Rethinking the relationship between expert and local knowledge: Toward a multi-type approach

摘要

Background: In the environmental health policy-making world of today, the knowledge that serves as a basis for decisions is for the most part expert knowledge held by experts, such as toxicologists and epidemiologists, while local knowledge held by non experts is regarded as its irrelevant opposite. Yet a growing trend among scholars and practitioners questions this approach, for example in the case of health impact assessment (HIA), which values the contribution of local knowledge. Aims: Map different types of knowledge in an HIA stakeholder participation process. portray the multilayered character of the relationship between them. Methods: participant observation of stakeholder participation in HIA. The HIA focused on land usages in the vicinity of a hazardous industry site. Qualitative analysis of 3 observations, 27 interviews, 6 focus groups. Results: The results reaffirm the assumption that the dichotomy between expert and local knowledge, and between those who hold each of them, is artificial. The stakeholders who participated in the HIA held many types of knowledge. Expert knowledge and the methods of acquiring it were not free from ambiguity, uncertainty, and controversy. Its objectivity, sufficiency & truthfulness are questioned. Local knowledge-holders knew about various health hazards, health circumstances & disease trends which were not known to experts. Moreover, each stakeholder held multiple types of knowledge. Finally, the analysis reveals that the expert-local dichotomy serves the existing power relations and creates barriers for meaningful public engagement. Conclusions: This study does not aim to disregard expert knowledge and its value for HIA. Yet, it suggests a more reflexive approach when considering its objectivity, especially in conditions of uncertainty and contested science. Local knowledge has significant contributions to HIA, albeit having its own disadvantages. It provides data on health conditions which is important especially in conditions of limited resources that characterize HIA.