Asynchronous learning: preparation assignments, online course
material, E-discussions and reading materials.
Duration 1 day: 2 hrs Synchronous
learning and 1.5 hrs Asynchronous learning
Course Materials
Module
3: Indigenous Knowledge can help raise agricultural productivity
and incomes
Objectives
The objective of this module is to demonstrate how traditional
farming practices can help increase agricultural productivity
and income. In the Sodic Lands Reclamation Project in India, farmers
built on their traditional knowledge to help reclaim over 68,
000 hectares of land. They applied organic farming practices in
place of chemical fertilizers and used Neem and rice husks to
help eradicate brown plant hopper infestations. Agricultural yields
and incomes consequently rose 60%. Women Self Help Groups also
generated income through poultry farming and horticulture. These
practices have become institutionalized and widely disseminated
through local farmer's field schools.
Speakers: Mr. Pravir Kumar and
Mrs. Monika Garg, Uttar Pradesh Land Development Corporation,
New Delhi
At the end of the module, participants should
be able to:
Learning Methods
The module is delivered via distance learning technologies:
Synchronous learning: video conference presentation (speaker,
case study and video film) and inter active discussion between
participants from East Africa and South Asia.
Asynchronous learning: preparation assignments, online course
material, E-discussions and reading materials.
Duration
1 day: 2 hrs Synchronous learning and 1.5 hrs Asynchronous learning
Course Materials
Module
4: Indigenous Knowledge can help conserve biodiversity and reduce
poverty
Objectives
The objective of this module is to demonstrate how natural resources
can be used towards development without causing environmental
degradation. The focus is on a project that has promoted the conservation
and sustainable use of medicinal plants in Sri Lanka. The project
has documented ancient medicinal knowledge and transferred it
to younger generations; promoted the conservation and cultivation
of medicinal plants; and developed a national biodiversity strategy.
Speaker: Dr. Ranjith Mahindapala,
International Union for Conservation of Nature, Bangkok
At the end of the module, participants should
be able to:
-
Understand how to promote the conservation
and cultivation of medicinal plants in local home gardens.
-
Develop ways to document and preserve traditional
knowledge related to diseases and their diagnosis, as well
as prescriptions into local language databases.
-
Support programs that enable the bearers
of traditional knowledge, community elders, to transfer their
skills to selected acolytes.
-
Develop strategies to incorporate IK practices
into natural resource management projects and policies.
Learning Methods
The module is delivered via distance learning technologies:
Synchronous learning: video conference presentation (speaker,
case study and video film) and inter active discussion between
participants from East Africa and South Asia.
Asynchronous learning: preparation assignments, online course
material, E-discussions and reading materials.
Duration
1 day: 2 hrs Synchronous learning and 1.5 hrs Asynchronous learning
Course Materials
Module
5: Scientific validation of indigenous knowledge and practices
The case of traditional medicine from Africa
Objectives
The objective of this module is to address the challenges involved
in the scientific validation of traditional medicine. How do we
bring the two different worlds of scientists and traditional healers
together and ensure that both their concerns are addressed through
formal scientific processes and informal traditional forms of
validation. A number of organizations are helping to address these
concerns such as the WHO and Councils for Scientific and Industrial
Research (CSIR) by focusing on the safety and efficacy of traditional
medicine. The US National Institutes of Health has sponsored projects
that seek to validate herbal treatments used by local healers
to treat the opportunistic infections related HIV/AIDS. This module
will highlight how this process has worked with regards to medicinal
plants used to treat cancer.
Speaker: Dr. Gordon Cragg, National
Institutes of Health, Washington, D.C.
At the end of the module, participants should
be able to:
- Identify the main challenges involved in validating traditional
medicine and understand the needs of traditional healers and
scientists involved in the process.
- Understand community based informal systems of validation,
in addition to scientific approaches that focus on safety and
efficacy.
- Identify approaches that bring these two worlds together and
draw lessons from successful partnerships between scientists
and traditional healers.
- Develop a collective validation process to help award due
recognition and credibility to IK practices and integrate them
into development polices and projects.
Learning Methods
The module is delivered via distance learning technologies:
Synchronous learning: video conference presentation (speaker,
case study and video film) and inter active discussion between
participants from East Africa and South Asia.
Asynchronous learning: preparation assignments, online course
material, E-discussions and reading materials.
Duration
1 day: 2 hrs Synchronous learning and 1.5 hrs Asynchronous learning
Course Materials
Module
6: Protecting the intellectual property rights of IK practitioners
The Kani tribe benefit sharing model from India
Objectives
The objective of this module is to introduce the concept of intellectual
property and the challenges of protecting indigenous knowledge.
Intellectual property is a means of acquiring ownership over an
intangible resource and involves the protection of inventions
created by the human mind (music, novels, drugs, IK). Intellectual
property rights (IPRs) confer ownership rights on the inventors
of new innovation (process) or product, enabling them to profit
from its commercial use. The module will idenifity the IPR needs
of local communities and explore strategies to address these at
the local and international levels. Lessons of experience will
be drawn from international organizations and case studies including
the Kani tribe benefit sharing model from India.
Speakers: Dr. Anthony Taubman,
World Intellectual Property Organization, Geneva and Dr. G. M.
Nair, Tropical Botanic Garden Institute, New Delhi
At the end of the module, participants should
be able to:
-
Understand the strengths and limitations
of intellectual property rights protection for IK.
-
Identify the options for protecting IK
under the WTO TRIPS Agreement (patents, copyrights, trademarks,
geographical indications, trade secrets and sui generis systems).
-
Assess the effectiveness of the UN Convention
on Biodiversity (CBD) framework for regulating access and
fair and equitable benefit sharing from indigenous knowledge
and resources.
-
Identify appropriate mechanisms for addressing
the legal and economic concerns of IK practitioners related
to the protection of IK through national legislation and the
work being done by international organizations such as WIPO.
-
Develop partnerships to replicate and scale
up successful approaches towards the protection of IK such
as the Kani tribe benefit sharing model.
Learning Methods
The module is delivered via distance learning technologies:
Synchronous learning: video conference presentation (speaker,
case study and video film) and inter active discussion between
participants from East Africa and South Asia.
Asynchronous learning: preparation assignments, online course
material, E-discussions and reading materials.
Duration
1 day: 2 hrs Synchronous learning and 1.5 hrs Asynchronous learning
Course Materials
Module
7: Developing national strategies to mainstream IK at the policy
level -- The experiences of Uganda and India (Kerala)
Objectives
The objective of this module is to provide a road map to help
development practitioners and policy makers to work together to
scale up IK practices from the grass roots to the policy level.
To facilitate the process, the World Bank has sponsored national
stakeholder workshops in India, Sri Lanka, Uganda and Tanzania,
bringing together IK practitioners, NGOs, academia, civil society,
national research institutions and government officials. The workshops
help to identify the overall needs of different stakeholders,
formulate a strategy to address these needs and identify a national
champion that could oversee the implementation of the strategy.
In Uganda for instance, the National Council for Science and Technology
(UNCST) has begun to implement a national IK strategy that has
been institutionalized in the country’s Poverty Eradication
Action Plan (PEAP). In India, the Government of Kerala has integrated
IK into the state’s 10th Five Year Plan and allocated budgetary
resources to initiate pilot projects.
Speakers: Ms. Joyce Mwanga,
Uganda National Council for Science and Technology
Dr. G.M. Nair, Tropical Botanic Garden Research Institute, New
Delhi
At the end of the module, participants should
be able to:
- Understand how a national IK strategy can provide a framework
and platform to support and scale up grass roots IK practices
into mainstream development
- Start networking with other individuals and institutions working
on IK related activities in the country and foster partnerships
for sharing experiences and resources
- Identify a high profile national champion and sponsor that
can be a local and national spokesperson for IK
- Mobilize resources to initiate IK related activities in individual
work programs, partner organizations and at the regional and
national levels
- Develop partnerships for cross regional exchanges between
IK practitioners from different regions to share experiences,
learn from each other and undertake joint activities.
Learning Methods
The module is delivered via distance learning technologies:
Synchronous learning: video conference presentation (speaker,
case study and video film) and inter active discussion between
participants from East Africa and South Asia. Asynchronous learning:
preparation assignments, online course material, E-discussions
and reading materials.
Duration
1 day: 2 hrs Synchronous learning and 1.5 hrs Asynchronous learning
Course Materials
Module
8: Local level strategies to mainstream IK at the grass roots
Examples of community-to-community exchanges
Objectives
The objective of this module is to demonstrate how local communities
can advance their own development by sharing experiences and learning
from each other. The World Bank has sponsored a number of community
exchanges to help local communities build their own capacity to
exchange effective IK practices related to agriculture, healthcare
and the environment. The community-to-community (C2C) exchanges
typically try to match knowledge seekers with knowledge providers
to help (i) increase the knowledge base of all participants, (ii)
empower them to envisage other options, and (iii) engage scientists,
politicians and IK practitioners on an equal footing. A pilot
community exchange held in South Africa in 2001, enabled a group
of tea farmers in the Cape province to secure a $15,000 export
contract from the EU.
Speaker: Mr. Noel Oettle, Environmental
Monitoring Group, Cape Town
At the end of the module, participants should
be able to:
- Understand the value of using the C2C exchange process to
help local communities empower themselves and promote community
driven development
- Test out the Community Exchange Toolkits developed by EMG
and the World Bank by adapting these to individual projects
involving local communities and NGOs working on health, agriculture
and environmental management.
- Develop a pilot project to use the community exchange model
to promote a bottom up approach to solving development challenges,
through learning from local communities.
- Adapt these guidelines to help forge partnerships between
development practitioners and policy makers to work together
towards using IK to help achieve the MDGs.
Learning Methods
The module is delivered via distance learning technologies:
Synchronous learning: video conference presentation (speaker,
case study and video film) and inter active discussion between
participants from East Africa and South Asia.
Asynchronous learning: preparation assignments, online course
material, E-discussions and reading materials.
Duration
1 day: 2 hrs Synchronous learning and 1.5 hrs Asynchronous learning
Course Materials
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