THE ETHNOBOTANY OF THE AMAZON INDIANS AS A TOOL FOR THE CONSERVATION OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

Abstract

In recent years greater use of ethnobotanical data has been made by conservation organisations. The importance of the preservation of indigenous cultures is also stressed in light of the fact that the population size of Amazonian Indians has fallen from over 6 millón to 200.000 in the last 500 years since colonisation began. The contribution of ethnobotany to conservation touches on all three aspects of biodiversity, species diversity, genetic diversity and habitat diversity. Traditional ethnobotany involved with the cataloguing of species used by local peoples is a species based approach. Recent data on quantitative ethnobotany from several Amazonian tribes has provided more structured data and has shown the enormous extent to which Amazonian Indians use the forest trees, for example, one hundred per cent of the trees on a hectare in the case of the Ka'apor Indians. The study of the huge number of varieties of each cultivated crop shows that the local people use a wide range of genetic diversity. For example the Tukano Indians recognise 137 named varieties of cassava. This maintenance and use of genetic diversity contrasts with modem agriculture that uses few varieties and is disease prone. Local peoples are also acutely aware of habitat different ways. This includes both natural vegetation types and different steps in the succession which they create in their agroforestry systems. There is a great need for further study of their ecological classification because it can be useful to both conservation and sustainable systems of use. Finally an Indian legend about the origin of the crop Guaraná us given to emphasise the importaance of this aspect of ethnobotany. When culture is lost and legends, myths and taboos die out the indigenous peoples are no longer good managers of their land and conservation breaks down. Part of contemporary ethnobotany involves the encouragement and preservation of local culture.