Incluye referencias bibliográficas e índice

Dedication; Synopsis; Acknowledgements; Contents; About the Author; Chapter 1: Introduction; 1.1 Changing Perceptions; 1.2 Hunter-Gatherers; 1.3 The Challenges of Permanent Settlement; 1.4 Local Investigative Methods; 1.5 Invoking the Supernatural; References; Chapter 2: Farming; 2.1 Origins; 2.2 Responding to Site and Soil Variations; 2.2.1 Local Recognition of Soil Types; 2.2.2 The Use of Multiple Seed Strains; 2.3 Coping with Seasonal Variations; 2.3.1 The Farming Calendar; 2.3.2 Multiple Crop Strains; 2.3.3 Seasonal Indicators; 2.4 Maintaining Soil Fertility

2.4.1 Nomadic Pastoralists and Shifting Cultivators2.4.2 Mulches and Manures; 2.4.3 Biological Nitrogen Fixation; 2.5 Coping with Weeds and Pests; 2.5.1 Weeds; 2.5.2 Pests; 2.5.3 Plant-Based Pest Repellents; 2.6 Cultural and Religious Factors; 2.6.1 Pleas for Good Growing Weather; 2.6.2 Heterodox Attitudes Towards Pests; 2.7 Pressures for Change; 2.7.1 The Need for Productivity Increases; 2.7.2 Fine-Tuning Traditional Soil-Improvement Techniques; 2.7.3 Improving Pest-Control Techniques; 2.7.4 The Continuing Importance of Seed Diversity; References; Chapter 3: Food Supplies and Nutrition

3.1 Traditional Diets3.1.1 The Continuing Use of Wild Foods; 3.1.2 Staples and Relishes; 3.2 Insights from Nutritional Science; 3.2.1 Daily Dietary Requirements; 3.2.2 Food Analysis Tables; 3.2.3 Staples and Relishes Revisited; 3.3 Input Patterns for Different Classes of Nutrients; 3.3.1 Energy Intake; 3.3.2 Protein Intake; 3.3.3 Sources of Vitamins and Minerals; 3.3.4 Dietary Fibre; 3.3.5 Dietary Taboos; 3.4 Starvation and Malnutrition; 3.5 The Paradoxical Efficacy of Traditional Diets; References; Chapter 4: House Design and Construction; 4.1 Design Criteria; 4.2 The Humid Tropics

4.2.1 Climatic Challenges4.2.2 Durability of Constructional Materials; 4.2.3 Ritual Aspects; 4.3 The Tropical Highlands; 4.3.1 Climatic Challenges; 4.3.2 Constructional Materials; 4.4 The Desert Fringe; 4.4.1 Climatic Adaptation; 4.4.2 Constructional Materials; 4.5 The Temperate Zone; 4.5.1 Climatic Adaptations; 4.5.2 Use of Raw Materials; 4.6 Pressures for Change; 4.6.1 Neglect of Health Issues; 4.6.2 Technological Shortcomings; 4.6.3 Shortages of Raw Materials; 4.7 A Future for Traditional Designs?; References; Chapter 5: Fuel Supplies; 5.1 Traditional Wood-Harvesting

5.1.1 Species Selection5.1.2 Conservation Practices; 5.2 Disruptive Influences; 5.2.1 Population Growth; 5.2.2 Annexations of Forest Land; 5.2.3 Urban Wood Use; 5.3 Alternative Energy Sources; 5.4 Better Ways of Burning Wood; 5.4.1 Health Issues; 5.5 Rehabilitating Forests; 5.5.1 Tree Planting on Farmland; 5.6 Overall Sustainability of Firewood Production Systems; 5.6.1 Social Aspects of Wood Fuel Use; References; Chapter 6: Herbal Medicine; 6.1 Mixed Expectations; 6.2 Patterns of Village Use; 6.3 Residual Difficulties; 6.3.1 The Problem of Unsound Remedies; 6.3.2 Confusing Generalizations

This book examines comprehensively for the first time, the scope and accuracy of indigenous environmental knowledge. It shows that in some spheres, including agriculture, house design, fuel and water manipulation, the high reputation of local observers is well deserved and often sufficiently insightful to warrant wider imitation. However it also reveals that in certain matters, notably some aspects of health care and wild-species population management, local knowledge systems are conspicuously unsound. Not all the difficulties are of the communities own making, some stem from external factors outside their control. However in either case, remedial measures can be suggested and this book describes, especially for the benefit of practitioners, what steps might be taken in rural communities to improve the quality of life. The possibility of useful transfers of information from local settings to Western ones is not ignored and forms the subject of the book's final chapter. >.