Cultural Memory and Biodiversity - Softcover

Nazarea, Virginia D.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0816525471 ISBN 13: 9780816525478

Publisher: University of Arizona Press, 2006

Synopsis

Seed and gene banks have made great strides in preserving the biological diversity of traditional agricultural plant species, but they have tended to ignore a serious component: the knowledge about those crops and methods of farming held by the people who have long raised them. Virginia Nazarea now makes a case for preserving cultural memory along with biodiversity. By exploring how indigenous people farm sweet potatoes in Bukidnon, Philippines, she discovers specific ways in which the conservation of genetic resources and the conservation of culture can support each other. Interweaving a wealth of ecological and cognitive data with oral history, Nazarea details a "memory banking" protocol for collecting and conserving cultural information to complement the genetic, agronomic, and biochemical characterization of important crops. She shows that memory banking offers significant benefits for local populations—not only the preservation of traditional knowledge but also the maintenance of alternatives to large-scale agricultural development and commercialization. She also compares alternative forms of germplasm conservation conducted by a male-dominated hierarchy with those of an informal network of migrant women. Cultural Memory and Biodiversity establishes valuable guidelines for people who aspire to support community-based in situ conservation of local varieties. Perhaps more important, it shows that the traditional methods of local farmers are often as important as the "advanced" methods encouraged by advocates of modernization.

About this title

About the Author:

Virginia D. Nazarea is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Georgia.

Review:

"Contains information that will be of value to anyone interested in starting community-based conservation, no matter where in the world they are located. It is a valuable tool for those who believe that the traditional knowledge of local farmers is as important as the 'advanced' knowledge embodied in modernized agricultural techniques."

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Arizona Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0816525471
• ISBN 13: 9780816525478
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 189