Unraveling the effects of market-based conservation on the cultural capital of indigenous peoples in the Amazon rainforest

• Applicants: Dr. Andrés Gerique; Professorin Dr. Silke Jansen
• Subject Area: Human Geography ; Individual Linguistics, Historical Linguistics
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 451071851

Tropical forests are home to a unique biological diversity and provide ecosystem services which support the livelihoods of 1.6 billion people. These biodiversity hotspots are also areas with high language densities, even at low population rates. However, tropical forests are in danger through the intense exploitation of natural resources. To counteract this, Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES), were developed. Such market-based instruments are economic stimuli for local inhabitants to compensate them for conserving biodiversity. PES research has focused on the analysis of sociopolitical consequences or financial and ecological effectiveness. The impact on local culture has received far less attention, although this question is essential to design effective conservation instruments without negative effects. We argue that PES may revert deforestation being cost-effective, inclusive, and fair, but at the same time, they could erode cultural practices and functionality of the participating communities. Thus, the goal of the project is to advance the understanding of the effects of market-based conservation on the cultural capital of indigenous forest peoples. This proposal is innovative since it aims at reducing this gap, combining geographical human-environmental and linguistic research. We aim to unravel the effects of market-based conservation on two cardinal, interlinked aspects of indigenous forest people’s` cultural capital: traditional forest knowledge and use and multilingual repertoires. We intend to conduct the study among the Zápara of Ecuador, an isolated indigenous group who participates in a market PES program and uses Kichwa as a community language, but also some remains of the traditional Zápara language and increasingly Spanish. The overarching hypothesis is that market-based conservation alters the cultural capital of indigenous peoples. Changes in the livelihoods of the Zápara will be in the focus of the project, especially in agriculture and forest use, which are a key aspect of their culture. The research will center around ethnobotany and the use of the linguistic repertoire in relation to the natural environment and livelihood possibilities, with attention on the few remaining speakers of the Zápara who hold a great amount of traditional knowledge. Data on PES investments, past and present land use practices and related spatial and linguistic changes will be collected, as well as information on linguistic resources. The interdependence with the outside world and its linguistic consequences since the introduction of PES will be investigated. Based on methods for analyzing the integration of the indigenous population into the market economy, self-reporting will be used to collect data on linguistic competences and choices in different communicative contexts that are directly or indirectly derived from the application of PES.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Ecuador
• Cooperation Partners: David Neill, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Dalton Pardo-Enríquez