Conservation of Neotropical Forests - Working from Traditional Resource Use

Two of the great crises facing our generation are the destruction of the tropical forests and the widespread poverty of tens of millions of people who inhabit rural areas of the globe. Since many of these people rely on tropical forests for their livelihoods, the fates of the forests and of many rural poor are inextricably linked. A cross-disciplinary study of this link between forests and forest peoples has recently emerged. Those interested in conserving forests and those concerned with rural poverty and the rights of indigenous peoples have found that they can be effective allies. Interdisciplinary cooperation, however, has been hampered by a lack of necessary information. Conservation of Neotropical Forests: Working from Traditional Resource Use provides important data on the interactions of forest peoples and forest resources in the lowland tropics of the Western hemisphere. It brings together articles by many of the world's experts: natural and social scientists and managers of innovative conservation programs. An introductory section provides an overview of the challenges facing such cooperative natural/social science efforts in tropical forest conservation. Part 1, Indigenous Peoples, presents a wealth of new data concerning resource management by indigenous tribal societies: ecology of foraging, hunting, agriculture, and traditional technology. Folk Societies, part 2, continues to discuss how neotropical forest peoples manage resources by focusing on often overlooked folk societies such as the caboclos and riberenos of the Amazon. Part 3 examines attempts to limit forest destruction and improve the well-being of traditional peoples by offering case studies of existing projectsthroughout Central and South America, including the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area of Belize, and the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve of the Ecuadorian Amazon, among others. Finally, part 4, New Directions in Research and Action, explores innovative directions for both action and research to further the cross-disciplinary agenda.