Indigenous Knowledge as Early Warning Guide in Disaster Management
By Thongkholal Haokip
in Amita Singh (ed.) International Handbook of Disaster Research, Singapore: Springer Nature, 2022.
The experience and knowledge of older generation on disaster are rich with local warning indicators from birds, animals and other natural phenomena. Stories about natural disasters in the past are found in oral literatures, songs, poems and even lullabies. Such past knowledge can not only reduce disaster risk but also prevent human casualties in the face of disasters. However, indigenous knowledge is often discarded as ‘unscientific’. Such local knowledge needs to be integrated with the scientific early warning system and could help in disaster risk reduction and increase the resilience of vulnerable communities.
Keywords:Â Indigenous Knowledge, traditional knowledge, Early Warning Systems