Ethnoecology, Resource Use, Conservation And Development In A ...

5.5 Ecological Implications
The major question the preceding account raises, in the context of this thesis, is the
extent to which Wapishana cosmology either incorporates or formerly incorporated
systems concerned with the regulation of the ecological impacts of subsistence
activities. Sufficient evidence is not available fully to resolve this question, but the
data presented in this thesis does allow some inferences to be made. A strong case
can be made for the existence of regulatory mechanisms within the system of taboos
on consumption of meat, and also within the geographical restrictions imposed on
human activity by the presence of nature spirits. However, it must also be pointed
out that these may be partly or wholly explained by factors other than adaptation to
the local ecology, and it is entirely possible that they have no adaptive significance at
all. This thesis does not provides comprehensive accounts either of Wapishana
symbolism, or of the factors which affect the profile of hunted species and the spatial
dimensions of resource use. Recognising that these may have alternative explanations
which account equally well for the data, this section examines the case that the
systems described do have ecological functions.
The extent to which the prohibitions on meat consumption described limit the
numbers of animals actually hunted is difficult to assess. However, it is clear that at
any instant in time a significant number of people may have reason to avoid
consuming the meat of particular species. The effective extension of prohibitions to
the entire household greatly increases the numbers of people affected. In the case of
post-partum prohibitions of extensive duration — a year or more, in some cases — a
household may be affected on an almost constant basis throughout the reproductive
life of the parents. This is the case with Mazama gouazoubira, a species which most
hunters report themselves to have killed on very few, if any, occasions (see chapter
4.3.3). Other prohibitions are less persistent, but given the high fertility and short
birth interval that remain characteristic of Wapishana households, it is apparent that
many hunters, while in their prime, will be compelled to avoid particular species of
game animal for periods whose cumulative duration is substantial. It is probably safe
to say that this has tangible effects, over the lifetime of a household, on the overall
subsistence strategy and on hunting behaviour in particular.
Times when people are unable either to hunt or to consume meat at all are rarer,
and it may be that the effect on actual hunting levels is slight. It is to be expected
that times of absolute prohibition will encourage the use of alternative sources of
protein, but it is also entirely possible that hunting effort would be increased
immediately after such periods, when people may be craving somewhat for meat.