In Mexico, coffee is cultivated on the coastal slopes of the central and southern parts of the country in areas where two or more types of vegetation make contact. Based on management level and vegetational and structural complexity, it is possible to distinguish five main coffee production systems in Mexico: two kinds of traditional shaded agroforests (with native trees), one commercially oriented polyspecific shaded system, and two "modern" systems (shaded and unshaded monocultures). Traditional shaded coffee is cultivated principally by small-scale, community-based growers, most of whom belong to some indigenous culture group. Through an exhaustive review of the literature, we found that traditional shaded coffee plantations are important repositories of biological richness for groups such as trees and epiphytes, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and arthropods. We evaluated the conservation role of these traditional shaded systems by estimating the percentage of the whole coffee area under traditional management, by reviewing the ecological and geographical distribution of coffee areas in Mexico, and by connecting the geographical distribution of these coffee areas with recognized centers of species richness and endemism. The assesment revealed that in Mexico, coffee fields are located in a biogeographically and ecologically strategic elevational belt that is an area of overlap between the tropical and temperate elements and of contact among the four main types of Mexican forests. We also found that between 60% and 70% of these coffee areas are under traditional management and that at least 14 of 155 priority regions selected by experts as having high numbers of species and endemics overlap with or are near traditional coffee-growing areas. Conservación de la Biodiversidad en Sistemas de Cultivo Tradicional de Café en MéxicoResumen: En México, el café se cultiva sobre las vertientes del Golfo de México y del Pacífico en el centro y sur del país, ahí donde dos o más tipos de vegetación se ponen en contacto. De acuerdo al nivel de manejo y a la estructura de la vegetación, es posible distinguir cinco principales sistemas de producción de café en México: dos tradicionales donde el café se produce bajo la sombra de la vegetación original, uno intermedio donde la sombra la proveen árboles no nativos, y dos "modernos" (monocultivos con y sin sombra). El café cultivado bajo la sombra del dosel original de los bosques o selvas predomina en México, y es producido fundamentalmente por pequeños productores, muchos de los cuales pertenecen a alguna cultura indígena. A partir de una revisión exhaustiva de la literatura, el presente artículo muestra la riqueza biológica de las plantaciones tradicionales de café bajo sombra, en grupos tales como árboles y epífitas, mamíferos, aves, reptiles, anfibios y artrópodos. Para ponderar la importancia conservacionista de estos sistemas agroforestales, las secciones finales del artículo se dedican a estimar el porcentaje de las áreas cafetaleras bajo manejo tradicional, y a revis...
ABSTRACT. The quest for an appropriate system of management for tropical ecosystems necessitates that ecologists consider the accumulated experiences of indigenous peoples in their long-term management of local resources, a subject of current ethnoecology. This paper provides data and empirical evidence of an indigenous multiple-use strategy (MUS) of tropical forest management existing in Mexico, that can be considered a case of adaptive management. This conclusion is based on the observation that some indigenous communities avoid common modernization routes toward specialized, unsustainable, and ecologically disruptive systems of production, and yet probably achieve the most successful tropical forest utilization design, in terms of biodiversity conservation, resilience, and sustainability. This analysis relies on an exhaustive review of the literature and the authors' field research. Apparently, this MUS represents an endogenous reaction of indigenous communities to the intensification of natural resource use, responding to technological, demographic, cultural, and economic changes in the contemporary world. This transforms traditional shifting cultivators into multiple-use strategists. Based on a case study, three main features (biodiversity, resilience, and permanence) considered relevant to achieving adaptive and sustainable management of tropical ecosystems are discussed.
There is a growing interest worldwide in adopting interdisciplinary approaches for studying the complex and dynamic interplay between societies and landscapes. During the last few years, ethnoecology, broadly defined as an integrative study of beliefs, knowledge and practice of a given social entity, has emerged as a useful research method for the comprehensive understanding of landscape use and management. Maya people have inhabited the Yucatan Peninsula for the last three thousand years, suggesting that Maya farmers have successfully managed natural resources, preserving both nature and culture in the long run. Despite research focusing on Yucatec Maya resource management, understanding of how pre-Hispanic Maya adapted to their heterogeneous and changing environment during the past is still limited. There are few studies that fully understand and explain how contemporary Maya farmers perceive, know, use and manage their landscapes as a whole. By applying the ethnoecological approach, this article reveals the inextricable links between beliefs, knowledge and management of natural resources among the Yucatec Maya. The paper concludes by discussing the highly resilient capacity of Yucatec Maya producers through examining two main mechanisms: their multiple-use strategy and their cross-scale concept of health. Existe un creciente inter�s a nivel mundial por adoptar enfoques interdisciplinarios en el estudio de las multifac�ticas relaciones entre la sociedad y sus paisajes. La etnoecolog�a, definida en t�rminos generales como el estudio integral de creencias, conocimientos y pr�cticas de una entidad social dada, ha surgido como un m�todo cient�fico �til para el cabal entendimiento de la apropiaci�n humana de la naturaleza. El pueblo Maya ha habitado la Pen�nsula de Yucat�n durante los �ltimos 3 mil a�os, lo cual sugiere que e l campesino Maya ha manejado sus recursos naturales de manera exitosa, preservando naturaleza y cultura a trav�s del tiempo. Sin embargo, existen pocos estudios dedicados a entender y explicar, de manera integrada, c�mo el campesino Maya percibe, conoce, usa y maneja sus recursos naturales. Al aplicar el m�todo etnoecol�gico, este art�culo revela las inseparables relaciones que existen entre creencia, conocimiento y pr�ctica entre los Maya yucatecos actuales. El art�culo finaliza discutiendo la alta capacidad de resiliencia mostrada por los Maya yucatecos a trav�s de dos mecanismos principales: la estrategia de uso m�ltiple y su concepto multi-escalar de salud.
RESUMOO artigo revela uma maneira de valorizar os conhecimentos milenares sobre a natureza dos povos indígenas e rurais do planeta. Esta valorização se denomina Etnoecologia, nova disciplina híbrida, transdisciplinar e pós-normal. Distinguem-se as duas tradições intelectuais que elaboraram uma compreensão sobre a natureza: a ocidental, forjadora da ciência moderna e a que aglutina diversas formas de compreensão sobre o mundo natural, denominada a experiência tradicional. Assim, é possível distinguir duas ecologias e não só aquela que organiza a ciência moderna e que tornou invisível as ecologias das 7.000 culturas indígenas que resistem à expansão do mundo industrial e que sustentam os ecossistemas planetários. Torná-las visíveis requer um pensamento crítico que oferece o olhar etnoecológico. Discutem-se os traços principais do conhecimento tradicional. Quem são os sujeitos sociais que o animam. Como se transmite e pratica. Quais são seus resultados simbólicos e práticos. O que nos ensina e como a Etnoecologia revela sua complexidade mediante o estudo do complexo k-c-p, que sintetiza a teorização, representação e produção do mundo sócionatural dos outros. Este jogo duplo que potencia o diálogo de saberes permite ao etnoecologista analisar o mundo dos outros e oferece seu próprio escrutínio sobre esses mundos. Isso permite reinventar possíveis futuros. Finalmente, discute-se por que a Etnoecologia tem a singular tarefa de decifrar a "memória de nossa espécie", isto é, a memória biocultural, reivindicando e revalorizando a quem a mantêm em vez de aprofundar a crítica sobre o mundo moderno e sua racionalidade intelectual.Palavras-chave: povos indígenas; conhecimento local; sabedorias tradicionais; investigação participativa. RESUMENEl artículo revela una manera de valorar los conocimientos milenarios sobre la naturaleza de los pueblos indígenas y rurales del planeta. A esta valoración se le denomina Etnoecología, novel disciplina híbrida, transdisciplinaria y post-normal. Se distinguen las dos tradiciones intelectuales que han elaborado una comprensión sobre la naturaleza: la occidental forjadora de la ciencia moderna y la que aglutina diversas formas de comprensión sobre el mundo natural, denominada la experiencia tradicional. Así, es posible * Doctor en Ciencias (Ecología) por la Universidad Nacional
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