A critical analysis of western environmental knowledge as a neocolonial strategy: The case of Uganda
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Date
2025-06-28
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Agricultural and Environmental Education
Abstract
To curb environmental challenges effectively, Western environmental knowledge has been adopted besides
indigenous environmental knowledge system in Africa. However, the dualistic nature of knowledge integration,
this paper notes, is tinted by unfair powerrelations where indigenous knowledge is masked by neo-colonialtenets
of the West. Neo-colonialism, as argued in this paper, is the attempt of the Western societies to impose their
knowledge system to micro-manage the environmental and other affairs in Africa, taking a case study of Uganda.
Our central inquiry is why Africa is gradually deviating from indigenous knowledge systems in preference of
Western environmental knowledge. Using a critical analytical survey method, this paper argues that there is
environmental knowledge neo-colonialism in Africa today characterized by Western identity construction,
language dominance, cross-cultural cloning, undermining of indigenous education patterns, academic division of
labor, education as an investment, top-down distribution of knowledge, and improper contextualization of
knowledge construction and application. This appeals for Africanized production of knowledge to suit the
continent’s environmental needs and achieve African epistemic autonomy.
Description
Keywords
environmental knowledge, indigenous, Western, neo-colonialism, knowledge, strategy
Citation
Aciro, T., Alidri, A., Nuwategeka, E., & Lajul, W. (2025). A critical analysis of western environmental knowledge as a neocolonial strategy: The case of Uganda. Agricultural and Environmental Education, 4(2), em009. https://doi.org/10.29333/agrenvedu/16722