Conservation biology and traditional ecological knowledge : integrating academic disciplines for better conservation practice
Citable URI
https://hdl.handle.net/1912/1410As published
http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol11/iss2/art34/Abstract
Conservation biology and environmental anthropology are disciplines that are both concerned with the identification and preservation of diversity, in one case biological and in the other cultural. Both conservation biology and the study of traditional ecoloigcal knowledge function at the nexus of the social and natural worlds, yet historically there have been major impediments to integrating the two. Here we identify linguistic, cultural, and epistemological barriers between the two disciplines. We argue that the two disciplines are uniquely positioned to inform each other and to provide critical insights and new perspectives on the way these sciences are practiced. We conclude by synthesizing common themes found in conservation success stories, and by making several suggestions on integration. These include cross-disciplinary publication, expanding memberships in professional societies and conducting multidisciplinary research based on similar interests in ecological process, taxonomy, or geography. Finally, we argue that extinction threats, be they biological or cultural/linguistic are imminent, and that by bringing these disciplines together we may be able to forge synergistic conservation programs capable of protecting the vivid splendor of life on Earth.
Description
© 2006 by the authors. The definitive version was published in Ecology and Society 11 (2006): 34.
Collections
Suggested Citation
Ecology and Society 11 (2006): 34Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Effects of climate change and anthropogenic modification on a disturbance-dependent species in a large riverine system
Zeigler, Sara L.; Catlin, Daniel H.; Brown, Mary Bomberger; Fraser, James D.; Dinan, Lauren R.; Hunt, Kelsi L.; Jorgensen, Joel G.; Karpanty, Sarah M. (John Wiley & Sons, 2017-01-11)Humans have altered nearly every natural disturbance regime on the planet through climate and land-use change, and in many instances, these processes may have interacting effects. For example, projected shifts in temperature ... -
Optimal bioeconomic management of changing marine resources
Moberg, Emily A. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2016-09)Marine populations are increasingly subjected to changing conditions whether through harvest or through broad-scale habitat change. Historically, few models have accounted for such trends over time, and even fewer have ... -
Stochastic flood and precipitation regimes and the population dynamics of a threatened floodplain plant
Smith, Marian; Caswell, Hal; Mettler-Cherry, Paige (Ecological Society of America, 2005-06)Boltonia decurrens is an endangered plant restricted to the Illinois River Valley. Its complex life cycle has evolved in response to the dynamics of the historic flood regime, which has changed dramatically in the last ...