The cultural context of biodiversity conservation - Oapen

Local expressions of indigenous knowledge
In his article On the Crossroads between Tradition and Modernity. Religious and Economic Development
of the Q'eqchi'es of Guatemala, Siebers (1994) wrote that local communities have
constantly adopted and adapted their economic modes and religious traditions according
to their own needs and meanings. Both are part of an ever changing and dynamic
process of meaning making. In spite of transforming patterns, the deification of important
aspects of nature continues as a crucial feature of religious symbolism.
Through their proximate interaction with the natural world, farmers create an environmental
interaction that continually affirms identity in a sense that rural life is perceived
in a systemic way that acknowledges the interrelatedness of all elements. This
integrates human beings within the entirety of all existence with a responsibility to
care for nature according to ancestral law. In exchange, the natural world is expected
to nurture in its turn, providing physical, emotional and spiritual sustenance. By evoking
the mountain's sanctity a contractual, reciprocal relationship is established and
constantly confirmed.
Another aspect that will increase in importance in the future is the fact that
knowledge repertoires are a result of encounters in which local and global, traditional
and modern elements are intricately intermingled. The process of knowledge accumulation
includes the constant absorption of notions introduced from outside. As described
above, agricultural knowledge embedded in traditional cultivation practices has
been mixed with elements of modern technologies introduced through NGOs or
governmental institutions. Even in remote areas, where such institutions do not work
due to reduced accessibility, peasants are within reach of national and even international
radio broadcasting. 92 The role of communication media has been briefly mentioned
in the prologue. Almost every family owns a radio, while television is still not
widespread due to the lack of electricity in the area. It will be a future task to inquire
on the transforming impact of this latter media, locally called *mu sa' kaxon, which literally
means »shadow in a box« (Wilson 1995: 275), which surely will appear in the
communities at the moment when an adequate power supply is provided. Media programmes
far removed from the reality of rural life will confront the people with imagery
depicting other ways of life, worldviews and values. Yet, it is interesting to see
that people even in remote areas have opinions about occurrences of global scope, as
became evident in the initially outlined conversation with a peasant from San Benito,
who associated the clouds of smoke originating from burning forest with the war in
the Middle East. 93 The radio also disseminates advertising for agro-chemical products,
92 Flores Arenales analyses the role of mass media as a tool commonly used by the government and
churches in the past to stimulate changes in attitudes and perceptions among the indigenous peoples:
»Independently of the approaches of these educational programmes, all the projects, consciously or
not, ultimately aimed to promote social change in order to facilitate the integration of the indigenous
population into the nation« (1999: 95).
93 The Iraq crisis in 2003 indeed had an impact on the local livelihoods of peasant farmers in Alta
Verapaz. As the position of the Guatemalan government was associated with the United States and
their foreign policies in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia ceased the import of cardamom from Guatemala,
what eventually affected the economy of the farmers at the local level. This incident gives evidence
for the interconnectedness of local modes of production and global power structures and il-
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