The cultural context of biodiversity conservation - Oapen

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The cultural context of biodiversity conservation
demic interest. Although the determining role of specific worldviews in indigenous
cultures has long been highlighted in anthropology, their relevance for conservational
issues emerged just recently. This convergence grounded in the religion-ecology nexus
has been addressed in the volume Worldviews and Ecology compiled in 1993 by Mary
Tucker and John Grim. Roger Gottlieb (1996) also provides a substantial anthology,
entitled This Sacred Earth. Religion, Nature, Environment. The more recent volume Indigenous
Traditions and Ecology. The Interbeing of Cosmology and Community by Grim (2001) elicited
potential paths that have enriched the present work. In particular, the examples
drawn from contemporary Mesoamerican cultures presented thoughtful insights.
In reviewing the literature published on the Guatemalan context, I realised that a
vast amount of writing concentrates on historical and archaeological themes related to
the ancient Mayan world rather than on the present situation of the indigenous population.
Modern Guatemalan ethnography emerged only half a century ago. Until the
1950s, research focused mainly on rather traditional ethnography. In the 1960s, interest
moved towards the place of indigenous groups in the nation-state. Such works include
Robert Carmack's volume Harvest of Violence. The Maya Indians and the Guatemalan
Crisis (1988), which provides anthropological perspectives on the cultural dynamics
taking place during the times of civil war. More current work by authors, who dedicated
their attention to contemporary society, includes René Paul Amry (1999) on Indigenous
Peoples, Customary Law and the Peace-Process in Guatemala and the reports by
MINUGUA (2001) and Rodolfo Stavenhagen (2003).
In addition to early accounts provided by ethnographers such as Karl Sapper
(1998[1904]), who worked in the Alta Verapaz region, several anthropologists have
focused on the Q'eqchi' in the past decades. An early study that has to be mentioned
was written by William Carter (1969). His account New Lands and Old Traditions. Kekchi
Cultivators in the Guatemalan Lowlands is based on an ethno-ecological study conducted
in the 1960s and contains basic insights for an understanding of the situation as encountered
at present. The following historical gap can be traced to the long armed
conflict that particularly affected the indigenous population and kept scientists from
completing anthropological investigations in the area. Despite this difficulty, Richard
Wilson (1995) and Hans Siebers (1996) undertook ethnographic fieldwork among
peasant Q'eqchi' communities. Apart from their solid monographs and associated articles,
valuable information on the cultural realm has been provided by authors, who
focused on specific themes, such as Estuardo Secaira (1992) and Richard Wilk (1997).
The work of the latter led to an analysis of Economic Change and Domestic Life among the
Kekchi Maya in Belize, whereas the former concentrated on the local economy of
Q'eqchi' communities in the highlands and lowlands of Alta Verapaz. His comparative
account on indigenous knowledge in terms of agricultural systems and inherent conservational
aspects has been influential to the way of approaching knowledge repertoires
in the present context. Of special importance to my understanding of the symbolic
dimension of farmers' knowledge have been the comprehensive studies of Inge
Hatse and Patrick De Ceuster (2001a/b). Their analysis of the interwoven character of