Ana Catarina Luz

Presence and Purpose of Nonindigenous Peoples on Indigenous Lands: A Descriptive Account from the Bolivian Lowlands

Integration into the market economy changes indigenous peoples use of land and resources. We study one pathway leading to integration of indigenous peoples to the market economy: the entrance of nonindigenous peoples into lands inhabited by indigenous populations. We analyzed data from a survey (n = 779) in 87 Tsimane’ villages, an Amazonian society. We assessed the entrance of traders, loggers, cattle ranchers, highland colonist farmers, and other nonindigenous peoples in villages settled in parks, forest concessions, indigenous territories, and private lands. Interactions were generally frequent, friendly, and had an economic basis. The Tsimane’ expressed hostility to the entrance of highland colonist farmers. The entrance of nonindigenous peoples was associated with unregulated natural resource extraction. If conservationists want to gain the allegiance of Tsimane’ on conservation efforts, they will have to present them with a better alternative than the current economic benefits generated by the presence of nonindigenous peoples on their lands.

Are Ecologically Important Tree Species the Most Useful? A Case Study from Indigenous People in the Bolivian Amazon

Are Ecologically Important Tree Species the Most Useful? A Case Study from Indigenous People in the Bolivian Amazon. Researchers have argued that indigenous peoples prefer to use the most apparent plant species, particularly for medicinal uses. However, the association between the ecological importance of a species and its usefulness remains unclear. In this paper we quantify such association for six use categories (firewood, construction, materials, food, medicines, and other uses). We collected data on the uses of 58 tree species, as reported by 93 informants in 22 villages in the Tsimane’ territory (Bolivian Amazon). We calculated the ecological importance of the same species by deriving their importance value index (IVI) in 48 0.1-ha old-growth forest plots. Matching both data sets, we found a positive relation between the IVI of a species and its overall use value (UV) as well as with its UV for construction and materials. We found a negative relation between IVI and UV for species that were reportedly used for medicine and food uses, and no clear pattern for the other categories. We hypothesize that species used for construction or crafting purposes because of their physical properties are more easily substitutable than species used for medicinal or edible purposes because of their chemical properties.Las especies de árboles de mayor importancia ecológica ¿son también las más útiles? Estudio de caso en un pueblo indígena de la Amazonia boliviana. Se ha argumentado que las poblaciones indígenas usan más las especies de plantas más comunes, especialmente para fines medicinales. Sin embargo, los patrones de asociación entre la importancia ecológica de una especie y su utilidad no son totalmente consistentes. En este estudio cuantificamos esta asociación para seis categorías de usos (leña, construcción, materiales, comestible, medicinal, y otros usos) en el territorio Tsimane’ (Amazonía boliviana). Recogimos datos de usos de 58 especies de árboles, reportados por 93 informantes en 22 comunidades, y combinamos estos datos con la importancia ecológica de las especies, estimada por su índice de importancia ecológica (IVI) en 48 parcelas de 0.1 ha establecidas en bosque maduro. Encontramos una relación positiva entre el IVI de las especies y su valor de uso (UV) general, además de su UV en construcción y materiales. Encontramos una relación negativa entre el IVI y el UV para las plantas medicinales y comestibles, y ningún patrón claro para las otras categorías. Nuestros datos sugieren que las especies usadas para construcción o materiales por sus propiedades físicas son más fácilmente sustituibles que las especies usadas como medicinales o comestibles por sus propiedades químicas.

Charcoal production in the Mopane woodlands of Mozambique: what are the trade-offs with other ecosystem services?

African woodlands form a major part of the tropical grassy biome and support the livelihoods of millions of rural and urban people. Charcoal production in particular is a major economic activity, but its impact on other ecosystem services is little studied. To address this, our study collected biophysical and social datasets, which were combined in ecological production functions, to assess ecosystem service provision and its change under different charcoal production scenarios in Gaza Province, southern Mozambique. We found that villages with longer histories of charcoal production had experienced declines in wood suitable for charcoal, firewood and construction, and tended to have lower perceived availabilities of these services. Scenarios of future charcoal impacts indicated that firewood and woody construction services were likely to trade-off with charcoal production. However, even under the most extreme charcoal scenario, these services were not completely lost. Other provisioning services, such as wild food, medicinal plants and grass, were largely unaffected by charcoal production. To reduce the future impacts of charcoal production, producers must avoid increased intensification of charcoal extraction by avoiding the expansion of species and sizes of trees used for charcoal production. This is a major challenge to land managers and policymakers in the area. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Tropical grassy biomes: linking ecology, human use and conservation’.

Exploring Indigenous Landscape Classification across Different Dimensions: A Case Study from the Bolivian Amazon

Abstract Decisions on landscape management are often dictated by government officials based on their own understandings of how landscape should be used and managed, but rarely considering local peoples’ understandings of the landscape they inhabit. We use data collected through free listings, field transects and interviews to describe how an Amazonian group of hunter-horticulturalists, the Tsimane’, classify and perceive the importance of different elements of the landscape across the ecological, socioeconomic, and spiritual dimensions. The Tsimane’ recognise nine folk ecotopes (i.e. culturally recognised landscape units) and use a variety of criteria (including geomorphological features and landscape uses) to differentiate ecotopes from one another. The Tsimane’ rank different folk ecotopes in accordance with their perceived ecological, socioeconomic, and spiritual importance. Understanding how local people perceive their landscape contributes towards a landscape management planning paradigm that acknowledges the continuing contributions to management of landscape by its inhabitants, as well as their cultural and land use rights.

High overlap between traditional ecological knowledge and forest conservation found in the Bolivian Amazon

It has been suggested that traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) may play a key role in forest conservation. However, empirical studies assessing to what extent TEK is associated with forest conservation compared with other variables are rare. Furthermore, to our knowledge, the spatial overlap of TEK and forest conservation has not been evaluated at fine scales. In this paper, we address both issues through a case study with Tsimane’ Amerindians in the Bolivian Amazon. We sampled 624 households across 59 villages to estimate TEK and used remote sensing data to assess forest conservation. We ran statistical and spatial analyses to evaluate whether TEK was associated and spatially overlapped with forest conservation at the village level. We find that Tsimane’ TEK is significantly and positively associated with forest conservation although acculturation variables bear stronger and negative associations with forest conservation. We also find a very significant spatial overlap between levels of Tsimane’ TEK and forest conservation. We discuss the potential reasons underpinning our results, which provide insights that may be useful for informing policies in the realms of development, conservation, and climate. We posit that the protection of indigenous cultural systems is vital and urgent to create more effective policies in such realms.