Simone Athayde

The Intersections of Biological Diversity and Cultural Diversity: Towards Integration

There is an emerging recognition that the diversity of life comprises both biological and cultural diversity. In the past, however, it has been common to make divisions between nature and culture, arising partly out of a desire to control nature. The range of interconnections between biological and cultural diversity are reflected in the growing variety of environmental sub-disciplines that have emerged. In this article, we present ideas from a number of these sub-disciplines. We investigate four bridges linking both types of diversity (beliefs and worldviews, livelihoods and practices, knowledge bases and languages, and norms and institutions), seek to determine the common drivers of loss that exist, and suggest a novel and integrative path forwards. We recommend that future policy responses should target both biological and cultural diversity in a combined approach to conservation. The degree to which biological diversity is linked to cultural diversity is only beginning to be understood. But it is precisely as our knowledge is advancing that these complex systems are under threat. While conserving nature alongside human cultures presents unique challenges, we suggest that any hope for saving biological diversity is predicated on a concomitant effort to appreciate and protect cultural diversity.

Conservation and Development in Latin America and Southern Africa: Setting the Stage

The articles in this Special Feature stem from a 2010 conference (Bridging Conservation and Development in Latin America and Africa) organized by the University of Florida’s Tropical Conservation Development Program, Center for African Studies, and Center for Latin American Studies. The conference involved researchers and practitioners from Africa and Latin America focused on the complex and evolving relationship between conservation and development. The conference provided bridges between academics and non-academics, conservation and development, and theory and practice. The resulting comparative analyses focus on: empowerment of local institutions; enhanced capacity of local and regional stakeholders through a recognition and validation of local knowledge systems and the creation of knowledge networks; understanding of social and natural landscapes, history, contexts, and their evolution; and the roles of economic and market forces in shaping opportunities for using market-based incentives to promote conservation and development. In this introductory article we propose a conceptual framework based on the six connected pillars of natural resource characteristics, interactions of social actors, governance and participation, politics, information exchange, and economic issues that support spaces for both conflicts and synergies between conservation and development goals. Our goal is to foster informed dialogue and social learning to promote sustainability.

Chemical characterization of two forests on the coastal plains of the Ilha do Mel, Paraná, Brazil

The chemical characterization of the main species of two vegetation formations (dry and swamp forests) of the coastal quaternary plains of Ilha do Mel (Brazil) was evaluated by determining the concentrations of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, В, Al and Si in leaves. Except for N and P, which contents were higher in the swamp forest, no significant differences were observed in mean values between the two formations. Accumulation of Al, Si and Mn was also observed in some species, while others presented greater levels of Ca, Mg, Zn and B. The variation of nutrient levels among species may indicate differences in nutritional strategies and adaptations to this environment.

PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT OF ARUMÃ (ISCHNOSIPHON GRACILIS [Rudge] Köern., MARANTACEAE) BY THE KAIABI PEOPLE IN THE BRAZILIAN AMAZON

ABSTRACT Participatory research among the Kaiabi people at Xingu Indigenous Park in the southern Brazilian Amazon was conducted to support sound natural resource management. We studied aspects of the ethnoecology of an understory herbaceous plant, arumã (Ischnosiphon gracilis, Marantaceae), used in basketry weaving by Kaiabi men. Results of a three-year survey comparing arumã populations and of a transplanting experiment evaluating the growth of arumã seedlings in four different habitat types are presented. These, combined with discussions with Kaiabi communities and with results of studies conducted in other parts of the Amazon Basin, support a five-year rotating management strategy that allows for regeneration of harvested arumã populations.

Reconnecting art and science for sustainability: learning from indigenous knowledge through participatory action-research in the Amazon

Sustainability science focuses on generating and applying knowledge to environmentally sound human development around the world. It requires working toward greater integration of different types of knowledge, ways of knowing, and between academy and society. We contribute to the development of approaches for learning from indigenous knowledge, through enhanced understanding of the system of values, meanings, and relationships afforded by indigenous arts. We focus on a long-term, participatory action research project developed for the revitalization of weaving knowledge among three Kawaiwete (also known as Kaiabi) indigenous groups in the Amazon. The problem was originally defined by indigenous communities, concerned with the erosion of weaving knowledge of basketry and textiles among men and women. Methods for coproduction of knowledge included dialogical methods and tools, indigenous-led strategies, and quantitative and qualitative approaches across biophysical and social sciences. Longitudinal and cross-sectional studies considered multiple dimensions, scales, and networks of knowledge creation, distribution, and transmission. Innovation and articulation with western systems, along with shamanism, gender, and leadership, were key factors enhancing artistic knowledge resilience. We reflect on lessons learned and implications of this initiative for broadening the understanding of art and science intersections toward a sustainable future.

The invisibility of fisheries in the process of hydropower development across the Amazon

We analyze the invisibility of fisheries and inadequacy of fishers’ participation in the process of hydropower development in the Amazon, focusing on gaps between legally mandated and actual outcomes. Using Ostrom’s institutional design principles for assessing common-pool resource management, we selected five case studies from Brazilian Amazonian watersheds to conduct an exploratory comparative case-study analysis. We identify similar problems across basins, including deficiencies in the dam licensing process; critical data gaps; inadequate stakeholder participation; violation of human rights; neglect of fishers’ knowledge; lack of organization and representation by fishers’ groups; and lack of governmental structure and capacity to manage dam construction activities or support fishers after dam construction. Fishers have generally been marginalized or excluded from decision-making regarding planning, construction, mitigation, compensation, and monitoring of the social–ecological impacts of hydroelectric dams. Addressing these deficiencies will require concerted investments and efforts by dam developers, government agencies and civil society, and the promotion of inter-sectorial dialogue and cross-scale participatory planning and decision-making that includes fishers and their associations.

Public feedback at risk in Brazil.

In his Policy Forum “Brazilian politics threaten environmental policies” (19 August, p. [746][1]), P. M. Fearnside discusses the risks that recent environmental policy reforms pose to the conservation of Amazonian biodiversity. He calls for continued input by the scientific community but fails

Adaptive Strategies to Displacement and Environmental Change Among the Kaiabi Indigenous People of the Brazilian Amazon

ABSTRACT Environmental change, geographical displacement, and disputes over land and resources have increased around the world. This article focuses on strategies developed by the Kaiabi indigenous people to cope and adapt to environmental change after development-forced displacement and resettlement in the Brazilian Amazon. A mixed methods approach was adopted, combining ethnographic and quantitative methods. Semistructured interviews were performed among 214 individuals in a study on the dynamics of indigenous knowledge (IK) and natural resource management across three Kaiabi lands. We identified seven main coping and adaptive strategies developed by the displaced group: leadership and reciprocity networks, mobility, maintenance and innovation of native language, knowledge articulation, substitution of strategic resources, transmission across genders, and revitalizing diversity. These strategies have helped to enhance social–ecological resilience at different scales. Policies for resettlement and adaptation to environmental change must be developed with indigenous communities based on local knowledge and institutions.