Plant Knowledge and Current Uses of Woody Flora in Three Cultural Groups of the Brazilian Semiarid Region: Does Culture Matter?

Soares, Dayanne Támela Nogueira; Sfair, Júlia Caram; Reyes‐García, Victoria; Baldauf, Cristina

doi:10.1007/s12231-017-9393-z

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 55 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Contrary to Low [8] and Gonçalves et al [10], the recent study by Soares et al [11] suggests that cultural factors play a predominant role over ecological factors in driving plant use and knowledge. The abundance of a species or the relative ecological importance of a species does not correlate to use value.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…Similar to our findings, many studies, for example Gonçalves et al [10], have reported on the inconsistent power of ecological abundance to explain human use behavior in relation to overall forest utilities or specific utilities. In some recent studies, for instance Soares et al [11], it has been shown that ecological abundance does not explain use behavior at all.…”

Section: The Use Value Of Species and Ecological Appearance Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 97%

“…A culturally bound society does not imply that all members of society are homogenous [46] and have similar knowledge and attitudes towards forest and tree species uses. Still, difference in household characteristics can affect their use behavior (e.g., [11,15]). For instance, our study found that, while common resource use zones are accessible for use to all members of society, it was the small size households who depended more on them rather than the large size households, regardless of their gender and marital status.…”

Section: Use Value Gradient Is Consistent With a Socially Perceived Lmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Revealing the Predominance of Culture over the Ecological Abundance of Resources in Shaping Local People’s Forest and Tree Species Use Behavior: The Case of the Vhavenda People, South Africa

Araia

Chirwa

2019

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The resurrection of the traditional socio-ecological knowledge system as a complimentary biodiversity conservation tool for poorly performing protected areas has fueled a new debate on what drives resource use behavior in forest landscapes. Using ecological assessment and ethno-botanical techniques, we tested whether culture or the ecological abundance of resources can sufficiently explain the use behavior of traditional society for various livelihood-related utilities. Data were analyzed using parametric and non-parametric tests. The two communities of the Vhavenda people had homogenous cultural values, despite the fact that they reside in different forest conditions. The use value of habitats increases along the land use intensity gradient, as defined by cultural norms and taboos. However, despite the presumed strictness of rules related to state-protected indigenous forest, it had the same use value as with open access resource use zones. Almost no resource harvesting from culturally protected (sacred) forests was reported. Species abundance did not sufficiently explain their use value. Generally, the findings show that culture plays a predominant role in explaining use behavior. Neither is resource use decision random nor is the concept of protected areas a new concept to traditional society. Hence, capitalizing on the benefits of cultural assets in conservation action, through genuine partnership and the empowerment of local people, will ensure the sustainability of global biodiversity initiatives.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: The Use Value Of Species and Ecological Appearance Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Use Value Gradient Is Consistent With a Socially Perceived Lmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Revealing the Predominance of Culture over the Ecological Abundance of Resources in Shaping Local People’s Forest and Tree Species Use Behavior: The Case of the Vhavenda People, South Africa

Araia

Chirwa

2019

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For example, the rural people we interviewed are of a different ethnic origin than those in studied in the Maulino and temperate forests (Silva-Rodríguez et al, 2009; Zorondo-Rodríguez et al, 2014). We therefore hypothesize that differences in attitudes towards a given carnivore species are associated with ethnicity and communities’ traditional and local management practices, which strongly influence the relationships among people, species and ecosystems (Dominguez et al, 2010; Lejano et al, 2013; Gavin et al, 2015; Guèze et al, 2015; Lopez-Maldonado & Berkes, 2017; Reyes-García et al, 2017; Soares et al, 2017). This suggests that conservation agencies should adapt conservation strategies in accordance with the diverse relationships between rural communities and carnivores across landscapes and cultures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Underlying social attitudes towards conservation of threatened carnivores in human-dominated landscapes

Zorondo-Rodríguez

Moreira‐Arce

Boutin

2019

Oryx

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Carnivore conservation depends on people's willingness to implement management practices to reduce threats to carnivores and mitigate conflicts between carnivores and domestic animals. We assessed the willingness of rural communities in central-southern Chile to (1) conserve carnivores, and (2) adopt management practices to reduce predation of domestic animals, a key factor triggering carnivore–human conflicts in rural areas. The study focused on five carnivores: the chilla Lycalopex griseus, the culpeo Lycalopex culpaeus, Darwin's fox Lycalopex fulvipes, the guiña or kodkod Leopardus guigna, and the puma Puma concolor. We found that rural communities perceived that threats towards carnivores rarely occurr in their region, contrary to the literature on this subject; people's attitudes differed depending on the carnivore; and people were willing to adopt management practices to help conserve carnivores (e.g. overnight protection of domestic animals and investment in infrastructure for henhouses and cowsheds), except leashing dogs. The willingness to conserve carnivores and adopt practices that would help do so may be associated with how these measures affect people's well-being. Although rural communities would like carnivores to be conserved, this cannot be achieved unless some pivotal practices, such as management of domestic dogs, are adopted by these communities. For successful biodiversity conservation outcomes in human-dominated landscapes, the social incentives necessary for rural communities to adopt appropriate management practices must be identified and implemented.

show abstract

“…Cross-cultural studies of plant use and management described different scenarios with emphasis on the interconnections between socio-cultural and ecological systems. Traditional communities with a strong connection with their environment and who depend on natural resources for livelihood had deeper plant knowledge and frequently used these species compared with urban communities (Monteiro et al 2006;Soares et al 2017). Communities sharing the same cultural background are also likely to have convergent patterns of plant knowledge and use.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of Management of Spider Plant (Gynandropsis gynandra) Across Different Socio-linguistic Groups in Benin and Togo

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We investigated the relationships between the cultural importance of spider plant (Gynandropsis gynandra), a neglected leafy vegetable in West Africa, and the different management regimes of the species among six socio-linguistic groups in Benin and one in Togo. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 428 respondents. Cultural significance and management indices were used to quantify the importance of the species for each respondent. In addition to food uses, G. gynandra was used to cure 42 different diseases. A regression tree analysis revealed that the cultural importance and level of management of the species were strongly associated with ethnicity, gender, and to a lesser extent to age, education, income, and land tenure. Socio-linguistic groups with similar cultural background had convergent perceptions of the cultural importance of the species and described similar management practices. An analysis of farmers' willingness to change their current management practices revealed that migration, market opportunities, and external intervention might significantly affect future management decision-making processes. We discuss community-oriented approaches to upscale the species cultivation in the region. Our study highlights how cultural importance influences current and future management intensity and illustrates how ethnobotanical research can guide research for development strategies to enact positive changes in communities' management of traditional leafy vegetables.Nous avons étudié les relations entre l'importance culturelle du Caya blanc (Gynandropsis gynandra), un légume-feuille négligé en Afrique de l'Ouest, et les différents régimes de gestion de l'espèce au sein de six groupes socio-linguistiques au Bénin et un au Togo. Des entretiens semi-structurés ont été menés auprès de 428 informants. Des indices d'importance culturelle et de gestion ont été utilisés pour quantifier l'importance de l'espèce pour chaque informant. En plus des utilisations alimentaires, G. gynandra a été utilisé pour soigner 42 maladies différentes. Une analyse par arbre de régression a révélé que l'importance culturelle de l'espèce était fortement associée à l'ethnicité et au genre, et dans une moindre mesure à l'âge, l'instruction, le niveau de revenu et le mode de faire-valoir de la terre. Les groupes sociolinguistiques culturellement proches ont eu des perceptions convergentes de l'importance culturelle de l'espèce et décrit des pratiques de gestion similaires. Une analyse de la volonté des agriculteurs de modifier leurs pratiques de gestion actuelles a montré que la migration, les opportunités de marché et l'intervention extérieure pourraient affecter les futurs processus décisionnels de gestion. Nous avons discuté des approches axées sur la communauté pour améliorer la production de l'espèce dans la région. La présente étude souligne comment l'importance culturelle influence l'intensité de la gestion actuelle et future et illustre comment la recherche ethnobotanique peut guider les stratégies de recherche pour le dévelo...

show abstract

Plant Knowledge and Current Uses of Woody Flora in Three Cultural Groups of the Brazilian Semiarid Region: Does Culture Matter?

Cited by 9 publications

References 55 publications

Revealing the Predominance of Culture over the Ecological Abundance of Resources in Shaping Local People’s Forest and Tree Species Use Behavior: The Case of the Vhavenda People, South Africa

Revealing the Predominance of Culture over the Ecological Abundance of Resources in Shaping Local People’s Forest and Tree Species Use Behavior: The Case of the Vhavenda People, South Africa

Underlying social attitudes towards conservation of threatened carnivores in human-dominated landscapes

Drivers of Management of Spider Plant (Gynandropsis gynandra) Across Different Socio-linguistic Groups in Benin and Togo

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About