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Biocultural Diversity Conservation: A Global Sourcebook

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Jose E Martinez-Reyes at University of Massachusetts Boston
Jose E Martinez-Reyes
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Review of Biocultural Diversity Conservation: A Global Sourcebook. Luisa Maffi and Ellen Woodley. 2010. Earthscan, London. Pp. 304. $57.95 (paperback). ISBN 978-1-84407-921-6.
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... First a brief overview is given of the plants reported in the free-list interviews, followed by people’s associations to explain how these listed plants came to be mentioned. As tea is the most frequently mentioned use report, the focus was on the Bergtee (mountain tea) association as a very good example of the inextricable link between nature and culture (biocultural diversity; [36]). Contact with this association allowed their informal guidelines for plant gathering, which are only transmitted orally, to be documented to show local people’s attitude towards this activity as well as their relationship with nature and natural resource management. ...
... Wild plant gathering has also received renewed attention as a form of intangible cultural heritage [27,32-35]. This activity is one example of the inextricable link between biodiversity and cultural diversity [36] and reflects symbols of local identities [33]. It is an irreplaceable part of the cultural history of a region [18,37,38] and therefore an expression of people’s local identity and traditions [24,39]. ...
Gathering “tea” – from necessity to connectedness with nature. Local knowledge about wild plant gathering in the Biosphere Reserve Grosses Walsertal (Austria)
Article
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  • Aug 2012
Wild plant gathering is an essential element in livelihood strategies all over the world. However due to changing circumstances in Europe, the reason for gathering has altered from one of necessity in the past to a pleasurable activity today. Wild plant gathering has therefore also received renewed attention as a form of intangible cultural heritage expressing local preferences, habits and man's relationship with nature.In the Biosphere Reserve Grosses Walsertal (Austria), local people's knowledge of the gathering of wild plants and their perception of their own gathering activities are being documented. The focus of this paper is on the uses of herbal teas and the informal guidelines for gathering plants that have been issued by the Bergtee (mountain tea) association. Thirty-six free-list interviews were conducted with subsequent semi-structured interviews and three focus group meetings held with members of the Bergtee association. Participatory observation (gathering and processing plants, mixing and marketing tea) also allowed for greater understanding of what had been reported. In total, 140 different gathered plant species were listed by respondents. Herbal tea is the most frequently mentioned use. The Bergtee association, founded by a young man and two middle-aged women in the valley, is a good example of the link between biological and cultural diversity, with the aim of sharing the biosphere reserve's natural treasures as well as local plant-related knowledge in the form of herbal tea products. The association's informal guidelines for gathering reflect people's attitude to nature: monetary income does not play a major role in gathering plants; instead people's appreciation of the value of the nature around them is to the fore. Gathering wild plants can be seen as an expression of people's regional identity. The conscious appreciation of nature and related local knowledge is crucial for the sustainable conservation and use of the Biosphere Reserve's resources.
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... Globally, in situ TEK maintenance initiatives have been created with a wide range of objectives, including the promotion of vernacular language, campaigns for human and land rights, and increasing the consumption of traditional foods [97]. Other approaches seek to meld biological and cultural conservation goals for integrated biocultural conservation [see [98]]. On Malekula, a series of local 'kastom schools' (small local organisations, independent of the formal school, for the teaching of kastom and TEK) provide an interesting case study of in situ TEK conservation (McCarter and Gavin, in preparation). ...
Perceptions of the Value of Traditional Ecological Knowledge to Formal School Curricula: Opportunities and Challenges from Malekula Island, Vanuatu
Article
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  • Nov 2011
: The integration of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) into formal school curricula may be a key tool for the revitalisation of biocultural diversity, and has the potential to improve the delivery of educational objectives. This paper explores perceptions of the value of TEK to formal education curricula on Malekula Island, Vanuatu. We conducted 49 interviews with key stakeholders (local TEK experts, educators, and officials) regarding the use of the formal school system to transmit, maintain, and revitalise TEK. Interviews also gathered information on the areas where TEK might add value to school curricula and on the perceived barriers to maintaining and revitalising TEK via formal education programs. Participants reported that TEK had eroded on Malekula, and identified the formal school system as a principal driver. Most interviewees believed that if an appropriate format could be developed, TEK could be included in the formal education system. Such an approach has potential to maintain customary knowledge and practice in the focus communities. Participants identified several specific domains of TEK for inclusion in school curricula, including ethnomedical knowledge, agricultural knowledge and practice, and the reinforcement of respect for traditional authority and values. However, interviewees also noted a number of practical and epistemological barriers to teaching TEK in school. These included the cultural diversity of Malekula, tensions between public and private forms of knowledge, and multiple values of TEK within the community. TEK has potential to add value to formal education systems in Vanuatu by contextualising the content and process of curricular delivery, and by facilitating character development and self-awareness in students. These benefits are congruent with UNESCO-mandated goals for curricular reform and provide a strong argument for the inclusion of TEK in formal school systems. Such approaches may also assist in the maintenance and revitalisation of at-risk systems of ethnobiological knowledge. However, we urge further research attention to the significant epistemological challenges inherent in including TEK in formal school, particularly as participants noted the potential for such approaches to have negative consequences.
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The Dynamics of Environmental Change Pose Challenges to Preserving the Biocultural Landscape in Indonesia
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  • Jan 2022
Environmental changes can be affected by climate change, global warming, or disasters. They typically can lead to changes in the landscape, the ecosystem, and their natural habitat. Global warming is the process of an excessive increase in the Earth’s temperature. The cause is, of course, excessive greenhouse gases. Climate change is an extreme reaction to weather phenomena that negatively affect agricultural resources, water resources, human health, depletion of the ozone layer, vegetation, and soil, causing double the concentration of carbon dioxide in ecosystems. The dynamics of environmental change also occur due to industrial development in urban areas. There are also many changes in rural areas in Indonesia because many people are building houses in the village area. Villages considered having pollution-free air and a healthy environment. The environmental changes that occur also have an impact on biocultural changes. Therefore, the effort of maintaining balance and biocultural preservation is aimed at maintaining local wisdom in each region. Therefore, environmental change dynamics provide an opportunity to maintain the biocultural landscape while maintaining local wisdom in each region. Biocultural landscapes are interrelated holistic systems that have been formed by human management for a long time. In Indonesia several provinces have experienced disasters such as tsunami. Tsunami impacts sudden changes in the landscape, which will inevitably cause the population around the disaster site to adapt to survive. Likewise, animals and plants affected by disasters experience very significant changes. In a healthy biocultural landscape, pets are an extension of the human community, an essential part of the growing and ever-strengthening relationship between humans and the natural world. The knowledge and wisdom of indigenous groups have developed over the centuries and are interdependent with their natural environment. These are sometimes referred to as “indigenous,” “local,” or “cultural knowledge,” traditional knowledge, or local wisdom and are an understanding of nature, such as the nature of plants, animal behavior, ecosystem balance, and food and medicine. Medical problems are also sometimes related to ethnic issues in an area. Traditional knowledge is essential for the resilience of a biocultural system. Efforts to revitalize, share, respect, and implement these policies are critical for protecting biodiversity, preserving cultural heritage, maintaining global ecological health, and mitigating climate change. This chapter is aimed at describing the importance of local wisdom actions to restore post-tsunami conditions in an area in Aceh that affects the biocultural landscape in that location.KeywordsAcehBiocultural landscapeDisaster adaptationLocal wisdomTsunami
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Sítios Naturais Sagrados do Brasil: inspirações para o reencantamento das áreas protegidas
Thesis
Full-text available
  • Mar 2017
In recent decades, a new theme has been gaining increasing visibility in global forums on nature conservation policies – sacred natural sites (SNS). Recognized in various parts of the world, these enchanted places are considered links between biological and cultural diversity and express ancestral spiritual values and the sacred view of the nature of various social groups. The knowledge about this issue in Brazil, however, is still limited and initiatives to safeguard SNS in national public policies are incipient, especially considering the country's significant natural, cultural and religious wealth. References to the Brazilian context in specialized literature on the subject are also rare. This context instigated the formulation of this thesis, designed to understand how the SNS and their cultural and spiritual values can contribute to inspiring the reconnection between society and nature and the role of protected areas in contributing in this direction. In the field of Social Sciences and outlined as a qualitative and exploratory research, this research was conducted from the compilation and analysis of vast bibliographical references - driven by a strategy of collaborative knowledge network - and the interpretation of the perception of public managers on the theme. It was complemented by direct observation in academic events, field experiences, and the professional work of the author. Based on an interdisciplinary theoretical framework anchored in the pre-suppositions of Psycho-sociology and Social Ecology, this thesis is based on the notion of re-enchantment of the world to launch a look at SNS as central elements for the construction of a new paradigm for the conservation of nature. Throughout the chapters, a path is taken that starts from the international panorama of debate on the subject, go through an exploratory survey of the SNS in Brazil, and discusses the perspectives of recognition of these areas in the context of national public policies and in the management of protected areas. The results reveal that the recurrence of this phenomenon in the national territory and its social relevance contrast with the invisibility of the problem in public management. Among reasons for such context are the positivist, scientistic and fragmented vision of reality that prevails in modern times – which separates reason from emotion, culture from nature, and the science from spirituality – and a colonialist governmental thought. This thesis seeks to recognize the socio-environmental conflicts in protected areas as opportunities for the emergence of new management strategies – creative, integrative and transformative – by promoting ecological spirituality and conservation with heart, committed to a critical, ethical and politically engaged approach. It is argued that in the ancient meanings of SNS may be the keys to a renewal of alliances that lead to the implementation of policies capable of inspiring the reconnection between society and nature, opening a path more just, beautiful and – why not? – more magical.
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Key Topics in Conservation Biology 2
Chapter
  • Feb 2013
This chapter outlines an approach for ensuring the effectiveness of regional or local-scale conservation planning initiatives. The authors define ‘conservation planning’ as a collaborative, social learning-driven activity whose goal is to implement actions that ensure the persistence of nature by integrating the processes of spatial prioritisation and implementation strategy development to achieve effective conservation management. Many studies in the literature use 'conservation planning' to describe an activity termed as 'spatial conservation prioritisation' but do not include implementation strategies or stakeholder collaboration. Conservation planning comprises three broad activities: assessment, planning and management. Specifically defining the scope and differences between assessment, planning and management is essential for ensuring effective conservation action because some activities directly conserve nature whereas others do not. The chapter provides an operational model for conservation planning, highlighting the importance and context of problem orientation and problem formulation.
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Biocultural diversity conservation for island and islanders: Necessity, goal and activity
Article
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  • Dec 2013
Cultural diversity is highly dependent on the regional environment and natural resources. From an environmental historical perspective, the course of destruction of human civilization resulting from the depletion of ecosystems and resources, we confirm how the sustainable use of resources and appropriate conservation strategies are contributing to regional development. Due to the recent rapid changes in climate, the environments of oceanic and island regions are changing and the ecosystems and biological diversity are also undergoing significant changes. Island residents are very vulnerable to the changing natural environment, and diverse cultural characteristics and ecosystem knowledge that has been maintained up until now are under a threat of gradual extinction. Traditional culture and knowledge are related to the survival of islanders. This situation is understood throughout the world; in response to which, international organizations such as the IUCN and UNESCO, etc. have also put forth continuing efforts in preserving the life, cultures, ecology and knowledge of the island regions. This paper purports to provide a brief description of the international trends and backgrounds based on the ‘Island Biocultural Diversity Initiative’ and the latest activities.
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Tidal-flat islands in Korea: Exploring biocultural diversity
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2012
Korea’s islands are mostly located along its western and southern coasts. The majority of these islands fall under the category of tidal-flat islands. More to the point, one of the main geographical and topographical characteristics of Korean islands is that they are surrounded by tidal flats. Therefore, Korean islands boast ecologically and biologically unique characteristics, as well as diversity, that set them apart from islands in other areas. Tidal flats are a virtual treasure trove where one can find various marine organisms. Local residents have been able to adjust to their environment by making use of the organisms found in tidal flats and the characteristics of islands. This has led them to create a unique island and maritime culture. To this end, the study of island culture requires not only an astute understanding of the ecological basis, biological process and human activities which become the background for cultural creation, but also of the interactions between these elements. Korea’s island culture was created amidst a unique maritime environment characterized by the achievement of spatial harmony between the tidal flats and islands. This cultural structure can be expected to continue for as long as the balance in terms of the ecosystem is preserved.
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