Indigenous Knowledge for Sustainable Livelihoods and Resources Governance in MMSEA Region

Abstract

"When I graduated from University and decided to come to Yunnan in 1986, my parents and even university professors thought of the Yunnan, the remote mountain region as a mystery dungeon. This erroneous idea permeated literature, as the famous Chinese novel 'The Three Kingdom' (220-280AC), described the wildness, jungle, python, malaria, and primitive people. Many dynasties, the criminals and ousted officials had been deported to mountain frontiers of Yunnan as punishment. That is why until today many Chinese in the remote mountain areas of Yunnan said that they are originally from Nanjing of Jiangsu Province. After half-century man physically conquered the highest peak, Everest, in 1953, our knowledge about mountain is still far from perfect understanding about relationship between people and nature in the our mountain region. How we are going to celebrate the International Year of Mountain (2002)? its fascinating? Its exotic? its complexity? or its mystery as what a beautiful part of our planet?"