Traditional knowledge of cerrado and AtlanticForest coomunities: a comparasion

Author(s)

Emmanuel Duarte Almada

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Campinas, SP.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas
• Defense date: 2012-12-11

Examining board members

Carlos Alfredo Joly; Cristiana Simão Seixas; Célia Regina Tomiko Futemma; Deborah de Magalhães Lima; Ricardo Ferreira Ribeiro

• Advisor: José Geraldo Wanderley Marques; Carlos Alfredo Joly

Abstract

The modern and hegemonic urban-industrial model of capitalist development shows clear signs of exhaustion and general bankruptcy, expressed in a special way by the crisis generated by the environmental degradation of ecosystems across the planet. The construction of alternative paths to this model of development inevitably involves the promotion of an "ecology of knowledge", from a true dialogue between modern science and other ways of knowing and producing knowledge, such as the so-called traditional knowledge. This work falls within the scope of ethnoecology, which can be understood as a field of intersection of traditional and scientific knowledge on the functioning of ecosystems. Using a qualitative and quantitative approach, the objective of this study was to describe comparatively traditional knowledge of two maroon communities located in southeastern Brazil on some ecological processes, especially the tropic relationships between plants and animals. The ecological knowledge of the two communities was compared taking considering both the biophysical differences that distinguish the living biomes (Atlantic Forest and Cerrado) and the environmental history of each region. Furthermore, this work proposes a critical review of the ethnoecological practice, while doing a construction of a discourse on natures-cultures collectives. The results found reinforce the precise and dynamic character of the ecological knowledge of traditional communities. In general, the knowledge of the communities on the ecology of the species investigated showed up to be as much or as more detailed as the one existing in the available scientific literature. This clearly demonstrates the "waste of human experiences" that characterizes most biodiversity conservation policies that do not allow the participation of local communities in decision making processes. Some differences found in the ecological knowledge of both communities apparently are related to features of floristic composition and plant community structure of grassland and forest environments. However, it is clear that the life histories of the individuals, as well as the environmental history, are key elements to understanding the patterns found. Finally, an analysis of the ecological knowledge of communities as components of broader socio-technical networks indicates new roles that this knowledge has played in these political action groups. The insertion of the communities studied in regional and global sociopolitical dynamics has caused local re-evaluations of the meanings of their traditional knowledge. Besides the cultural character, this knowledge has become political tools in the struggle for land rights and identity of traditional communities. Thus, the practice of an "embracing ethnoecology" is characterized by a perception of the hybrid character of ecological knowledge, components of an expanding network of relationships in the time and space, at the same time traditional and modern, local and global, expressing of nature and culture of the people (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 10/01466-5 - Traditional Knowledge of Cerrado and Atlantic Forest communities: a comparasion
• Grantee: Emmanuel Duarte Almada
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate