Knowledge Systems and Natural Resources

In recent years, knowledge systems have become key areas of concern for researchers, policy-makers and developmental activists. Knowledge Systems and Natural Resources is a unique collection of case studies from Nepal. It provides rich and incisive insights into critical social processes and deliberative governance. It analyses how knowledge is produced, disseminated and applied in various aspects of natural resource governance in Nepal. The book challenges the dichotomy between traditional and scientific knowledge. It proposes to differentiate among systems of knowledge on the basis of political standing of social actors engaged in natural resource governance. It further proposes that change in givernance hinges on how the diverse systems of knowledge come into deliberative interface and to what extent the unequal distribution of power and knowledge resources in society constrain the process of deliberation. This book will be of great interest to development policy-makers, governance specialists, researchers, academics, development advisors, social activists and students of social and political sciences and natural resource management.