The cultural context of biodiversity conservation - Oapen

Local expressions of indigenous knowledge
To sum up this section on the empirical dimension of local knowledge expressions, it
may be first emphasised that the inhabitants of the lowland communities, though they
are not historically linked to the particular landscape through ancestral ties and longterm
residency, have adapted to the environment by restoring communal structures
and traditional practices to create an immediate relationship with the new lands. In
economic terms, they have developed three integrated production systems, namely the
shifting agriculture known as roza y quema combined with an intensive agroforestry system
that includes the maintenance of home gardens and further gathering activities in
primary and secondary forests. The established subsistence economy demands intimate
and detailed knowledge to cope with the particular conditions of the lowland
environment. With minimal technological input, a highly differentiated system of integrated
agricultural and silvicultural management has been developed. The peasants
have largely retained the traditional farming system, which is confined to seasonal cycles,
but have also adapted swidden-fallow agroforestry patterns to the market economy.
Their needs and values are reflected in the decision-making processes in the selection
and maintenance of crops with specific traits and adaptive characteristics.
A salient feature of the agro-ecosystem is the maintenance of a large variety of
species and genetic diversity. Even though the entire farming system is geared to
maize cultivation, intercropping is an important feature of Q'eqchi' agriculture. Crop
variety selection plays an important role in order to reduce the incidence of plant
plagues and diseases and withstand periods of drought or crop failure. In addition to
the maintenance of crop diversity, the farmers foster the recovery of secondary
growth in the fallows. Although the slash and burn practice of shifting agriculture has
negative impacts on the forest cover in the area, swidden farming allows for regeneration
of secondary forest and thus maintains fertility of soils and limits erosion. But the
agro-ecosystem encompasses much more than the swidden cultivation. Through
mixed farming strategies and the gathering of wild resources, the peasants shape the
landscape to create a high level of heterogeneity. From the resultant diversity, they extract
a multitude of products that fulfil their nutritional and socio-economic needs
throughout the year. The people strive to incorporate practices that allow them to intensify
their production systems while minimising ecological degradation. However,
they do not always apply appropriate local techniques, such as soil conservation practices.
Knowledge of the use of green manure, for instance, is not evenly distributed.
The above outlined practices are an integral part of the immediate relationship the
Q'eqchi' establish with their environment and comprise much more than just working
with the physical elements such as soil, water, crops and seeds. Inherently, they involve
the application of values and rules that reflect a notion of a sacred landscape
and the belief that a good harvest can only be obtained if the practices are accomplished
according to customary laws. These are related to the indigenous cosmovision
that includes the natural, the social and the spiritual world. Even those material engagements
generally presented as economic modes of production may have symbolic
meanings, like many other forms of the cultural complex.
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