Vietnam’s northern mountainous region (Minh 2010). One prerequisite for the
development of a sustainable resource management, is a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of all soil and land resources; however, in the research areas of
north-west Thailand and Vietnam, spatial information is poor and/or not available
on the necessary scale. In order to build a database of soil and terrain information,
one needs to ask if elucidating local soil knowledge is a helpful tool, or even
necessary, when wishing to overcome this shortcoming. Local knowledge was
defined by Warren (1991) as knowledge unique to one specific culture or society
which is passed down from generation to generation. It is based on experience and
adapts new ideas and changes with its changing environment (Warburton and
Martin 1999). Ethnopedology, or local soil knowledge, is defined as the study of
the local knowledge of soils, and is part of local environmental knowledge. It is
based on the terms Kosmos, Corpus and Praxis, whereby Kosmos is defined as the
beliefs or ideology of local people, Corpus is their pool of knowledge or cognition
and Praxis the practical implementation of their knowledge (Toledo 2000). The
same as local knowledge, ethnopedology is holistic and; therefore, an interdisciplinary part of natural and social sciences. It describes, among other things, how
and why local people classify, evaluate, use and manage their soils, plus interprets
their decisions from the soil scientific point of view (Barrera-Bassols and Zink
2003).
The ethnic groups inhabiting Southeast Asia are characterized by dissimilar
farming systems. Depending on their migration times, different ethnicities settled
in different landscape positions. In northern Thailand as well as in north-west
Vietnam, the first migrants; for example, the Thai, settled in the valleys, while
the groups following them had to settle at higher elevations, such as the Hmong,
Akha or Lahu (Hendricks 1981; Vien 2003). In addition to differences in their
natural environment, different ethnic groups can be expected to vary widely in their
socio–economic environment, including their access to education and markets.
A great number of ethnopedology studies over the last three decades have shown
the interest in and significance of this topic (Barrera-Bassols and Zink 2003), with
the relevance of local knowledge to development programs seeming to be undisputed (Warburton and Martin 1999; Ericksen and Ardo ´n 2003; Oudwater and
Martin 2003; Krasilnikov and Tabor 2003). This study presents the results of
surveys into local soil knowledge carried out across different areas, and analyzes
the influences of ethnic, social and geographic factors. Finally, it compares local
soil information and local soil maps with conventionally collected soil information,
and considers the question as to whether using local soil knowledge is a suitable
tool for collecting spatial soil information.
2.4.1 Material and Survey Methods
Local soil knowledge was investigated at the Bor Krai, Mae Sa and Huay Bong
research sites in north-west Thailand and in 6 communes in Yen Chau district in
north-west Vietnam. The methods used included techniques that are common to
2 Beyond the Horizons: Challenges and Prospects for Soil Science and Soil. . .
65
development of a sustainable resource management, is a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of all soil and land resources; however, in the research areas of
north-west Thailand and Vietnam, spatial information is poor and/or not available
on the necessary scale. In order to build a database of soil and terrain information,
one needs to ask if elucidating local soil knowledge is a helpful tool, or even
necessary, when wishing to overcome this shortcoming. Local knowledge was
defined by Warren (1991) as knowledge unique to one specific culture or society
which is passed down from generation to generation. It is based on experience and
adapts new ideas and changes with its changing environment (Warburton and
Martin 1999). Ethnopedology, or local soil knowledge, is defined as the study of
the local knowledge of soils, and is part of local environmental knowledge. It is
based on the terms Kosmos, Corpus and Praxis, whereby Kosmos is defined as the
beliefs or ideology of local people, Corpus is their pool of knowledge or cognition
and Praxis the practical implementation of their knowledge (Toledo 2000). The
same as local knowledge, ethnopedology is holistic and; therefore, an interdisciplinary part of natural and social sciences. It describes, among other things, how
and why local people classify, evaluate, use and manage their soils, plus interprets
their decisions from the soil scientific point of view (Barrera-Bassols and Zink
2003).
The ethnic groups inhabiting Southeast Asia are characterized by dissimilar
farming systems. Depending on their migration times, different ethnicities settled
in different landscape positions. In northern Thailand as well as in north-west
Vietnam, the first migrants; for example, the Thai, settled in the valleys, while
the groups following them had to settle at higher elevations, such as the Hmong,
Akha or Lahu (Hendricks 1981; Vien 2003). In addition to differences in their
natural environment, different ethnic groups can be expected to vary widely in their
socio–economic environment, including their access to education and markets.
A great number of ethnopedology studies over the last three decades have shown
the interest in and significance of this topic (Barrera-Bassols and Zink 2003), with
the relevance of local knowledge to development programs seeming to be undisputed (Warburton and Martin 1999; Ericksen and Ardo ´n 2003; Oudwater and
Martin 2003; Krasilnikov and Tabor 2003). This study presents the results of
surveys into local soil knowledge carried out across different areas, and analyzes
the influences of ethnic, social and geographic factors. Finally, it compares local
soil information and local soil maps with conventionally collected soil information,
and considers the question as to whether using local soil knowledge is a suitable
tool for collecting spatial soil information.
2.4.1 Material and Survey Methods
Local soil knowledge was investigated at the Bor Krai, Mae Sa and Huay Bong
research sites in north-west Thailand and in 6 communes in Yen Chau district in
north-west Vietnam. The methods used included techniques that are common to
2 Beyond the Horizons: Challenges and Prospects for Soil Science and Soil. . .
65