The biocultural heritage are the knowledge, beliefs and practices of indigenous and rural communities related to their natural environment. It includes the biodiversity of said environment and the use that communities make of it, as well as the landscape that is built in the process.
This heritage arises in traditional communities that have a close relationship with nature. In this process, they develop a certain balance with their environment based on practices and knowledge that are passed from generation to generation..
It is a collective heritage, generally highly influenced by a certain set of deeply rooted spiritual values. In addition, it includes a close knowledge of existing natural resources and an intensive use of them is promoted..
Biocultural heritage generally conflicts with the dominant Western view. In this sense, it is permanently threatened by the modern trend towards accelerated change in the way of life and the environment..
Therefore, the biocultural heritage must be protected for the benefit of humanity, both for its practical and spiritual value..
Article index
Biocultural heritage is the set of knowledge, practices, traditions and beliefs that certain communities have developed in close relationship with their natural environment.
It arises in traditional communities, far from urban centers linked to the dominant cultures. These are generally indigenous, peasant or local communities dedicated to traditional activities with low technological impact..
For the consolidation of the biocultural heritage and its survival, a certain minimum isolation is required on the part of these communities in relation to the dominant culture..
Biocultural heritage has a collective character, in the sense that it is developed in the life process of a community. In general, the main activities of the community are carried out collectively, increasing and maintaining this heritage.
The strength of the biocultural heritage lies above all in its high content of spiritual values. These, due to the survival needs of the community, are closely linked to respect for the natural environment.
Biocultural heritage includes a series of knowledge and practices linked to the material and spiritual needs of the community. This knowledge is characterized by a close relationship with the spiritual and natural world.
This heritage is conservative by nature, since the lifestyle of these communities determines a certain resistance to change. The strength of the biocultural heritage is precisely that it is transmitted without many changes from one generation to another..
The biocultural heritage is developed in the legal plane based on the right to the uses and customs of the community. In recent times, society has become aware of the value of biocultural heritage, so in many cases its rules have become written law.
They are communities that live in natural environments little altered by humans or that still maintain a high natural component.
In this context, the community obtains all or a large part of its resources directly from nature. Hence, the need for a deep knowledge of the environment has developed in order to survive..
Biocultural heritage is developed within the scope of a specific territory, which is part of the heritage itself. In these cases, the communities have been shaping the landscape as a consequence of their traditional practices over hundreds or thousands of years..
However, the level of impact is relatively low and the natural landscape is part of its heritage. On the other hand, given the community's dependence on the environment, the value assigned to the landscape becomes relevant..
As these are communities with a long relationship with their natural environment, they have developed close links with their biodiversity. They normally depend on it to survive, providing them with food, medicine, clothing, building materials and other resources..
Therefore, they tend to have a traditional knowledge of the existing biodiversity. In the same way, their traditional practices have adapted to maintain the ecological balance.
The survival of many varieties of little diffused cultivated species depends to a great extent on their being part of the biocultural heritage of a given community. This is because agribusiness concentrates on promoting a restricted number of varieties and hybrids..
If these communities disappear or abandon their bioculture, these traditional varieties are no longer planted and disappear in a short time..
Traditional communities have made valuable contributions to humanity as part of their biocultural heritage. This is particularly related to the conservation of practices and knowledge related to the medicinal and nutritional use of natural resources..
Thus, many communities have domesticated and selected various plant species, conserving their genetic variability. On the other hand, they have developed and conserved agricultural and artisan practices that today have value as an alternative form of production..
Due to its traditional, conservative and peripheral character with respect to the dominant culture, the biocultural heritage is in conflict with the dominant society. Western society is based on the growing exploitation of natural resources and the incorporation of territories and communities into the capitalist market.
Therefore, constant social, economic, political and cultural pressure is exerted against the permanence of the biocultural heritage of traditional communities..
Another problem raised is the appropriation of the knowledge generated by the communities and that are part of their biocultural heritage. In many cases, neither the contribution of these communities is recognized nor do they receive benefits from their applications.
This is especially relevant when this knowledge is related to natural products of medicinal value..
This is a project carried out by 5 Quechua communities organized in the ANDES Association, located in Cusco, Peru. Here these communities inheritors of the Inca biocultural heritage, cultivate around 1,500 varieties of potatoes (Solanum tuberosum).
The project aims to achieve sustainable agricultural and forestry development based on traditional indigenous knowledge and practices. In fact, this experience has contributed significantly to the development of the concept of biocultural heritage..
The territory where this project is developed has the greatest genetic diversity of the potato, hosting numerous species of wild potato. Therefore, it represents a germplasm bank or genetic material of unequaled value for the improvement of this crop..
The project seeks to harmonize the conservation of biocultural heritage, including potato germplasm, with the realities of the modern world. To this end, these communities are developing organic products for marketing and you have tourism projects.
The Yanomami people live in the Amazon rainforest, where their territory covers part of the border between Venezuela and Brazil. Their way of life is basically what they have traditionally led for thousands of years.
These communities live from hunting, fishing, gathering and traditional agriculture based on the conuco, a multicultural system of rotating areas..
Their houses or shabonos They are multi-family, built with materials collected in the jungle and are shaped like a truncated cone. The very structure of the house is closely related to your spiritual world.
Their myths and beliefs are linked to the environment that surrounds them, especially reflecting the rich biodiversity of the jungle. In the Yanomami culture, it is considered that there are invisible beings in the jungle that are related to the plants and animals of the environment.
The Yanomami use more than 500 plant species from the Amazon rainforest, as food, clothing, construction of tools and houses, as well as for medicine. Its biocultural heritage is the object of study with various interests, including knowing the medicinal use that they give to many plants..
Not only do indigenous communities develop a biocultural heritage, it also occurs in rural communities closely linked to their environment. An example of this are the peasant communities that inhabit the south of the state of Aragua, Venezuela..
They in their daily work over hundreds of years have developed a particular knowledge of their natural environment. This is especially relevant in the case of the use of wild plants, especially as medicines..
In a study carried out to know the biocultural heritage of these communities in the plant environment, 243 species of plants were identified. Of these, more than 50% are used as medicinal plants, the rest are used in food, construction, crafts and other uses.
An example of the role of biocultural heritage in the conservation of diversity can be found in these communities. Here the tradition of making bread from the oven (traditional sweet in the form of small donuts) based on the variety of corn called "cariaco" is maintained..
This sweet is made with the flour of this variety of corn, sugar cane extract (papelón), butter and spices. “Cariaco” corn is becoming increasingly scarce because it has been displaced from cultivation to plant commercial hybrids, therefore these communities help to conserve it..
Yet No Comments