Natural resource management and local knowledge in transition : an anthropological perspective from the Laka of Mapela

Abstract

This study sets out to analyse the relevance of cultural values and perceptions, which form the basis of the "local knowledge" of grassroots people, in the natural resource management of the Laka of Mapela who live in the former Lebowa homeland in the Northern Province of South Africa. Due to the fact that political transitions affect the traditional authority system, it further explores the role of traditional leaders regarding control and decision-making over natural resources as well as the activities of oppositional groups at local level, and their attitudes towards land tenure issues. Natural resource management is approached holistically because, in grassroots perceptions, the natural world does not "stand on its own" and is not dissected into manageable units but forms part of a wider cosmos which is made up of human beings, nature and the supernatural. A happy life of people, fertile soils and rich botanical resources are inseparable from harmony in the cosmos. Misfortune, natural resource degradation and scarcity are consequently explained with a state of flux, or imbalance, in these cosmic relationships which have to be restored by people in order to survive. The general conclusions suggest that these local perceptions of natural resource management cannot be ignored from the development arena as well as by outside scientists and practitioners. Rather, in order to develop more progressive approaches for sustainable management in the former homelands, policies and plans have to be compatible with the worldview of local people to enhance their acceptance and implementation.