Understanding and appreciation of IKS are essential for promoting sustainable
agriculture development. IKS provides a cultural basis for non-formal agricultural
programmes that is absent in technology transfer approaches (William and Muchena,
1991). The effective application of IKS in sustainable agriculture also enables a
variety of biodiversity in the land. This growth in biodiversity is also based on
sustainable land management. Sustainable land management, which is a knowledgebased procedure, helps integrate land, water, biodiversity, and environmental management to meet the rising food and fibre demands while sustaining the ecosystem
services and livelihoods (World Bank 2008). The proper management of land and its
resources will also be essential in ensuring that communities are able to meet the
requirements of the growing population.
In the management of land for sustainability, it is essential to ensure that the land
is properly utilised in order to enable full satisfaction of current food and land
requirements and also for the future generation. Sustainable land management
success also involves the inclusion of not only the western knowledge system but
also the integration of all systems that are available in the community. In sustainable
land management (SLM), the World Bank (2008) states that in order to optimise the
usage of resources, the following activities are involved:
• Preserving and enhancing the productive capabilities of cropland, forest, and
grazing land;
• Sustaining productive forest areas and potentially commercial and
non-commercial forest reserves;
• Maintaining the integrity of watersheds, for water supply and hydropower generation needs and water conservation zone; and
• Maintaining the ability of aquifers to serve the needs of farm and other productive
activities.
The management of land in accordance with the above activities ensures that
biodiversity in the land increases. The usage of IKS in this regard ensures that there
is a continuous and effective sustainable land management and that communities
focus on IKS-knowledge as integration with other systems (World Bank 2008).
There is a significant contribution that IKS has on global biodiversity and conservation initiatives in communities.
Nakashima and Roué (2002) state that most regions that are biodiversity-rich are
normally areas that still apply IKS in the sense that the persistence of traditional
ways of life has gone hand-in-hand with the maintenance of ecological systems and
the conservation and even enhancement of biodiversity. In conjunction with ensuring the future availability of resources and the dealing with current usage, it is
beneficial to find solutions in repairing the damaged resources and restore them
and mitigate the adverse effects of earlier misuse (Nakashima and Roué 2002). To
mitigate the misuse of resources and to make decisions about what needs to be done
can be achieved by implementing a method of assessing the environment
utilising IKS.
The problem that was investigated was whether selected (rural) agricultural
communities in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan understand the impact of IKS in
9 Assessing the Impact of Indigenous Knowledge Systems on Sustainable. . .
187
agriculture development. IKS provides a cultural basis for non-formal agricultural
programmes that is absent in technology transfer approaches (William and Muchena,
1991). The effective application of IKS in sustainable agriculture also enables a
variety of biodiversity in the land. This growth in biodiversity is also based on
sustainable land management. Sustainable land management, which is a knowledgebased procedure, helps integrate land, water, biodiversity, and environmental management to meet the rising food and fibre demands while sustaining the ecosystem
services and livelihoods (World Bank 2008). The proper management of land and its
resources will also be essential in ensuring that communities are able to meet the
requirements of the growing population.
In the management of land for sustainability, it is essential to ensure that the land
is properly utilised in order to enable full satisfaction of current food and land
requirements and also for the future generation. Sustainable land management
success also involves the inclusion of not only the western knowledge system but
also the integration of all systems that are available in the community. In sustainable
land management (SLM), the World Bank (2008) states that in order to optimise the
usage of resources, the following activities are involved:
• Preserving and enhancing the productive capabilities of cropland, forest, and
grazing land;
• Sustaining productive forest areas and potentially commercial and
non-commercial forest reserves;
• Maintaining the integrity of watersheds, for water supply and hydropower generation needs and water conservation zone; and
• Maintaining the ability of aquifers to serve the needs of farm and other productive
activities.
The management of land in accordance with the above activities ensures that
biodiversity in the land increases. The usage of IKS in this regard ensures that there
is a continuous and effective sustainable land management and that communities
focus on IKS-knowledge as integration with other systems (World Bank 2008).
There is a significant contribution that IKS has on global biodiversity and conservation initiatives in communities.
Nakashima and Roué (2002) state that most regions that are biodiversity-rich are
normally areas that still apply IKS in the sense that the persistence of traditional
ways of life has gone hand-in-hand with the maintenance of ecological systems and
the conservation and even enhancement of biodiversity. In conjunction with ensuring the future availability of resources and the dealing with current usage, it is
beneficial to find solutions in repairing the damaged resources and restore them
and mitigate the adverse effects of earlier misuse (Nakashima and Roué 2002). To
mitigate the misuse of resources and to make decisions about what needs to be done
can be achieved by implementing a method of assessing the environment
utilising IKS.
The problem that was investigated was whether selected (rural) agricultural
communities in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan understand the impact of IKS in
9 Assessing the Impact of Indigenous Knowledge Systems on Sustainable. . .
187