observation of natural resources and their conservation
Answers
Understanding how indigenous people use and manage
natural resources is essential for promoting conservation
on indigenous lands. I evaluated how one Shuar indigenous community in the Cordillera del Cóndor of Ecuador
use woody taxa in mature and secondary forest, cultivate
swidden land, value natural resources and view changes to their environment. Field research, conducted from
January February of 2003, involved ethnobotanical survey methods and interviews with 25 community members.
A total of 104 plant species were classified according to
ethnobotanical use. Food, forage, construction and fuel
were the most common use categories for forest plants.
In the swidden plot, most plants were used for food, with
native trees protected among a diversity of cultivars, primarily to attract wildlife. Mining is considered the biggest threat to conservation in the Cordillera del Cóndor’s
proposed Shuar Protected Area and will need to be addressed by the Shuar, supporting NGOs and the Ecuadorian government