地方性知识与空间治理——以苏州东山内圩治理为例

Local knowledge and spatial governance:A case study of the governance of Dongshan town, Suzhou

太湖流域水环境综合治理既是一项环境治理任务,也是一项空间治理工程,它涉及太湖沿岸土地利用方式的改变。以人类学家吉尔兹关于局外人对局内人地方性知识的语义理解为学术对话观点,以苏州东山内圩地区为研究区域,采用访谈法、资料分析法、对比法,寻找规划专家的科学知识与当地养殖户地方性知识的语义'原型'。研究发现:(1)'长度'是'合理规划养殖水塘'的语义'原型'。语义'原型'的发掘使专家在设计空间治理指标时,可采纳养殖户的地方性知识,也为养殖户理解空间治理指标、更新其地方性知识提供可能性。(2)地方性知识不单由当地人创造,还在内外两类人群的互动中不断更新。在该过程中,准局外人发挥着知识对接的桥梁作用。当地人的地方性知识没有考虑宏观区域的可持续发展,而专家的全局视野会帮助当地人改进地方性知识。

Comprehensive management of the Lake Taihu watershed is an important environmental protection task as well as a space governance project.This involves land use changes along the shores of Lake Taihu.Studies have found that some environmental management strategies in the study region had not achieved their goals.One of the possible reasons might be that the governance did not involve local knowledge and only applied scientific knowledge.Such phenomenon also occurred in the space governance of other regions.Based on Geertz’s concept of local knowledge,this research argues that outsiders might also be able to understand the local knowledge of insiders at the semantic level.This case study focuses on the issues related to aquaculture pond construction in Dongshan town,Suzhou on the eastern shore of Lake Taihu.Through interviews,text analysis and comparative analysis,we aim to find a semantic prototype that the environmental planners(outsiders)and local aquaculture farmers(insiders)could share.We find that’length’is the semantic prototype that formed their common understanding of the rational planning of aquaculture ponds.This semantic prototype allows the planners to understand how the aquaculture farmers construct their ponds to adapt to local environment and to integrate their local knowledge into the planning.It also helps the farmers to better understand the ponds designed by the environmental planners.This study concludes that local knowledge is not only created by local people but is also constantly changed through the interaction between insiders and outsiders.The aquaculture farmers’local knowledge which is largely based on their local practice does not think about the sustainable development of the macro region.The global perspective and scientific knowledge from the environmental planners could help local people to broaden their horizon and update their local knowledge.During this process,the staff at the local Agriculture and Forestry Service Center in Dongshan town play the role of quasi-outsiders and serve as intermediaries between the two groups to facilitate their understandings.This research sheds light on the relationship between local knowledge and scientific knowledge.We argue that integrating local knowledge into the planning procedure can greatly enhance the effectiveness of space governance.