| This dissertation explores the generation and evolution of knowledge of tree management in the context of the social and bio-physical landscape of rural central India. It seeks to enrich the growing literature on the significance and erosion of endogenous environmental knowledge, beginning with a critique of the popular "indigenous knowledge-Western science" dichotomy and proposing that diverse knowledge systems often overlap and hybridize at the grassroots level, blurring boundaries between them. Drawing from ethnographic fieldwork conducted in a group of villages in Raisen District of Madhya Pradesh, this dissertation details the prominent components of knowledge systems of tree management as described and demonstrated by villagers and local officials, especially Forest Officers. It categorizes these knowledge elements into different levels, ranging from concrete practices to increasingly abstract conceptual levels. An analysis of how individual elements relate to one another within and across these hierarchical levels reveals the structural proximity of elements of potentially diverse origins, ranging from formal global science and Indian Ayurveda to folk knowledge. This proximity is further reflected in the landscape, where diverse management approaches are spatially intermingled on the same land areas. The degree to which knowledge elements of different types are linked conceptually and spatially is postulated to affect knowledge conservation.;The process of knowledge hybridization is further explored by considering the mechanisms of learning. Class, caste, education, gender, and age are found to interact in producing opportunities and constraints for individual learning. Most mid-status and poorer villagers attain more knowledge experientially than through inter-personal communication and have little direct contact with external information sources, while wealthier people rely more on external agents. Overall, however, no definite association of certain types of knowledge with certain classes of people could be ascertained, except that the most socio-economically disadvantaged people had the least tree-related knowledge. Together, these data suggest the importance of access to tree-growing parts of the landscape in providing learning opportunities.;In conclusion, this dissertation recommends recognizing the hybrid nature of knowledge systems in contemporary communities and improving people's opportunities for interpersonal communication, perhaps through Joint Forest Management committees. |
