The Role of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKSs) in Sustainable Conservation of Forest Resources in the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve.

Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKSs), which were accumulated through the indigenous people's direct interaction with and dependency on the natural environment, play a critical role in forest resource conservation. However, this unique knowledge is under threat of extinction due to the current dominance of Western Scientific Knowledge (WSK) in forest resource management. This depicts the influx of Christianity, modernisation, economic development, and population growth, which pose a threat to the existence of IKS in forest resource conservation. Clashes between traditional leaders and other stakeholders over power relations in resource management have been a bone of contention, thereby escalating the conflict of roles in forest resource conservation. An exploratory qualitative design was done. Traditional leaders, traditional health practitioners, community members, and Vhembe Biosphere Reserve (VBR) members were selected purposively for the study. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews. Sankofa and Afrocentricity theories premised the study. The study revealed that indigenous knowledge in forest management is critical to conserving forest resources and livelihoods. Despite Western Knowledge being taken as superior, loyalty to the African indigenous ways and customs by the indigenous communities conserves the forest resources better. The authors argue that the government should promote bottom-up conservation strategies through the active involvement of traditional leaders and their communities in policy formulation and implementation for holistic conservation of forest resources. This should be made easy by outlining distinctive roles for respective stakeholders in forest resource management. The paper recommends the active involvement of indigenous knowledge holders in policy formulation and the legislative process of related laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]