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Díaz-Reviriego I, Hanspach J, Torralba M, Ortiz-Przychodzka S, Frias CB, Burke L, García-Martín M, Oteros-Rozas E. Appraising biocultural approaches to sustainability in the scientific literature in Spanish. Ambio 2024; 53:499-516. [PMID: 38267720 PMCID: PMC10920613 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-023-01969-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
Biocultural approaches that acknowledge the multiple and dynamic relationships between the diversity of cultures and nature are growing in popularity in sustainability research. Scientific contributions to biocultural approaches written in Spanish are numerous, including influential work on biocultural memory, biocultural heritage and biocultural ethics. However, despite linguistic diversity being considered essential in knowledge production for assuring broad and balanced evidence to successfully cope with sustainability challenges, non-English literature is rarely reviewed and taken into account in English-language scientific knowledge production and publications. This review assesses how the scientific literature in Spanish conceptualizes and applies biocultural approaches, showing their richness beyond the Anglophone predominance in academic knowledge production and communication. The results suggest that insights from Spanish-language scientific literature could contribute alternative methodological and theoretical pathways for biocultural approaches that might foster transformations for more sustainable human-nature relationships. We conclude by highlighting avenues that could bring more plural biocultural studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel Díaz-Reviriego
- Social-Ecological Systems Institute (SESI), Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Universitätsallee 1, 21335, Lüneburg, Germany.
| | - Jan Hanspach
- Social-Ecological Systems Institute (SESI), Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Universitätsallee 1, 21335, Lüneburg, Germany
| | - Mario Torralba
- Environmental Geography Group, IVM Institute for Environmental Studies, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Stefan Ortiz-Przychodzka
- Social-Ecological Systems Institute (SESI), Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Universitätsallee 1, 21335, Lüneburg, Germany
| | - Camila Benavides Frias
- Social-Ecological Systems Institute (SESI), Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Universitätsallee 1, C11.213, 21335, Lüneburg, Germany
| | - Leonie Burke
- Social-Ecological Systems Institute (SESI), Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Universitätsallee 1, 21335, Lüneburg, Germany
| | - María García-Martín
- Land Change Science Research Unit, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
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Badry NA, MacMillan GA, Stern ER, Landry-Cuerrier M, Hickey GM, Humphries MM. Boundary Spanning Methodological Approaches for Collaborative Moose Governance in Eeyou Istchee. Environ Manage 2023:10.1007/s00267-023-01918-6. [PMID: 38145447 DOI: 10.1007/s00267-023-01918-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/26/2023]
Abstract
Natural resource governance challenges are often highly complex, particularly in Indigenous contexts. These challenges involve numerous landscape-level interactions, spanning jurisdictional, disciplinary, social, and ecological boundaries. In Eeyou Istchee, the James Bay Cree Territory of northern Quebec, Canada, traditional livelihoods depend on wild food species like moose. However, these species are increasingly being impacted by forestry and other resource development projects. The complex relationships between moose, resource development, and Cree livelihoods can limit shared understandings and the ability of diverse actors to respond to these pressures. Contributing to this complexity are the different knowledge systems held by governance actors who, while not always aligned, have broadly shared species conservation and sustainable development goals. This paper presents fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM) as a methodological approach used to help elicit and interpret the knowledge of land-users concerning the impacts of forest management on moose habitat in Eeyou Istchee. We explore the difficulties of weaving this knowledge together with the results of moose GPS collar analysis and the knowledges of scientists and government agencies. The ways in which participatory, relational mapping approaches can be applied in practice, and what they offer to pluralistic natural resource governance research more widely, are then addressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan A Badry
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
| | - Gwyneth A MacMillan
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Eleanor R Stern
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | | | - Gordon M Hickey
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Murray M Humphries
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
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Yanou MP, Ros-Tonen MA, Reed J, Moombe K, Sunderland T. Integrating local and scientific knowledge: The need for decolonising knowledge for conservation and natural resource management. Heliyon 2023; 9:e21785. [PMID: 38027861 PMCID: PMC10679496 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2023] [Revised: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Integrating Indigenous and local knowledge in conservation and natural resource management (NRM) initiatives is necessary to achieve sustainability, equity, and responsiveness to local realities and needs. Knowledge integration is the starting point for converging different knowledge systems and enabling knowledge co-production. This process is also a key prerequisite towards decolonising the research process. However, power imbalances may perpetuate dominant forms of knowledge over others, obstruct knowledge integration, and eventually cause the loss of knowledge of the marginal and less powerful knowledge holders. Despite increasing interest in knowledge integration for conservation, NRM, and landscape governance, documentation of integration processes remains fragmented and somewhat scarce. This semi-systematic literature review contributes to filling this gap by synthesising methods, procedures, opportunities, and challenges regarding integrating and decolonising knowledge for conservation and NRM in Southern Africa. The findings demonstrate that despite an increasing number of studies seeking to integrate Indigenous and local knowledge and scientific knowledge relevant to conservation and NRM, methods, procedures, and opportunities are poorly and vaguely documented, and challenges and colonial legacies are often overlooked. Documentation, valuing Indigenous and local knowledge, addressing power relations, and collaboration across knowledge systems are missing steps towards efficient knowledge integration. The paper concludes that there is a need for further research and relevant policies. These should address methods and implications for equitable knowledge integration processes and move beyond knowledge sharing and mutual learning towards decolonising knowledge for conservation and NRM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malaika P. Yanou
- Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Center for International Forestry Research, Bogor, Indonesia
| | - Mirjam A.F. Ros-Tonen
- Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - James Reed
- Center for International Forestry Research, Bogor, Indonesia
- School of International Development, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, UK
| | - Kaala Moombe
- Center for International Forestry Research, Bogor, Indonesia
| | - Terry Sunderland
- Center for International Forestry Research, Bogor, Indonesia
- University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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Reyes-García V. Beyond artificial academic debates: for a diverse, inclusive, and impactful ethnobiology and ethnomedicine. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 2023; 19:36. [PMID: 37679793 PMCID: PMC10486112 DOI: 10.1186/s13002-023-00611-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023]
Abstract
In answer to the question "Should ethnobiology and ethnomedicine more decisively foster hypothesis-driven forefront research able to turn findings into policy and abandon more classical folkloric studies?", in this essay I argue that a major strength of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine is their ability to bridge theories and methods from the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities. Hypothesis-driven research is a powerful way to structure thinking that can lead to forefront research findings. But hypothesis-driven research is not the only way to structure thinking and is not a necessary condition to impact policymaking. To increase policy impact, ethnobiology and ethnomedicine should continue nurturing a mixture of complementary methods and inclusive approaches as fragmentation through opposing different approaches might weaken the discipline. Moreover, with the aim to play a fundamental role in building bridges between different knowledge systems and co-producing solutions towards sustainability, the discipline could benefit from enlarging its epistemological grounds through more collaborative research. Ethnobiologists' research findings, hypothesis-driven, descriptive, or co-constructed can become leverage points to transform knowledge into actionable outcomes in different levels of decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria Reyes-García
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), 08010, Barcelona, Spain.
- Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193, Barcelona, Spain.
- Departament d'Antropologia Social i Cultural, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193, Barcelona, Spain.
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Negi VS, Pathak R, Thakur S, Joshi RK, Bhatt ID, Rawal RS. Scoping the Need of Mainstreaming Indigenous Knowledge for Sustainable Use of Bioresources in the Indian Himalayan Region. Environ Manage 2023; 72:135-146. [PMID: 34341866 PMCID: PMC8327904 DOI: 10.1007/s00267-021-01510-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Accepted: 07/20/2021] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Globally, Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKSs), which have evolved through rigorously tested methods and practices, are a testimony of human intelligence and endurance. The diversity of goods such as food, beverages, herbs, etc., and its associated systems, which form an integral part of modern cuisine and healthcare systems, are deeply rooted in IKS and immensely contributing to overall well-being of mankind. The present study is an attempt to document and understand the contribution of indigenous and local knowledge to biodiversity conservation and management. Appreciation to the value of traditional and indigenous knowledge is globally recognized for their principles of coexistence and sustainable use practices. Past studies indicate a strong relationship between indigenous knowledge and sustainable development goals. This knowledge is valuable not only to dependent communities, but also to the modern world for ensuring food security and human well-being. The documentation of such valuable knowledge is therefore fundamentally essential for mainstreaming and strengthening the discourses on sustainable ecosystem management, and to address the preponderance of poverty among indigenous communities. Amid the changing scenario of consumption and the trend of revisiting nature-based solutions, the IKS hold a tremendous scope of engaging the community people in sustainable harvest and utilization of natural resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vikram S Negi
- Center for Biodiversity Conservation and Management, G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, Almora, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Ravi Pathak
- Center for Biodiversity Conservation and Management, G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, Almora, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Shinny Thakur
- Center for Biodiversity Conservation and Management, G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, Almora, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Ravindra K Joshi
- Center for Biodiversity Conservation and Management, G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, Almora, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Indra D Bhatt
- Center for Biodiversity Conservation and Management, G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, Almora, Uttarakhand, India.
| | - Ranbeer S Rawal
- Center for Biodiversity Conservation and Management, G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, Almora, Uttarakhand, India
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Sharifian A, Gantuya B, Wario HT, Kotowski MA, Barani H, Manzano P, Krätli S, Babai D, Biró M, Sáfián L, Erdenetsogt J, Qabel QM, Molnár Z. Global principles in local traditional knowledge: A review of forage plant-livestock-herder interactions. J Environ Manage 2023; 328:116966. [PMID: 36521222 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2022] [Revised: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
An understanding of traditional ecological knowledge systems is increasingly acknowledged as a means of helping to develop global, regional and national, but locally relevant policies. Pastoralists often use lands that are unsuitable for crops due to biophysical and climatic extremities and variabilities. Forage plants of pastures are utilized by herding communities by applying locally relevant multigenerational knowledge. We analyzed the forage-related knowledge of pastoralists and herders by reviewing scientific papers and video documentaries on forage plants and indicators, their use in land management, and plant-livestock interactions. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with key knowledge holders in Iran, Mongolia, Kenya, Poland and Hungary. We found 35 indicators used by herders to describe forage species. The indicators described botanical features, livestock behavior during grazing, and the impact of plants on livestock condition and health. The indicators were used in context-specific management decisions, with a variety of objectives to optimize grazing. We identified ten global principles, including, among others, a livestock-centered perspective, close monitoring and targeted pasturing of various (preferred or avoided) forages, and the use of different livestock types and well-planned spatial movements at multiple scales to optimize the utilization of available plant resources. Although pastoralists vary greatly across the globe, the character and use of their traditional forage-related knowledge do seem to follow strikingly similar principles. Understanding these may help the local-to-global-level understanding of these locally specific systems, support bottom-up pastoral initiatives and discussions on sustainable land management, and help to develop locally relevant global and national policies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abolfazl Sharifian
- Department of Rangeland and Watershed Management, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, 49138-15749, Gorgan, Iran; Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Vácrátót, Hungary; Global Change and Conservation Lab, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Program, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, PL 65, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland.
| | - Batdelger Gantuya
- Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Vácrátót, Hungary; Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Mongolian Academy of Science, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
| | - Hussein T Wario
- Center for Research and Development in Drylands, Marsabit, Kenya
| | - Marcin Andrzej Kotowski
- Botanical Garden Center for Biological Diversity Conservation in Powsin, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Hossein Barani
- Department of Rangeland and Watershed Management, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, 49138-15749, Gorgan, Iran
| | - Pablo Manzano
- Global Change and Conservation Lab, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Program, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, PL 65, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland; Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS), Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3), 48940, Leioa, Spain; Ikerbasque - Basque Foundation of Science, Euskadi Plaza, 5, E-48009, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Saverio Krätli
- German Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture, Transdisciplinary and Social-Ecological Landuse Research (DITSL), Witzenhausen, Germany
| | - Dániel Babai
- Institute of Ethnology, Research Centre for the Humanities, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Marianna Biró
- Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Vácrátót, Hungary
| | - László Sáfián
- Traditional Hungarian Shepherd, Hajdúsámson, Hungary
| | | | | | - Zsolt Molnár
- Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Vácrátót, Hungary
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Hollaus A, Schunko C, Weisshaidinger R, Bala P, Vogl CR. Indigenous farmers' perceptions of problems in the rice field agroecosystems in the upper Baram, Malaysia. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 2022; 18:26. [PMID: 35351170 PMCID: PMC8962147 DOI: 10.1186/s13002-022-00511-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Rice field agroecosystems produce food for more than half of the world's population and deliver important services supporting farmers' livelihoods. However, traditional rice field agroecosystems are facing a variety of problems, including pests or markets that are hard to access. This research explored indigenous farmers' perceptions of the problems, their causes and consequences, and the solutions applied to address them in the rice field agroecosystem. Furthermore, the study investigated how indigenous farmers related these problems to the surrounding landscape elements and to microzones in the fields. METHODS Data were collected in two villages in the upper Baram, Sarawak using a qualitative approach that included sketch drawings and face-to-face interviews. Forty-three indigenous farmers of the Kenyah, Penan and Sa'ban ethnic groups were interviewed in their rice fields. The sketch drawings were used to identify the perceived landscape elements, while the oral interviews were employed to identify perceived microzones. Furthermore, the interviews elicited the perceived problems in the rice field agroecosystem and their relations to landscape elements and microzones. RESULTS The findings identified a total of nine environmental problems, e.g. animal disturbance, six social problems, e.g. difficult to access farm inputs, and eight agricultural technology system problems, e.g. poor soil quality, with some found to be rooted in complex causes and affecting agricultural productivity. While some problems were perceived at field level, microzones were frequently used as sub-field indicators of the problems. The surrounding landscape elements were perceived as both a source of the problems and as a means of avoiding them. To solve the problems, farmers applied preventive and reactive strategies based on traditional knowledge and scientific knowledge, resulting in a hybridisation of knowledge systems. CONCLUSIONS By including environmental, social, agricultural technology system problems and different spatial scales, this research contributes to addressing issues that can be overlooked when focusing on only one dimension of the problems. These results contribute to a better understanding of how indigenous farmers perceive, cope with and adapt to problems in rice field agroecosystems, which is important for landscape management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Hollaus
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Department of Sustainable Agricultural Systems, Division of Organic Farming, Gregor-Mendel-Strasse 33, 1180, Vienna, Austria
| | - Christoph Schunko
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Department of Sustainable Agricultural Systems, Division of Organic Farming, Gregor-Mendel-Strasse 33, 1180, Vienna, Austria
| | - Rainer Weisshaidinger
- Agroecology.AT, Consultancy on Agroecology and Sustainability of Agricultural Systems, Hauptstrasse 22, 2120, Obersdorf, Austria
| | - Poline Bala
- Institute of Borneo Studies, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), 94300, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
| | - Christian R Vogl
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Department of Sustainable Agricultural Systems, Division of Organic Farming, Gregor-Mendel-Strasse 33, 1180, Vienna, Austria.
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Renck V, Apgaua DMG, Tng DYP, Bollettin P, Ludwig D, El-Hani CN. Cultural consensus and intracultural diversity in ethnotaxonomy: lessons from a fishing community in Northeast Brazil. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 2022; 18:25. [PMID: 35346263 PMCID: PMC8962115 DOI: 10.1186/s13002-022-00522-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/17/2022] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Traditional fishing communities are strongholds of ethnobiological knowledge but establishing to what degree they harbor cultural consensus about different aspects of this knowledge has been a challenge in many ethnobiological studies. METHODS We conducted an ethnobiological study in an artisanal fishing community in northeast Brazil, where we interviewed 91 community members (49 men and 42 women) with different type of activities (fishers and non-fishers), in order to obtain free lists and salience indices of the fish they know. To establish whether there is cultural consensus in their traditional knowledge on fish, we engaged a smaller subset of 45 participants in triad tasks where they chose the most different fish out of 30 triads. We used the similarity matrices generated from the task results to detect if there is cultural consensus in the way fish were classified by them. RESULTS The findings show how large is the community's knowledge of fish, with 197 ethnospecies registered, of which 33 species were detected as salient or important to the community. In general, men cited more fish than women. We also found that there was no cultural consensus in the ways fish were classified. CONCLUSIONS Both free-listing and triad task methods revealed little cultural consensus in the way knowledge is structured and how fish were classified by community members. Our results suggest that it is prudent not to make assumptions that a given local community has a single cultural consensus model in classifying the organisms in their environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vítor Renck
- National Institute of Science and Technology in Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Studies in Ecology and Evolution (INCT IN-TREE), Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
- Institute of Biology, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Brazil, R. Barão de Jeremoabo, 668, Salvador, BA 840170-115 Brazil
- Knowledge, Technology, and Innovation Group, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Deborah M. G. Apgaua
- Centre for Rainforest Studies, The School for Field Studies, Yungaburra, QLD 4884 Australia
- Centre for Tropical, Environmental and Sustainability Sciences, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, 14-88 McGregor Rd, Smithfield, QLD 4878 Australia
| | - David Y. P. Tng
- Institute of Biology, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Brazil, R. Barão de Jeremoabo, 668, Salvador, BA 840170-115 Brazil
- Centre for Rainforest Studies, The School for Field Studies, Yungaburra, QLD 4884 Australia
- Centre for Tropical, Environmental and Sustainability Sciences, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, 14-88 McGregor Rd, Smithfield, QLD 4878 Australia
| | - Paride Bollettin
- National Institute of Science and Technology in Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Studies in Ecology and Evolution (INCT IN-TREE), Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
- Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - David Ludwig
- Knowledge, Technology, and Innovation Group, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Charbel N. El-Hani
- National Institute of Science and Technology in Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Studies in Ecology and Evolution (INCT IN-TREE), Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
- Institute of Biology, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Brazil, R. Barão de Jeremoabo, 668, Salvador, BA 840170-115 Brazil
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Reyes-García V, Fernández-Llamazares Á, Aumeeruddy-Thomas Y, Benyei P, Bussmann RW, Diamond SK, García-del-Amo D, Guadilla-Sáez S, Hanazaki N, Kosoy N, Lavides M, Luz AC, McElwee P, Meretsky VJ, Newberry T, Molnár Z, Ruiz-Mallén I, Salpeteur M, Wyndham FS, Zorondo-Rodriguez F, Brondizio ES. Recognizing Indigenous peoples' and local communities' rights and agency in the post-2020 Biodiversity Agenda. Ambio 2022; 51:84-92. [PMID: 34008095 PMCID: PMC8651947 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-021-01561-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Revised: 03/06/2021] [Accepted: 03/26/2021] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
The Convention on Biological Diversity is defining the goals that will frame future global biodiversity policy in a context of rapid biodiversity decline and under pressure to make transformative change. Drawing on the work of Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars, we argue that transformative change requires the foregrounding of Indigenous peoples' and local communities' rights and agency in biodiversity policy. We support this argument with four key points. First, Indigenous peoples and local communities hold knowledge essential for setting realistic and effective biodiversity targets that simultaneously improve local livelihoods. Second, Indigenous peoples' conceptualizations of nature sustain and manifest CBD's 2050 vision of "Living in harmony with nature." Third, Indigenous peoples' and local communities' participation in biodiversity policy contributes to the recognition of human and Indigenous peoples' rights. And fourth, engagement in biodiversity policy is essential for Indigenous peoples and local communities to be able to exercise their recognized rights to territories and resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria Reyes-García
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Carrer de les columnes, s/n. Z-building (ICTA-ICP), Bellaterra Campus, Cerdanyola del Valles, Bellatera, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares
- Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS), Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 65, (Viikinkaari 1), 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Yildiz Aumeeruddy-Thomas
- Centre for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University Montpellier, CNRS, CEFE, UMR 5175, 1919, Route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier, France
| | - Petra Benyei
- Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Carrer de les columnes, s/n. Z-building (ICTA-ICP), Bellaterra Campus, Cerdanyola del Valles, Bellatera, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Rainer W. Bussmann
- Department of Ethnobotany, Institute of Botany and Bakuriani Alpine Botanical Garden, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia
| | - Sara K. Diamond
- Department of Geography and the Environment, University of Texas, Austin, USA
- College of Liberal Arts, The University of Texas at Austin, 116 Inner Campus Dr. Stop G6000, Austin, TX 78712 USA
| | - David García-del-Amo
- Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Carrer de les columnes, s/n. Z-building (ICTA-ICP), Bellaterra Campus, Cerdanyola del Valles, Bellatera, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Natalia Hanazaki
- Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, ECZ/CCB/UFSC, Campus Trindade s/n, Florianópolis, SC 88010-970 Brazil
| | - Nicolas Kosoy
- Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill School of Environment, McGill University, Macdonald Stewart Building, MS3-037, Macdonald Campus, Ste. Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, H9X 3V9 Canada
| | | | - Ana C. Luz
- ISEG- Lisbon School of Economics & Management, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Pamela McElwee
- Department of Human Ecology, Rutgers University, 55 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 USA
| | - Vicky J. Meretsky
- O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405 USA
| | - Teresa Newberry
- Department of Science, Tohono O’odham Community College, Sells, 1830 E. Broadway, Ste 124-202, Tucson, AZ 85719 USA
| | - Zsolt Molnár
- Centre for Ecological Research, ELKH, Alkotmány u. 2-4, Vácrátót, 2163 Hungary
| | - Isabel Ruiz-Mallén
- Internet Interdisciplinary Institute, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Av. Friedrich Gauss, 5, Castelldefels, 08860 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Matthieu Salpeteur
- Patrimoines Locaux, Environnement et Globalisation (UMR 208 PALOC), IRD, MNHN, French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), 57 rue Cuvier, CP 51, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France
| | - Felice S. Wyndham
- School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- PO Box 3162, Santa Cruz, CA 95063 USA
| | | | - Eduardo S. Brondizio
- Department of Anthropology, Indiana University Bloomington, 702 E. Kirkwood Ave. Student building 130, Bloomington, IN 47401 USA
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10
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Molnár Z, Babai D. Inviting ecologists to delve deeper into traditional ecological knowledge. Trends Ecol Evol 2021; 36:679-690. [PMID: 34024622 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2021.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2020] [Revised: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/14/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Ecologists and conservationists increasingly acknowledge that traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) is vital for a better understanding and conservation of biodiversity; for example, for a more complex socioecological understanding of long-term processes, ecosystem resilience, the impacts of traditional management practices, and the worldviews underpinning these practices. To gain a deeper understanding of the ecological dimensions of TEK, ecologists and conservation biologists should conduct participatory long-term collaborative research on TEK. To conduct TEK research properly, however, ecologists need to familiarize themselves more deeply with the methodologies of social sciences, further develop their links with social scientists, and adopt new approaches, such as strengthening respect towards other knowledge systems and being inclusive in research and open to new types of validation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zs Molnár
- Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Traditional Ecological Knowledge Research Group, Vácrátót 2163, Hungary.
| | - D Babai
- Research Centre for the Humanities, Institute of Ethnology, Ethnoecology Research Group, Budapest 1097, Hungary
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11
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Abstract
Environmental observing programs that are based on Indigenous and local knowledge increasingly use digital technologies. Digital platforms may improve data management in community-based monitoring (CBM) programs, but little is known about how their use translates into tangible results. Drawing on published literature and a survey of 18 platforms, we examine why and how digital platforms are used in CBM programs and illuminate potential challenges and opportunities. Digital platforms make it easy to collect, archive, and share CBM data, facilitate data use, and support understanding larger-scale environmental patterns through interlinking with other platforms. Digital platforms, however, also introduce new challenges, with implications for the sustainability of CBM programs and communities’ abilities to maintain control of their own data. We expect that increased data access and strengthened technical capacity will create further demand within many communities for ethically developed platforms that aid in both local and larger-scale decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noor Johnson
- Cooperative Institute in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, United States
| | - Matthew L Druckenmiller
- Cooperative Institute in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, United States
| | - Finn Danielsen
- Nordic Foundation for Development and Ecology, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Peter L Pulsifer
- director of the Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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12
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Kassam KA, Ruelle M, Haag I, Bulbulshoev U, Kaziev D, Louis L, Ullmann A, Edwards I, Khan AA, Trabucco A, Samimi C. Engaging Transformation: Using Seasonal Rounds to Anticipate Climate Change. Hum Ecol Interdiscip J 2021; 49:509-523. [PMID: 34602701 PMCID: PMC8479261 DOI: 10.1007/s10745-021-00269-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Seasonal rounds are deliberative articulations of a community's sociocultural relations with their ecological system. The process of visualizing seasonal rounds informs transdisciplinary research. We present a methodological approach for communities of enquiry to engage communities of practice through context-specific sociocultural and ecological relations driven by seasonal change. We first discuss historical précis of the concept of seasonal rounds that we apply to assess the spatial and temporal communal migrations and then describe current international research among Indigenous and rural communities in North America and Central Asia by the creation of a common vocabulary through mutual respect for multiple ways of knowing, validation of co-generated knowledge, and insights into seasonal change. By investigating the relationship between specific biophysical indicators and livelihoods of local communities, we demonstrate that seasonal rounds are an inclusive and participatory methodology that brings together diverse Indigenous and rural voices to anticipate anthropogenic climate change. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10745-021-00269-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karim-Aly Kassam
- Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY USA
- American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY USA
| | - Morgan Ruelle
- Department of International Development, Clark University, Community & Environment, Worcester, MA USA
| | - Isabell Haag
- Department of Geography, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Umed Bulbulshoev
- School of Professional & Continuing Education, University of Central Asia, Khorog, Tajikistan
| | - Daler Kaziev
- Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY USA
| | - Leo Louis
- Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY USA
| | - Anna Ullmann
- Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY USA
| | - Iriel Edwards
- Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY USA
| | - Aziz Ali Khan
- Mountains Societies Research Institute, University of Central Asia, Khorog, Tajikistan
| | - Antonio Trabucco
- Impacts On Agriculture, Forests and Ecosystem Services Division, , CMCC Foundation—Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change, Sassari, Italy
| | - Cyrus Samimi
- Department of Geography, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
- Center of Ecology and Environmental Research, Bayreuth, Germany
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13
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Benyei P, Arreola G, Reyes-García V. Storing and sharing: A review of indigenous and local knowledge conservation initiatives. Ambio 2020; 49:218-230. [PMID: 30859400 PMCID: PMC6889095 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-019-01153-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2018] [Revised: 08/06/2018] [Accepted: 01/19/2019] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Despite its relative adaptive capacity and its many values, indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) is rapidly eroding. Over the past decades a myriad of efforts have emerged to prevent this erosion. In this work, we reviewed and systematically coded 138 ILK conservation initiatives published in academic papers in order to explore trends in participation, digitalization, timing, location, and approach of the initiatives. We also explored factors influencing initiative inclusiveness. Our findings reveal that ILK holders are generally absent from most phases of the studied initiatives, although IT-based and in situ initiatives (i.e., education and community based conservation) appear as the exceptions. We also found that ex situ initiatives (i.e., research/documentation and policy/legislation efforts) are predominant, despite the challenges they reportedly face. These findings call for re-formulating the ways in which ex situ ILK conservation is done and for supporting in situ and IT based initiatives, as they offer the potential to lead the participatory turn.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petra Benyei
- Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellatera, Barcelona Spain
| | - Guadalupe Arreola
- Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Morelia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 58190 Morelia, Michoacan Mexico
| | - Victoria Reyes-García
- Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellatera, Barcelona Spain
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14
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Constant NL, Tshisikhawe MP. Hierarchies of knowledge: ethnobotanical knowledge, practices and beliefs of the Vhavenda in South Africa for biodiversity conservation. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 2018; 14:56. [PMID: 30139359 PMCID: PMC6108143 DOI: 10.1186/s13002-018-0255-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2018] [Accepted: 08/13/2018] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Indigenous and local knowledge systems are characterised by a 'knowledge-practice-belief' complex that plays a critical role for biodiversity management and conservation on indigenous lands. However, few studies take into consideration the interconnected relationship between the social processes underpinning knowledge accumulation, generation and transmission. The study draws on ethnobotanical research to explore plant uses, practices and belief systems developed among the indigenous Vhavenda in South Africa for sustaining indigenous plant resources and highlights some of the forces of change influencing the acquisition and transmission of knowledge. METHODS Data was collected from September-November 2016 from 31 individuals by means of semi-structured interviews; walks in home gardens, cultivated fields, montane forests and deciduous woodlands; and vouchering of plant species in six villages (Duthuni, Tshidzivhe, Vuvha, Lwamondo, Mashau and Tshiendeulu) in the Vhembe District of South Africa. The Use Value Index (UVI) was used to measure the number of different uses of each species and the Relative Frequency Index (RFI) to measure the local importance of each species. Semi-structured interviews and comparisons with published works also explored cultural practices and belief systems associated with plants, modes and barriers of knowledge transmission. RESULTS Eighty-four plant species were reported within 44 families, with Fabaceae representing the highest diversity of plant species. We identified six species not previously documented in the Vhavenda ethnobotanical literature, 68 novel uses of plants and another 14 variations of known uses. Vhavenda plants were predominantly used for food (36.0%) and medicine (26.1%) and consisted mainly of native (73.8%) compared to non-native species (26.2%). The Vhavenda possess a range of practices for managing plant resources that can be attributed to taboos preventing the use of selected species, promotion of sustainable harvesting practices and the propagation of plant species for ecological restoration. Plant knowledge and management practices were transmitted from relatives (48.4%), self-taught through time spent planting and harvesting plants on the land (19.4%), through apprenticeships with traditional healers (16.1%), initiation schools (9.7%) and clan gatherings (6.4%). Changes in traditional learning platforms for knowledge exchange, erosion of cultural institutions and shifting value systems serve as barriers for knowledge transmission among the Vhavenda. CONCLUSION The study points to a need for new partnerships to be forged between conservationists, government actors and local and indigenous knowledge holders to foster hybrid knowledge coproduction for developing strategies to enhance the productivity and biodiversity of indigenous lands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natasha Louise Constant
- SARChI Chair on Biodiversity Value and Change, School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, University of Venda, Private Bag X5050, Thohoyandou, 0950 South Africa
- Sustainable Places Research Institute, Cardiff University, 33 Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3BA UK
| | - Milingoni Peter Tshisikhawe
- Department of Botany, School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, University of Venda, Private Bag X5050, Thohoyandou, 0950 South Africa
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