The Relevance of Science to Local Knowledge (Penerbit USM)

Book excerpt: Local knowledge worldwide is rapidly declining. Since local knowledge is passed from generation through oral tradition the chances of it being documented are low. Further to that, scientific knowledge sometimes cannot provide solutions to management and development problems. This book attempts to show that local knowledge and scientific knowledge have similarities in how they are obtained, however local knowledge has a further and more complex spiritual existence practised through cultural rituals or myths. Local knowledge has many applications in agriculture, water management, agroforestry and environmental management and when combined with science have greater uses to solve local problems at hand.