1. Wilfred lunga
North West University
African Centre for Disaster Studies (South Africa)
2012 -MSc in Development Studies National University of
Science & Technology (NUST) Zimbabwe
2006 - MSc.Ed, Science and Mathematics Education
(Geography) University of Zimbabwe (UZ) Zimbabwe
2006 -Master of Business Administration (MBA) National
University of Science & Technology (NUST) Zimbabwe
2004 -Diploma in Development and Disaster Management
(DDMP) National University of Science & Technology
(NUST) Zimbabwe
1992 - Licentiate Degree in Geography Enrique Jose Varona
(Cuba)

2. THESIS TITLE
THE INCLUSION OF INDIGENOUS
KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS INTO
DISASTER RISK REDUCTION POLICY:
THE CASE OF ZIMBABWE.

3. BACKGROUND
• The research focus is largely informed by a globalisation
process that is characterised by freedom of international
trade but increasingly, regional economic and political
integration initiatives that facilitate increased knowledge
sharing by different cultural and lingual groups.
• Indigenous knowledge has been an essential survival
tool for humans since time immemorial.
• In our current period of lightning fast technological and
social development much traditional wisdom have been
replaced with modernist global values and have almost
been forgotten.

4. This renewed respect for ancient social
survival skills is partially sprung from the
emergence of post-modernism, which
recognises diversity as strength, and partially
from the current global paradigm of
promoting democracy, which values self-
determination for communities.

5. • Generation and dissemination of disaster information
and knowledge has adopted a top-down centralized
process.
• In that regard, decision- making has traditionally been
the forte of the intellectual community and disaster
management planners.
• The shortcomings of this approach in terms of its
ability to maximize participation of and partnership
with communities has spawned the emergent
paradigm of community-based disaster management
planning as the more efficient strategy for disaster
loss reduction.

6. PROBLEM STATEMENT
• Indigenous knowledge is often so specific to a
locality that it is not always universally applicable
and a challenge to integrate indigenous
knowledge into mainstream disaster risk
reduction (DRR) policy and practice.
• Legislation, Policy on DRR is silent on issues that
are related to indigenous knowledge which most
people use when disasters strike in their
communities.

7. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
• The following broad questions are considered pertinent to
the research:
• What are indigenous knowledge systems (IKS)?
• What are the main theories, models and practices
explaining IKS?
• How can, and has, IKS impacted on disaster risk reduction
policy formulation in Africa and other parts of the globe?
• What does IKS in Zimbabwe entail?
• Which specific categories of indigenous knowledge can be
identified as valuable to DRR and applied to a community,
regardless of its unique characteristics?

8. • How does IKS currently feature in various policies
in Zimbabwe?
• What informs and guides the current draft
disaster policies /policy statements, lessons and
recommendations for future inclusion of
indigenous knowledge into disaster risk reduction
and policy in Zimbabwe?
• How sustainable are indigenous knowledge
systems in relation to policy formulation in the
disaster risk reduction field in Zimbabwe?
• What could be the most effective means of
inclusion of indigenous knowledge into disaster
risk reduction policies in Zimbabwe society?

9. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
• The attainment of the research aim is facilitated by the
following objectives:
• Investigate and explain IKS.
• Assess, and analyse the main theories, models and
practices explaining IKS.
• Determine the extent and depth of how IKS has impacted
on disaster risk reduction policy formulation in Africa and
other parts of the globe.
• Investigate and determine what IKS entails within the
Zimbabwe context.
• Examine specific categories of indigenous knowledge
identified as valuable to disaster risk reduction and applied
to a community, regardless of its unique characteristics.

10. • Investigate and assess the extent to which IKS
currently feature in various policies in Zimbabwe.
• Analyse current disaster risk reduction and
related policies in Zimbabwe and determine the
extent of the inclusion of IKS.
• Explore issues informing and guiding the current
draft disaster risk reduction policies /policy
statements in Zimbabwe.
• Examine sustainability of indigenous knowledge
in relation to policy and related practices that
have been used in policy building to reduce
vulnerability and increase resilience in Zimbabwe.

11. CENTRAL THEORETICAL STATEMENT
• The inability to effectively come up with
disaster risk reduction policy is a result of lack
of strategy linked to local knowledge that
helps in scenario analysis, data collection, and
management planning, designing of the
adaptive strategies to learn and get feedback,
and institutional support to put policies into
pra

12. • Blending of knowledge between local and
formal sciences results in empowerment,
security and opportunity for local people, thus
reducing the social barriers to participation
and enhances the capacity of the local people
to make choices to solve their problem.

13. METHOD OF INVESTIGATION
• This study intends to identify processes, enablers
and challenges regarding inclusion of indigenous
knowledge into disaster risk reduction and
climate change policies.
• A blended design of both qualitative and
quantitative approaches will be used. Data
sources will be from both secondary and primary
sources. The bias of the research will be
qualitative hence more qualitative techniques,
such as document analysis, comparative analysis,
focus group discussions, applied research and
grounded theory will be used (Brynard &
Hanekon, 1997:28-42)