There is increasing evidence that one of the
main causes of failures of conventional approach
to pastoral developments is the tendency to
ignore the “local” or “traditional” knowledge,
simply defined as knowledge that is unique to a
given culture or society. This has led many
people to argue that in order to ensure more
socially, ecologically and economically sound
developments, it is necessary to understand,
respect and utilize local knowledge systems.
However, these knowledge systems are not yet
familiar to many ‘professionals’ working among
the pastoralists.