Indonesia Conference Directory

The purpose of the work is to provide an overview of relevant studies that portray the active role that rural communities in Sulawesi have played in generating knowledge based on a practiced understanding of their environment. For long periods of time local peoples have depended on their own environments for the provision of a variety of resources, and somehow have developed certain ways in conserving biodiversity. Through a long history of observations and resource-use practices local people then often possess a broad knowledge that has accumulated through generation to generation. This can be of great value and complement the scientific knowledge we have today. They are naturally aware that “biological diversity” is a crucial in generating the ecological services and natural resources on which they depend. Their practices for the conservation of biodiversity were obtained through trial and error processes over a long historical time period. Conserving this knowledge would be most appropriately accomplished through promoting the community-based resource-management systems of local peoples. Results show that their knowledge base is indefinite and their implementation involves an intimate relationship with the belief system that conservation of biodiversity is fully recognized if ecosystems and biodiversity are to be managed sustainably.