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

CHAPTER 4: WAPISHANA CULTURAL ECOLOGY
This chapter presents a broad view of Wapishana usage of, and ecological
relationships with, the natural environment, particularly with respect to the use of
forest resources. This is necessary both for the immediate aims of the thesis and the
broader issue of development in the South Rupununi: any initiatives directed towards
improvement of the conditions of its people must necessarily be based in the first
instance on the existing economy. Subsistence practices are considered to be the
primary location in which ethnoecological knowledge is applied in practice. This
argument is based upon the assumption that ethnoecological knowledge is acquired,
retained and transmitted because of its adaptive value in subsistence. For people who
are dependent upon local ecosystems for the provision of food and the other
essentials of life on a day-to-day basis, it logically transpires that knowledge of these
ecosystems is of immense practical utility. This chapter seeks both to outline the
human relationship with the forest/savannah ecosystem, and to begin to establish
how this is predicated upon local knowledge of the functioning of the ecosystem,
whether individual and explicit or encoded in customary norms of behaviour. Following
an overview of subsistence, various categories of subsistence pursuit are described in
turn.
4.1 Overview of subsistence
For most Wapishana people, subsistence forms the major preoccupation in day-to-day
life. A variety of strategies are employed on an ongoing basis in exploiting forest,
savannah, riparian and lacustrine habitats for food and the other necessities of life.
Most people rely overwhelmingly on locally produced foods, though shop-bought
goods are consumed when available and some — especially salt and, to a lesser
extent, sugar — deemed close to essential. Manufactured implements are also
employed in all aspects of subsistence: agricultural, building and woodworking tools,
nylon fishing lines and metal hooks, matches and kerosene are all integral to the
modern subsistence strategy. The body of skills employed prior to the availability of
these items is retained, though their labour saving qualities are greatly appreciated: it
is probably fair to say that many Wapishana retain the ability to survive without these
goods if necessary, but none would voluntarily choose to do so.
Agriculture is central to subsistence activities in terms of dietary importance,
allocation of time and the extent of intervention in ecological processes, particularly
in the forest. The strategy of exploitation of forest resources may best be