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Indigenous knowledge

Features

Here is a list of the latest articles

Senegal farmer

How climate data is bringing benefits to Senegal's farmers

The InfoClim project, which distributes climate data to local communities, has helped Senegalese farmers adapt to climate change. SciDev.Net investigates.

11 August 2011 | EN | FR

Cupping in China

Integrating modern and traditional medicine: Facts and figures

Traditional and modern medicine have much to offer each other despite their differences. Priya Shetty assesses an uneasy relationship.

30 June 2010 | EN | ES | FR | 中文

Climate change — adapting is crucial too

Climate change is a reality in developing regions, who say the international community must not neglect better adaptation strategies.

4 September 2009 | EN

Reducing forest emissions: Facts and figures

Hannah Chalmers gives the low-down on how reducing emissions from deforestation can play a central role in tackling climate change.

8 July 2009 | EN | ES | FR | 中文

Jack Githae

Turning plants into pills in Kenya

Traditional healers are joining forces with plant chemists in Kenya to develop antimalarials isolated from plants, reports Tatum Anderson.

13 December 2007 | EN

Miskito Indians live in the Nicaraguan rainforest

'Frontline' Nicaraguans hit hard by climate change

Climate change means Nicaragua's Miskito Indians can no longer rely on the weather to survive, reports Annie Kelly.

Source: The Guardian

30 May 2007 | EN | ES

Manufacturing of artemisinin-derived drugs in China

China's malaria wars: the battle over monotherapy

The debate goes on over China's ongoing production of malaria monotherapy, which is thought to promote drug resistance. Jane Wu reports.

1 May 2007 | EN | 中文

Brazil's Amazon region as seen from space

Racing to save the Amazon

Conservation is seeing a surge in 'quick and dirty' biodiversity surveys with an emphasis on local participation. Thomas Hayden reports from the Amazon.

Source: Nature

5 February 2007 | EN | 中文

Jaggery production - pouring the boiled treacle into coconut shells to produce the hardened solid form of it

Sweet science: Sri Lanka's rural treacle industry

Anuradha Alahakoon reports from rural Sri Lanka on how simple, effective science has boosted traditional methods of harvesting sap from 'treacle trees'.

7 June 2006 | EN

The collaboration should improve agricultural productivity in Africa

Village India: untouched by the science boom

The dramatic scientific advances enjoyed by India's urban elite have passed the country's rural poor by, reports T. V. Padma.

15 May 2006 | EN

The FTAs are about more than just pills and patents

Agreeing to disagree: Andean trade deals with the US

As three Andean nations forge ahead with free trade agreements with the United States, Lisbeth Fog reports on the implications for healthcare, research and regional stability.

28 April 2006 | EN | ES

Traditional medicine will become part of a public health strategy

A new prescription for Kenya’s traditional healers

Ehsan Masood reports on how Maseno University in Kenya is helping traditional healers to modernise the way they diagnose and treat illness.

2 September 2005 | EN | 中文

The rice steps of Banaue

Ridding Philippine rice terraces of rats and worms

Carlos D. Marquez reports on how scientists are working with an indigenous people in the Philippines to save some of the world's most famous rice fields from being destroyed by rats and worms.

23 August 2005 | EN

A spoonful of quinoa, one of the 'neglected' crops of the Andes

Beating world hunger: the return of 'neglected' crops

T. V. Padma reports on efforts to tackle hunger and malnutrition by promoting traditional crops that have been neglected by international agricultural research.

5 August 2005 | EN

Extracts of the neem tree are used to treat skin disease

Translating ancient knowledge into new drugs is hard

Using India's indigenous knowledge system to develop new drugs is far from easy, reports T. V. Padma.

Source: Nature

3 August 2005 | EN

Female leaders protect local knowledge in South Africa

Female traditional leaders in South Africa are leading an initiative to protect and sustainably exploit the country's indigenous knowledge, reports Emmanuel Koro.

Source: IslamOnline

20 July 2005 | EN

Red powder extracted from <I>danshen</I>

China's scientific shortcut to new drugs

Jia Hepeng describes how Chinese researchers are changing the way they use herbal remedies to compete on the international pharmaceutical market.

Source: China Daily

4 July 2005 | EN | 中文

The endangered Saiga antelope's horns are used in traditional Chinese medicines

Making traditional Chinese medicine sustainable

Chen Zhiyong describes the steps that Chinese authorities are taking to make traditional medicines that use endangered species of plants and wildlife more sustainable.

Source: China Daily

2 June 2005 | EN | 中文

Traditional healer's hut

The challenges of marketing traditional medicines

Paroma Basu reports on the efforts of developing countries to transform local medicinal knowledge into modern biotech medicines.

Source: Nature Biotechnology

16 March 2005 | EN | 中文

Chile's flourishing market for indigenous medicine

A return to traditional medicine and culture in Chile is bringing a much-needed source of revenue and employment to the country's indigenous population, reports Daniela Estrada.

Source: Inter Press Service News Agency

2 March 2005 | EN | 中文