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

distributions. A consideration of subsistence from an ecosystem perspective may
broaden its scope substantially. No species of hunted animal has greater importance
in terms of Wapishana identification with the forest than the white-lipped peccary.
Traditional knowledge of the geographical scales upon which management of this
species must operate, is demonstrated in the wide area over which zones of
restricted access are located, perhaps functioning for the benefit of this species more
than any other. Land use decisions over an area far wider than that subject to
sustained direct use, and beyond the current boundaries of titled land, may thus have
serious implications for Wapishana subsistence and cultural identification with the
natural environment.
The stability of systems of resource use is thus threatened by current and
prospective changes originating in both endogenous and exogenous factors. Their
resilience in the face of change — or to put it another way their ability to adapt in
such a way as to ensure that systems of food production and environmental
management continue to function — is contingent on the nature of their interaction
with external forces. Depending on how they operate, these external forces could, as
has happened so often when traditional societies have been forced to come to terms
with them, effect dramatic breakdowns in local social-ecological systems, to the
certain detriment of the majority of the Wapishana people. On the other hand, a
scenario whereby the local and extra-local interact in a way that is mutually enhancing
is feasible. A key factor to this is the extent to which existing knowledge, skills and
practices relating to the natural environment are permitted to continue to form the
basis of its usage and management.
I have already pointed out that the incorporation of local knowledge is neither
technically simple, nor is it by any means a foolproof method that can guarantee that
development will be both equitable and socially and ecologically sustainable. This
thesis has demonstrated various methodological problems that must be overcome,
and the integration, in practice, of local and scientific systems of knowledge will for
some time continue to be an experimental approach, albeit one which holds much
promise.
9.4 Does the nature of existing ethnoecological knowledge provide
the basis for its integration with scientific approaches in ecology?
The ethnoecological component of this study revealed the presence of a rich body of
skills and knowledge relating to the natural environment, which are applied on an
ongoing basis to overcoming the problems associated with fulfilling subsistence needs