Importance of local knowledge in scientific research
Tuesday, 21st May 2024
‘Farming with a jackal’: Power relations in Black-backed jackal (Canidae: Lupulella mesomelas)
management around the Square Kilometre Array core site in South Africa
Terblanche, T., Kruger, Q., de Waal, H.O.
Abstract
A large body of work emphasises the importance of pluralist decision-making perspectives in wildlife management to incorporate multiple views of constituents. At the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) core site in South Africa, however, the scientific knowledge of astronomers and ecologists dominates local knowledge of farmers and farmworkers in Black-backed jackal (Lupulella mesomelas) management. Local farming communities adjacent to the site, recently proclaimed a national park, experience this scientific knowledge as oppressive and insufficient for their environment. This paper explores the relevance of local knowledge among commercial farmers and farmworkers in Black-backed jackal management, based largely on their experience of addressing livestock predation. We argue that incorporating local knowledge will promote wider acceptance of science-based Black-backed jackal management strategies, decrease farming community members’ sense of marginalisation
from developments in their area and contribute to building trust among the social groups neighbouring the SKA core site, to the benefit of the astronomy project.
KEYWORDS: Black-backed jackal, conflict management, knowledge development, livestock farming, predation management, protected areas, South Africa, Square Kilometre Array