The Transmission of Traditional Ecological Knowledge

Abstract

"It is now increasingly appreciated that while Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) has much to contribute to management and conservation of renewable natural resources, as well as providing powerful indicators for focusing scientific research of the western tradition, it is being lost rapidly largely due to ineffective transmission to younger members of societies. Further, whereas bodies of TEK have been documented in detail, extremely little is known about processes of its transmission between or among generations. This is a serious omission in study of TEK, since ways in which it is transmitted within a society may provide crucial guidelines for design and implementation of extension and training programs.

"In this paper the highly structured, additive and sequential 'curriculum' by which TEK is transmitted to children in communities operating mixed subsistence economies in the wetlands of the Orinoco Delta of Venezuela is examined. The literature on transmission of TEK is also reviewed."