Hello: I am also a graduate student who is interested in starting a "from scratch" research project abroad (in Nepal). I'm very interested in this issue of not "recapitulating colonialism through science," as Nathan says. My project idea includes doing ecology research in the context of community forestry, and my hope is that the research itself would in part be driven by the needs of community forest user groups--and of course I am also seeking Nepali collaborators. Hopefully this would go some distance toward NOT having weird colonial overtones in the project.
Anyway, I'm still learning and reading more about all of this. I'd love to learn more from researchers who have dealt with this issue in their work. Would those of you who have experience in this area be willing to share some of your thoughts in this regard? (If you'd prefer to respond to me individually, I'd be happy to compile a summary of responses and post back to the list.) Thank you! Carissa > -----Original Message----- > From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:ECOLOG- > [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Nathan Brouwer > Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2008 9:02 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Perspectives on research in Africa > > Some organizations that offer at least small grants that I think could be > used in Africa are: > http://www.foc-uk.com/ > http://www.bou.org.uk/bouresg.htm > > As important as funding issues in working in Africa are logistical and > cultural ones. Africa has perhaps the lowest African scientist to western > scientist ratio in the world. This limits opportunities for collaboration > with nationals, and also creates the problem of recapitulating colonialism > through science. I know of major, long-term wildlife studies that do not > incorporate any African's except as camp guards. Conservation, wildlife > management, agriculture, and sustainability will not go far if locals are > not invested in the research. There is an African Academy of Science and > also numerous journals published in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and South > Africa.
