The concept of biocultural diversity was introduced by ethnobiologists to argue that the variation within ecological systems is inextricably linked to cultural and linguistic differences. In this volume of RCC Perspectives, scholars from a wide range of fields reflect on the definition, impact, and possible vulnerabilities of the concept.
Content
Through a series of ethnographic studies that range from Papua New Guinea to Siberia, Brazil to Namibia, Ethnographies of Conservation argues that the problem is not the disappearance of “pristine nature” or even the land-use practices of uneducated people. Rather, critical attention would be better turned on discourses of “primitiveness” and “pristine nature,” so prevalent within conservation ideology.
This article examines the long-term anthropogenic factors that have affected the Atlantic Coastal Forest.
This drama captures how the inhabitants of Javé, a small village somewhere in Brazil, set out to secure a future for themselves in the face of plans for a hydropower dam that threaten to submerge their village.
An environmental history of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil from pre-modern times to the late twentieth century.
Stephen Bell, Carson Fellow from June to August 2011, talks about his research concerning the the transformation of land use in Brazil.
This paper provides a historical overview of the formation of the system of federal conservation units existent in Brazil as of 2006 and examines selected aspects of their current status.
The article analyses the trajectory of a group of Brazilian intellectuals from 1786 to 1810, who inaugurated a systematic critique of the environmental damage caused by colonial economy in Brazil, especially forest destruction and soil erosion.
Following the establishment of the Xapuri Rural Workers’ Union, Brazilian activist Chico Mendes becomes a symbol for peaceful resistance to social injustice and environmental destruction.
