Traditional Ecological knowledge of predicting rain for climate adapting in North Benin

Hermione Noumawudo  ZOUNON; Nasser Mohamed  BACO; Bienvenu Akowedaho  DAGOUDO; Saddam Kadjogbé  SAHAGUI

doi:10.31686/ijier.vol8.iss1.2132

Authors

Hermione Noumawudo ZOUNON

Laboratoire Société–Environnement (LaSEn), Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, Faculty of Agronomy, University of Parakou
Nasser Mohamed BACO

Directeur du Laboratoire Société–Environnement (LaSEn ), Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, Faculty of Agronomy, University of Parakou
Bienvenu Akowedaho DAGOUDO

Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, Faculty of Agronomy, University of Parakou
Saddam Kadjogbé SAHAGUI

Department of Planing and Management of natural ressouces, Faculty of Agronomy, University of Parakou, Faculty of Agronomy, University of Parakou

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31686/ijier.vol8.iss1.2132

Keywords:

traditional knowledge, rain season, climate indicator, predicts, Kandi

Abstract

Traditional knowledge is base of decisions taking by local population affecting their livelihood. This traditional knowledge, focusing on practices and experiences highlighted the weather and climate information which is important for rain fed agriculture in Kandi commune. This research focuses on traditional knowledge of predicting rain through the climate indicators. It was carried in four districts 4 districts (Sam, Donwari, Kassakou and Sonsoro) of Kandi commune. Through 75 interviews (resource persons at least 40 years of experience) and 7 focus groups in the community, information was gathered about traditional climate and weather indicators and prediction tools. The snowball sampling technique was used to choose the respondents. Knowledge about climate indicator is exchanged, passed on from generation to generation and concerned plant species, animal species and astronomical elements. These climate indicators revealed onset of rain season, intensity of rain in full season and the end rain season. Multiple correspondence analyses with statistical software R Version 3.02 show three categories group. One shows the indicators such as wind, thunder, Cloud, Bird. The second group combines the factors transmit to member of family and acquire by initiation. The third group concerns bird indicator.

References

Adger, W. N., Barnett, J., Chapin, F. S. III, Ellemor, H. This must be the place: underrepresentation of identity and meaning in climate change decision-making. Glob Environ Polit 11(2):1–25, 2011.
Alexander, C., Bynum, N., Johnson, E., King, U., Mustonen, T., Neofotis, P., Oettlé, N., Rosenzweig, C., Sakakibara, C., Shadrin, V., Vicarelli, M., Waterhouse, J., Weeks, B. Linking indigenous and scientific knowledge of climate change. Biosci 61:477–484, 2011
Alvera, P. The role of Indigenous Knowledge Systems in coping with climate challenges in Mbire District, Zimbabwe by, MSc IWRM, 2013.
Avedaño García, A. Etnometeorología de los tornados en México: el caso de la renacheria Xaltitla, municipio de Atltzayanca, Tlaxcala. México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas, 2012.
Berkes, F. Sacred ecology: traditional ecological knowledge and resource management. Taylor & Francis, London, 2012.
Berkes F, Folke, C. Back to the future: ecosystem dynamics and local knowledge. In: Gunderson LH, Holling CS (eds) Panarchy: Understanding transformations in human and natural systems. Island Press, Washington DC, pp. 121–146, 2002.
Blaikie, P., Cannon, T., Davis, L., and Wisner, B. At Risks: Natural Hazards People’s Vulnerability and Disasters. London & New York: Routledge Press, 1994.
Bohle, H. G. Vulnerability and criticality: Perspectives from social geography. Newsletter of the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change, IHDP Update (2), pp. 1-7, 2001.
Bridges, K. W., McClatchey, W. C. Living on the margin: ethnoecological insights from Marshall islanders at rongelap atoll. Glob Environ Chang 19:140–146, 2009.
Chambers, R. Vulnerability, coping and policy (Editorial Introduction). Institute of Development Studies Bulletin, 37(4), pp. 33-40, 2006.
Claverías, R. Conocimientos de los campesinos andinos sobre los predictores climáticos: Elementos para su verificación. Puno, 1991.
Cochran, P., Huntington, O. H., Pungowiyi, C., Tom, S., Chapin, F. S. III, Huntington, H. P., Maynard, N. G., Trainor, S. H. Indigenous frameworks for observing and responding to climate change in Alaska. Clim Chang 120(3):557–67, 2013.
Cruickshank, J. The stubborn particulars of voice. In: Do glaciers listen? local knowledge, colonial encounters, and social imagination. UBC Press, Vancouver, pp 3–20, 2005.
Das, S., Sun, X. Association knowledge for fatal run-off-road crashes by multiple correspondence analysis. IATSS Research ; 39(2): 146–155, 2016.
Das, S., Sun, X. Factor association using multiple correspondence analysis in vehicle-pedestrian crashes. Transportation Research Record: Journal of Transportation Research Board; 2519: 95–103, 2015.
Diawuo, F. and Issifu, A. K. Exploring the African Traditional Belief Systems in Natural Resource Conservation and Management in Ghana. The Journal of Pan African Studies, 8 (9): 115–131, 2015.
Finucane, M. Why science alone won’t solve the climate crisis: managing the climate risks in the Pacific. Asia Pacific Issues; 89:1-8, 2009.
Fuentelsaz, C. Calculo del tamaño de la muestra, Matronas Profesión, p. 5–13, 2004.
Galloway, McLean, K. Advance guard: Climate change impacts, adaptation. Mitigation and Indigenous Peoples. United Nations University-Traditional Knowledge Initiative, Darwin, 2010.
Githungo, W. N., Kinuthia, R. G., Kizito, K. and Rao, K. P. C. Effects of Seasonal Forecasts on Farm Decision Making for Small Holder Farming systems in Semi-Arid Parts of Kenya, 2009.
Glaser, B., Strauss, A. The discovery of grounded theory: strategies for qualitative research. New York: Aldine, 1967.
Gliessman S. Un enfoque agroecológico en el estudio de la agricultura tradicional. In (Coord.) A. González Jácome, & S. del Amo Rodríguez, Agricultura y sociedad en México: diversidad, enfoques, estudios de caso. México: Plaza y Valdés Editores. p. 25-26, 1999.
González-Jácome, A. Cultura y agricultura: transformaciones en el agro mexicano. México: Universidad Iberoamericana, A.C, 2003.
Green, D., Raygorodetsky, G. Indigenous knowledge of a changing climate. Clim Chang 100:239–242, 2010
Ignatowski, J. A., Rosales, J. Identifying the exposure of two subsistence villages in Alaska to climate change using traditional ecological knowledge. Clim Chang 121:285–299, 2013.
INSAE. Recensement Général de la Population et de l’Habitat (RGPH-4), Principaux indicateurs socio-économiques du Bénin, 4ème édition, 27 p, 2015.
IPCC. Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. IPCC Third Assessment Report, Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Hansen, S. and Van Fleet, J. Traditional knowledge and intellectual property: A handbook on issues and options for traditional knowledge holders in protecting their intellectual property and maintaining biological diversity. Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2003.
Kafalew, A., Asfaw, Z. and Kelbessa, E. Ethnobotany of medicinal plants in Ada’a District, East Shewa Zone of Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 11.25: 1–28, 2015.
Kelman, I., Mercer, J., West, J. J. Combining different knowledges: Community-based climate change adaptation in small island developing states, participatory learning and action notes no. 60, 2009.
Kim K, Yamashita E. Corresponding characteristics and circumstances of collision-involved pedestrian in Hawaii. Transportation Research Record: Journal of Transportation Research Board; 2424: 18–24, 2008.
Kindon S, Pain R, Kesby M. Participatory Action Research Approaches and Methods: Connecting People, Participation and Place. London: Routledge, 2007.
Lefale, P. F. Ua’afa le Aso Stormy weather today: traditional ecological knowledge of weather and climate. The Samoa experience. Clim Chang 100:317–335, 2010.
Makwara, C. E. Unpacking the Functionality of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKSs) in Weather Forecasting in Turwi Basin, Zimbabwe. Journal of Agriculture and Sustainability ISSN 2201-4357; Volume 13, 1, 2020.
Mapara, J. Indigenous knowledge systems in Zimbabwe: Juxtaposing postcolonial theory, The Journal of Pan African Studies, 3(1), pp. 139-155, 2009.
Nakashima, D., Galloway, M. K., Thulstrup, H., Ramos, C., Rubis, J. Weathering Uncertainty: Traditional Knowledge for Climate Change Assessment and Adaptation. Paris, UNESCO; p. 120, 2012.
Nyong, A., Adesina, F. and Elasha O. The Value of Indigenous Knowledge in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies in the African Sahel. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies to Global Change, (12), pp. 787–797, 2007.
Parlee, B. and Berkes, F. Indigenous Knowledge of Ecological Variability and Commons Management: A Case Study on Berry Harvesting from Northern Canada. Human Ecology 34: 515–528, 2006.
Phillips, J. G., Makaudze, E., Unganai, L. "Current and Potential Use of Climate Forecasts for Resource-poor Farmers in Zimbabwe. Impact of El Nino and Climate Variability on Agriculture." American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, 63, 2001.
Risiro, J., Mashoko, D., Tshuma, D., T., and E., R. "Weather Forecasting and Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Chimanimani District of Manicaland, Zimbabwe." Journal of Emerging Trends in Educational Research and Policy Studies (JETERAPS) 3 (4): 561-566, 2012.
Roncoli, C., Ingram, K. and Kirshen, P. "Reading the Rains: Local Knowledge and Rainfall Forecasting in Burkina Faso." Society & Natural Resources: An International Journal 15(5): 409-427, 2002.
Salick, J., Ross, N. Traditional peoples and climate change. Glob Environ Chang 19:137 139, 2009.
Sillitoe, P. Interdisciplinary experiences: working with indigenous knowledge in development. Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, 29 (1), pp. 6 – 23, 2004.
Shoko, K. Indigenous weather forecasting systems: A case study of the biotic weather forecasting indicators for wards 12 and 13 in Mberengwa District Zimbabwe. Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa, 14(2), pp.1520-5509, 2012.
Taylor S, Bogdan R. Introducción a los métodos cualitativos de investigación. España: Editorial Paidòs, 1987
Tugume, P. et al. Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plant species used by communities around Mabira Central Forest Reserve, Uganda. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 12.5: 1–9, 2016.
Van Dillen, S., Different choices: Assessing vulnerability in a South Indian Village, Studien zur geographischen Entwicklungsforschung, Band 29, Saarbrücken: Verlag für Entwickklungspolitik, 2004.
Von Heland, J., Folke, C. A social contract with the ancestors-culture and ecosystem services in southern Madagascar. Glob Environ Chang 24:251–264, 2014.
Weatherhead, E., Gearheard, S, Barry, R. G. Changes in weather persistence: insight from Inuit knowledge. Glob Environ Chang 20:523–528, 2010.
Ye F, Lord D. Comparing three commonly used crash severity models on sample size requirements: multinomial logit, ordered probit and mixed logit models. Journal of Analytic Methods in Accident Research; 1: 72–85, 2014.