Spiritual Beliefs and Ecological Traditions in Indigenous Communities in India: Enhancing Community-Based Biodiversity Conservation

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Costanza Torri ◽  
Thora Martina Herrmann
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Cultural Representations ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Conservation Policies ◽  
Community Based Conservation ◽  
Sustainable Conservation

From time immemorial, local and indigenous communities in India have developed traditions, representations, and beliefs about the forest and biodiversity. The cultural practices and beliefs of a community play a significant role in enhancing community-based initiatives, particularly in achieving sustainability in the long term. Nevertheless, too often conservation policies do not take into consideration the link between the culture of local communities and their environment. A comprehensive understanding of the relationship between cultural traditions and practices related to biodiversity and their current status and manifestations is crucial to the concept of effective and sustainable conservation policy. This article examines the traditional practices of the communities in the Sariska region (Rajasthan, India) as well as their beliefs and their values, underlining the special relationship that these tribal and indigenous communities maintain with the forest and their usefulness in community-based conservation. Some conclusive remarks on the importance of adapting conservation approaches to local cultural representations of the environment will be drawn.

Sustaining University-Community Partnerships in Indigenous Communities: Five Lessons from Papakōlea

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 35-63
Author(s):  
Robert Agres ◽  
Adrienne Dillard ◽  
Kamuela Joseph Nui Enos ◽  
Brent Kakesako ◽  
B. Puni Kekauoha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Learning Community ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Urban And Regional Planning ◽  
Culture Of Learning ◽  
Community Values ◽  
University Of Hawai'i ◽  
The University

This resource paper draws lessons from a twenty-year partnership between the Native Hawaiian community of Papakōlea, the Hawai‘i Alliance for Community-Based Economic Development, and the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Hawai‘i. Key players and co-authors describe five principles for sustained partnerships: (1) building partnerships based upon community values with potential for long-term commitments; (2) privileging indigenous ways of knowing; (3) creating a culture of learning together as a co-learning community; (4) fostering reciprocity and compassion in nurturing relationships; and (5) utilizing empowering methodologies and capacity-building strategies.

Threat reduction assessment of conventional and community-based conservation approaches to managing protected areas in Uganda

2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
ARTHUR R. MUGISHA ◽  
SUSAN K. JACOBSON
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Additional Data ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Based Conservation ◽  
Management Approaches

Loss of wildlife, encroachment on wild lands and conflicts between protected areas and neighbouring communities continue to threaten the integrity of protected areas (PAs) in Uganda. To increase support from local communities and ensure long-term sustainability for Uganda's PAs, a policy of community-based conservation was introduced in 1988 as a management approach in seven PAs. The effectiveness of the community-based approach for reducing threats was compared to conventional PA management by conducting a threat reduction assessment at 16 PAs, seven with community-based approaches and nine without. Additional data collected using document reviews, interviews with government officials, and surveys of PA wardens were compared with the threat reduction assessments. Twenty-three primary threats were identified at PAs. Local game poaching was the most common threat. The threat reduction assessment indices of community-based PAs (mean=49.0±12) were not significantly different from those of conventional PAs (mean=37.96±21.6). Some specific threats, such as bush burning, logging, encroachment and unclear boundaries, seemed to be better mitigated at community-based PAs. Management approaches at all PAs mitigated fewer than half of the identified threats. Management approaches are needed that directly target PA threats, go beyond PA boundaries by involving additional government departments, link people's livelihoods to conservation efforts and strengthen PA institutions.

scholarly journals Feasting for Change: Reconnecting with Food, Place & Culture

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jen Bagelman ◽  
Fiona Deveraux ◽  
Raven Hartley
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Promising Practices ◽  
Coast Salish ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Plant Knowledge ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Hands On Learning ◽  
Digital Stories

<p>This paper examines and shares the promising practices that emerged from an innovative project, entitled “Feasting for Change,” in promoting health and well-being. Taking place on Coast Salish territories, British Columbia, Canada, Feasting for Change aimed to empower Indigenous communities to revitalize traditional knowledge about the healing power of foods. This paper contributes to a growing body of literature that illuminates how solidarities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities can be fostered to support meaningful decolonization of mainstream health practices and discourses. In particular, it provides a hopeful model for how community-based projects can take inspiration and continual leadership from Indigenous Peoples. This paper offers experiential and holistic methods that enhance the capacity for intergenerational, land-based, and hands-on learning about the value of traditional food and cultural practices. It also demonstrates how resources (digital stories, plant knowledge cards, celebration cookbooks, and language videos) can be successfully developed with and used by community to ensure the ongoing process of healthful revitalization. </p>

scholarly journals Local Communities’ Perceptions of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Resources in the Mtwara Region of Tanzania

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Festo W. Gabriel
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Intangible Cultural Heritage ◽  
Focus Group Discussions ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
The Past ◽  
Archaeological Ethnography

This paper examines local communities’ understanding of archaeology and cultural heritage resources. This study was conducted among the Makonde communities of the Mtwara Region of south-eastern Tanzania. The paper presents and critically discusses local communities’ views upon the meaning of archaeology and cultural heritage resources in general. The study used community-based methods by use of interviews, archaeological ethnography and focus group discussions. The results of this study reveal that the local communities in the Mtwara Region are not aware of the meaning of archaeology regardless of the number of archaeological researches that have been conducted in the region. Their understanding of the past is very much confined to intangible cultural traditions which are inherited and practised from one generation to another. Some conclusions are provided which undoubtedly indicate that according to the local communities’ perceptions cultural heritage resources are mainly characterized by intangible cultural practices and beliefs. As this study unveils, in this case tangible heritage resources have less importance to the local communities. This is contrary to the professional or academic conceptions which provide a dual focus on conservation and protection of tangible cultural heritage resources. It is only very recently that we see some studies being conducted focusing on intangible cultural heritage resources.

scholarly journals “Stay with your words”: Indigenous youth, local policy, and the work of language fortification

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Sumida Huaman ◽  
Nathan D. Martin ◽  
Carnell T. Chosa
Keyword(s):  
Policy Development ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Local Policy ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Indigenous Youth ◽  
Pueblo Indian ◽  
Agents Of Change ◽  
Alternative Approaches ◽  
Key Steps

This article focuses on the work of cultural and language maintenance and fortification with Indigenous youth populations. Here, the idea of work represents two strands of thought: first, research that is partnered with Indigenous youth-serving institutions and that prioritizes Indigenous youth perspectives; and second, the work of cultural and linguistic engagement that is often taken for granted as part of the sociocultural fabric of Indigenous communities where youth are active participants. By highlighting a study with Pueblo Indian youth in the southwestern United States, we aim to build on the counter-narrative frameworks of other educational scholars and community-based researchers in order to offer alternative approaches towards understanding how Indigenous youth can and do participate in representing themselves as cultural and language agents of change. Arriving at this realization requires several key steps, including deconstructing dominant assumptions, holding ourselves accountable for interrogating and revisiting our own biases, and ultimately committing to long-term research and support with Indigenous youth. As such, we offer empirical evidence that contradicts universal discourse of Indigenous peoples and youth as victims at risk. Instead, we focus on the ways in which Indigenous youth demonstrate both tentative and bold fortification of key elements in their Indigenous identities and illustrate promise in contribution to multiple levels of policy development to address their communities’ most urgent needs and goals. 

scholarly journals Community-Based Conservation and Cross-Cultural Relationships

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jerry Van Lier
Keyword(s):  
Political Ecology ◽  
Ecological Restoration ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Restoration Project ◽  
State Management ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Community Based Conservation ◽  
Ability To Act ◽  
The Relationship

<p>Conservation is a well-established concept which exists in diverse forms based on diverse meanings and environmental values. The role which communities play in local resource management addresses many challenges in regards to top-down state management over natural resources. Communities’ ability to act as environmental agents is contingent on how willing nation-states are to devolve power and decision-making to communities. Co-management relationships between community and state is one means of devolving power and increasing community agency. Where Indigenous communities are involved, co-management is a way of shifting power, knowledge and resources away from Western centred norms towards Indigenous worldviews and institutions. In Aotearoa New Zealand, co-management emerges across conservation efforts, from state managed levels to locally managed levels. Community-based conservation is one type of local co-management.  This research aims to analyse the different experiences and perspectives of community volunteers at the Manawa Karioi Ecological Restoration project in Island Bay, Wellington. The Manawa Karioi Ecological Restoration project is first and foremost a collaborative relationship between the volunteers of the Manawa Karioi Society and the whānau (family) of the Tapu Te Ranga marae. The land on which conservation occurs belongs to the Tapu Te Ranga marae, and therefore the longstanding relationship that the two groups have with one another goes a long way to explaining the effectiveness of restoration at Manawa Karioi. This research focuses on interviews from twelve different participants, both from the Tapu Te Ranga marae and the Manawa Karioi Society.  Through the conceptual lens of poststructuralism and political ecology, the key themes of this research will bring to light how the relationship between the Tapu Te Ranga marae and the Manawa Karioi Society enables process towards decolonisation of community-based conservation, wider societal understandings of nature and sense of place in nature. This research will explore the relationship between Manawa Karioi and the Tapu Te Ranga marae, with an aim to provoke further thought for other community organisations who wish to engage with, or already have a form of relationship with, Iwi, hapu or whānau. In doing so this research can be offered as a frame of reference for such organisations.</p>

scholarly journals Community-Based Conservation and Cross-Cultural Relationships

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jerry Van Lier
Keyword(s):  
Political Ecology ◽  
Ecological Restoration ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Restoration Project ◽  
State Management ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Community Based Conservation ◽  
Ability To Act ◽  
The Relationship

<p>Conservation is a well-established concept which exists in diverse forms based on diverse meanings and environmental values. The role which communities play in local resource management addresses many challenges in regards to top-down state management over natural resources. Communities’ ability to act as environmental agents is contingent on how willing nation-states are to devolve power and decision-making to communities. Co-management relationships between community and state is one means of devolving power and increasing community agency. Where Indigenous communities are involved, co-management is a way of shifting power, knowledge and resources away from Western centred norms towards Indigenous worldviews and institutions. In Aotearoa New Zealand, co-management emerges across conservation efforts, from state managed levels to locally managed levels. Community-based conservation is one type of local co-management.  This research aims to analyse the different experiences and perspectives of community volunteers at the Manawa Karioi Ecological Restoration project in Island Bay, Wellington. The Manawa Karioi Ecological Restoration project is first and foremost a collaborative relationship between the volunteers of the Manawa Karioi Society and the whānau (family) of the Tapu Te Ranga marae. The land on which conservation occurs belongs to the Tapu Te Ranga marae, and therefore the longstanding relationship that the two groups have with one another goes a long way to explaining the effectiveness of restoration at Manawa Karioi. This research focuses on interviews from twelve different participants, both from the Tapu Te Ranga marae and the Manawa Karioi Society.  Through the conceptual lens of poststructuralism and political ecology, the key themes of this research will bring to light how the relationship between the Tapu Te Ranga marae and the Manawa Karioi Society enables process towards decolonisation of community-based conservation, wider societal understandings of nature and sense of place in nature. This research will explore the relationship between Manawa Karioi and the Tapu Te Ranga marae, with an aim to provoke further thought for other community organisations who wish to engage with, or already have a form of relationship with, Iwi, hapu or whānau. In doing so this research can be offered as a frame of reference for such organisations.</p>

scholarly journals The economic importance of freshwater crayfish harvesting in Madagascar and the potential of community-based conservation to improve management

Oryx ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia P.G. Jones ◽  
Fortunat B. Andriahajaina ◽  
Emma H. Ranambinintsoa ◽  
Neal J. Hockley ◽  
Olga Ravoahangimalala
Keyword(s):  
Economic Importance ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Freshwater Crayfish ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Management Tools ◽  
Community Based Conservation ◽  
Size Limits ◽  
Reproductive Females ◽  
The Village

Madagascar's endemic freshwater crayfish (Parastacidae: Astacoides) are harvested by local people for both subsistence use and small-scale trade. There has been concern that populations, and even species, are threatened by overexploitation but little is known about the harvest or its economic importance. We studied crayfish exploitation in eastern Madagascar over 3 years. The existence of local taboos (fady) preventing commercial crayfish harvesting, as well as access to markets and forest, influenced involvement in the harvest. All four crayfish species found in the region were harvested, but A. granulimanus provided the majority of the catch. In one harvesting village more than 50% of the 47 households were directly involved in the harvest, which contributed USD 2,382 to the village economy in 2003/2004, an important sum in the context of local incomes. Subsistence use was widespread, particularly by children to whom it may provide an important protein source. Community-based conservation (through transfer of harvesting rights and responsibilities for forest management to local communities) is central to a new conservation paradigm in Madagascar. This recognizes communities' long term interest in their natural resources and offers an ideal opportunity for those concerned with the sustainability of the harvest to implement management tools (such as avoiding reproductive females, size limits and no-take zones). We discuss each tool with respect to biological implications and practical constraints. We note that community-based approaches may not be sufficient to conserve rarer species, which make up a small proportion of the value of the harvest.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document