Conversations in the rainforest : culture, values, and the environment in Central Africa / Richard B. Peterson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Peterson, Richard B. (Richard Brent)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Environmental ethics--Africa, Central.

Environmental ethics.

Human ecology--Africa, Central.

Human ecology.

Environmental protection--Africa, Central.

Environmental protection.

Central Africa.

Physical Description:

xvi, 320 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Boulder, Colo. : Westview Press, 2000.

Contents:

Conservation for Whom? 2

The Limitations of Imported Knowledge 4

Thinking About Our Thinking 5

The Limitations of Indigenous Technical Knowledge 6

Decolonizing the Mind: Beyond ITK Toward Afrocentricity 8

Afrocentricity and the Environment 9

The Tale of the Microhydro and the Mami Wata 10

Bridge Blueprints 13

2 Central African Land Ethics: Theoretical Questions and Research Perspectives 21

Ecology, Values, and Value Transformation 22

Environmental Ethics in Global Perspective 23

Environmental Ethics in Central Africa 24

Universalism and Pluralism: The "One/Many Problem" 26

Is Nature Normative? Premodern World Views and Postmodern Ecological Science 29

What Is Africa? Listening to Local People's Voices 38

So What? Central African Environmental Ethics and Environmental Justice 43

Repair and Reconstruction: Signs of Hope Grounded in African Soil 47

Methods and Research Process 48

3 Narratives on Nature: An Opening Conversation with Ubangian Farmers 60

A Narrative Approach 62

Loko: Amid Forest and Savanna 63

Bogofo: An Initial Group Discussion 68

4 Parts of a Whole: Nature, Society, and Cosmology in the Ubangi 86

Making a Living: Implicit Means of Conservation 87

Living with Neighbors: The Individual-Community Relationship 106

Living with Meaning in an Interconnected World 117

5 Reservations About Nature Reserves: Local Voices on Conservation in the Ituri 147

Background: The Ituri Forest 148

From Mambasa to Epulu 151

Badengaido: Living Within the RFO 158

Mbuti Perspectives on the Forest and the RFO 190

The Bapukele Elders: "The Animals Have Received Their Independence and Are Destroying Our Food" 208

The Upshot 214

Paulin Mboya: "If Local People Don't Support the Reserve, It Will Fail" 217

6 One Step Removed: The Voices of University-Educated Project Staff and Local Academics 225

Voices of Contrast 227

Searching for Common Ground 241

7 Conclusion: Lessons for Environmental Practice, Theory, and Ethics 253

Loko, the CEUM, and Individual-Community Relations 254

Epulu, the RFO, and Human-Environment Relations 259.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 297-307).

ISBN:

0813337097

OCLC:

42968177