History, cculture aand cconservation
Notes
1 DiSilvestro, 1993; Mittermeier et al., 1998; Olson and
Dinerstein, 1998.
2 Terborgh, 1999; Soulé, 2000; Rice et al., 2001.
3 Posey, 1999; Diamond, 2001; Maffi, 2001; Harmon,
2002.
4 Posey and Balée, 1989; Williams and Baines, 1993;
Western et al., 1994; Berkes, 1999; Heckenberger et
al., 2003; Carlson and Maffi, 2004.
5 López-Zent and Zent, 2004.
6 Berkes and Folke, 1998.biocultural diversity conservation vis-à-vis
policy makers, donors, the media, and the
general public. And through this process,
hopefully the idea of biocultural diversity
will also begin to take root in academic
institutions, leading to educational and
research programs that will form a new
generation of integrative-thinking, trans-dis-
ciplinary scholars and practitioners, who will
be better able to bridge the gap between“culture” and “conservation”. The continuity
of life on earth, and the attainment of gen-
uine human well being with equality and
justice, wholly depend on a sea change
from the prevailing disconnected views of
nature and culture toward a fully integrated
“humans-in” perspective. The concept of
biocultural diversity is essential to take such
perspective from theory to action.Box 1. Call for Contributions to a Global Source Book on Biocultural Diversity
Terralingua would like to collaborate with practitioners of biocultural diversity conservation to gather infor-
mation for a Global Source Book on Biocultural Diversity. The result of this effort, which will be made
available both in print and in electronic format, will provide the biocultural diversity field with its first glob-
al source of information.
The loss of languages, cultural practices and indigenous ecological knowledge all reflect the breakdown in
the relationship between humans and their environment. Seeking solutions for the sustainability of both
human communities and the environment requires recognizing the link between cultural diversity and bio-
logical diversity. Terralingua invites you to work together with us to document information on biocultural
diversity conservation on a global scale.
We are asking for your input in a survey of projects, programs, and initiatives that support biocultural
diversity. The survey will lead to an inventory and classification of such activities around the world. Based
on further collaboration and information gathering, some of the entries will be selected as “model exam-
ples”. These will be highlighted through local stories in the voices of the people involved. Discussion of
“best practices” and “lessons learned” will offer guidance for future efforts at biocultural diversity mainte-
nance and restoration.
The Source Book will benefit practitioners of biocultural diversity conservation by increasing the visibility of
this newly emerging field and by developing a network of people actively involved in these issues.
The survey form and further details are available on the Internet at:
or may be obtained by contacting Dr. Ellen Woodley: [email protected]
Luisa Maffi ([email protected]) is co-
founder and president of Terralingua, an interna-
tional NGO devoted to promoting knowledge and
protection of biocultural diversity. She is a lin-
guist, anthropologist, and ethnobiologist by train-
ing and has a vocational interest in the natural
sciences. Luisa is a member of CEESP/CMWG.