The cultural context of biodiversity conservation

TLDR: In this paper, the authors analyse the role of indigenous communities and local knowledge systems in the global environmental debate, drawing on an ethnographic case study of Maya-Q'eqchi' communities living adjacent to protected areas in Guatemala.

Abstract: Due to the recognition that many areas of the world that contain high levels of biodiversity are cultural landscapes inhabited by indigenous and local communities, the significant role such communities play in preserving natural resources has been underlined in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). In particular, the Convention calls for the acknowledgement and wider application of local knowledge systems being embedded in traditional lifestyles as they can contribute to the in situ conservation of biodiversity. The purpose of this contribution is to analyse the role of indigenous communities and local knowledge systems in the global environmental debate. It draws on an ethnographic case study of Maya-Q'eqchi'communities living adjacent to protected areas in Guatemala. The operative paradigm, that underlies the anthropological perspective, indicates that an understanding of the cultural context is essential to the success of any initiative designed for the sustainable conservation of natural resources. Accordingly, the applied approach assumes that indigenous environmental knowledge has to be encountered as a social product integral to the respective cultural system it has been generated in. Equally, human cognitive understandings of nature are culturally embedded, bounded to locality and intertwined with the broader context. This implies a multidimensional reality in which diverse economic, social, political and historical aspects intersect. The field-based research is concerned with these contextual dimensions of indigenous knowledge, whereas the particular purpose aims to explore the significance of cultural values such as social identities related to the local landscape and beliefs in the intimate attachment of humans to nature that are closely tied to natural resource use patterns, subsistence activities and ritual practices that define indigenous perceptions of the natural environment.

Figures

Table 5.2 Annual crop species cultivated by farmers in Roq-há and San Benito

Fig. 5.21 Classroom setting in Roq-há76

Fig. 4.6 A view from above reveals clearly the limits of the National Park58

Fig. 4.9 Talk on crop requirements during a field transect

Table 5.4 Timber products used by farmers in Roq-há and San Benito

Fig. 2.2 Local maize variety cropped in Guatemala

Frequently asked questions

Q1. Why does the elimination of the vegetative cover cause a decrease in the productive potential of these?

Due to an almost self-contained nature of this cycle, the elimination of the vegetative cover brings about a decrease of soil fertility and thus diminishes the productive potential of these ecosystems. 

Q2. What is the importance of stepping back and looking at the broad range of influences on local resource?

it is necessary to step back and look at the broad range of influences on local resource use in order to find successful conservation strategies that could reduce the pressure on biodiversity. 

Q3. Why do the communities in the park have a lack of economic alternatives?

Due to the need for land and the general lack of economic alternatives, environmental functions and wild resources within the park form an integral part of the subsistence economy of the neighbouring communities. 

Q4. What was the main reason for the introduction of low cost chemical fertilisers into highland?

In the 1960s the government introduced low cost chemical fertilisers into highland milpa agriculture as part of the Green Revolution in lieu of an agrarian reform (Green 2003). 

Q5. Why did Laird (2000) write that indigenous peoples became subordinate to a marginal?

Due to historical circumstances, many indigenous peoples became subordinated to a marginal existence on the social and political peripheries of the dominant societies in the postcolonial nation states in which they live. 

Q6. Why does the dissertation draw on a large number of articles and books?

Due to the contextual approach, which implies the need to follow different discursive lines, the study draws on a large number of articles and books written in different anthropological currents and their revisionist postmodern variants. 

Q7. In what way can the movement towards decentralisation be expected to grow?

with the movement towards decentralisation informing the post-conflict period, more participatory processes can be expected to grow in the years to come. 

Q8. How many villagers had received corresponding titles over their property?

Although the land holdings were officially distributed, only 69 percent of the villagers had at that time received corresponding titles over their property. 

Q9. What is the common approach to evaluating knowledge related to biological diversity?

So far, the most common approach to evaluating knowledge related to biological diversity consists of ethnobotanical surveys, which essentially focus on the uses of given plant species. 

Q10. What is the significance of sacred mountains in various manifestations?

The significant role of sacred mountains as influential icons in various manifestations has been described as essential concept of Mayan communities throughout Mesoamerica.