Assessment and Empowerment Authors

Indigenous knowledge around the world is based on prevailing cultures, worldviews and paradigms. Initially assessments involved simple collection and inventory with little attention paid to the environment or to interrelationships between differe nt components of the system. Especially when undertaken in areas where access was difficult, such assessments more often than not resulted in loss and damage to the local environment, as well as changes in local customs and socio-economic structure. Over time however, assessment techniques have evolved to the point where a great deal of importance is paid to treating indigenous cultures sensitively and to controlling ecological damage. This sensitivity often arises from a fear that knowledge may be lost if the locally prevailing world view is disturbed in any way, and this factor unfortunately, in many cases, supersedes any other interest in the cultures concerned. This paper, by making overt the biases inherent in assessments, shows that impacts on the local community – ranging from the loss of local customs, rituals and practices to the loss of local knowledge – cannot be avoided if principles of democracy, equity and non-sexist development are to be adhered to. It will examine recent studies involving women in biodiversity conservation, since the view of women as keepers of the local environment and ecology is common in present day community development thinking. Although this thinking has good intentions, it may assign a value to women’s labor that is restrictive in terms of gender roles, and directs women into activities that enforce gender discrimination.