Gisella S. Cruz-Garcia

Gathering of Wild Food Plants in Anthropogenic Environments across the Seasons: Implications for Poor and Vulnerable Farm Households

This article presents the results of a study conducted in Northeast Thailand on wild food plant gathering in anthropogenic areas and the implications for vulnerable households. A sub-sample of 40 farming households was visited every month to conduct seven-day recalls over a 12-month period on wild food plant acquisition events. Results show that these plants are an essential part of the diet, constituting a “rural safety net” particularly for vulnerable households. Findings reveal that anthropogenic environments have seasonal complementarity throughout the year with respect to wild food gathering and farmer’s gathering of wild food plants from anthropogenic environments complements seasonal crop availability. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of these plants as a household asset and their potential contribution to household well-being. The results of this study furthers our understanding of dietary traditions and the scientific challenge of the partitions that have for decades divided agriculturalists and gatherers.

Children's Knowledge of Wild Food Plants in the Forest-Agriculture Interface

Abstract. This paper examines the relationship between childrens theoretical knowledge of wild food plants in relation to sociocultural group, sex, and age in the context of social and environmental change. Theoretical knowledge was assessed by evaluating the composition of the cultural domain of “wild food plants,” naming ability, and cognitive salience. Freelistings were conducted with 57 Indigenous Shipibo-Konibo children and 57 mestizo children in Ucayali, one of the regions with the highest deforestation rates in the Peruvian Amazon. A total of 120 plants were listed by all children, with 72 listed by Indigenous and 95 by mestizo children. Most species listed as wild food plants have been classified as domesticated species by scientists. The main factor affecting variation in childrens theoretical knowledge was sociocultural group. Mestizo children included more introduced crops in their lists, whereas, for Indigenous children, the most salient species were those that required specific abilities or knowledge to be consumed. Older children presented statistically significant longer lists than younger children, but there were no statistical differences in list length in relation to sex. We conclude by discussing the definition of “wild” versus domesticated plants and the effect of socioecological change on childrens ethnobotanical knowledge as the landscape transforms in the forest-agriculture interface.

Management and Motivations to Manage “Wild” Food Plants. A Case Study in a Mestizo Village in the Amazon Deforestation Frontier

Human management of anthropogenic environments and species is tightly linked to the ecology and evolution of plants gathered by humans. This is certainly the case for wild food plants, which exist on a continuum of human management. Given alarming deforestation rates, wild food plant gathering is increasingly occurring in anthropogenic ecosystems, where farmers actively manage these species in order to ensure their availability and access. This study was conducted in a mestizo village in the Peruvian Amazon deforestation frontier, with the objective of documenting the management practices, including the human-induced movement of wild food plant species across the forest-agriculture landscape, and the motivations that farmers have to manage them using a qualitative ethnobotanical approach. The results of focus group discussions showed that sixty-seven percent of the 30 ‘wild’ food plant species reported for the village were managed, and almost all plants that were managed have been transplanted. The strongest flow of transplanted material was from forest to agricultural field (11 species), followed by market to field (five species), and field to home garden (four species). Farmers argued that the main reason for transplanting ‘wild’ food plants was to have them closer to home, because they perceived that the abundance of 77% of these species decreased in the last years. Conversely, the most important reason for not transplanting a ‘wild’ plant was the long time it takes to grow, stated for 67% of the species that have not been transplanted. Remarkably, more than half (57%) of the ‘wild’ food plant species, including 76% of the species that are managed, have been classified as weeds by scientific literature. Finally, the ‘wild’ food plant species were classified in six mutually exclusive groups according to management form and perceived abundance. The study concluded that ‘wild’ food plant management, including management of species classified as weeds by scientific literature, is a crucial adaptation strategy of farmers aimed at ensuring their food security in scenarios of increasing deforestation. Finally, the article reflects on the major implications of human management on the ecology and evolution of food plant species.

Conservation of Corals in the Colombian Caribbean

The Colombian Caribbean possesses one of the most biodiverse marine areas in South America, but there is a high coral loss in this region through bleaching, unsustainable fishing practices, coral mining, uncontrolled tourism and sedimentation, among other natural and human-related causes. The aim of this chapter is to portray the ethnobiology of coral conservation in the Colombian Caribbean, by reflecting on the evolution of how scientific research incorporates and contributes to the understanding of the relationships between people and corals in coastal societies. This chapter documents the most common threats affecting corals in the Colombian Caribbean, examines research conducted on coral ecosystems in the region, and presents an overview of major local conservation efforts aimed at countering coral degradation and loss, with a major focus on the participation of local stakeholders. For that, a review of all publications available online on coral conservation in the Caribbean region of Colombia (n = 33) and main institutions working on coral conservation in the region (n = 20) was conducted.