ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that Indigenous Environmental Knowledge is not well understood as a complete system or world-view encompassing religion, ritual, and belief. In a case study from Vietnam, the chapter observes that conservation projects have made little use of IEK and have seen Indigenous communities as obstacles to their work. The focus of studies on IEK is primarily on species names and classifications with little regard to the knowledge system underlying those. The Western-funded conservation projects in Vietnam are interested in knowledge that directly fits into Western conservation paradigms with their primary focus on urging local people to “buy into” the idea that they can no longer use protected areas for production or hunting. It is argued that a fuller recognition of omens and taboos as local practices potentially beneficial for conservation can help address the limited successes in Western-funded conservation projects.
