Cultural Memory and Biodiversity
TR Number
Date
1998
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Tucson, Ariz.: University of Arizona Press
Abstract
Virginia Nazarea addresses the incompleteness of preserving biodiversity of agricultural crops through seed and genebanks, suggesting that preserving the cultural memory associated with the conserved species is also important. She presents a method for "banking" the local knowledge of the plant species and the traditional cultivation techniques. Indigenous sweet potato cultivation in Bukidnon, Philippines is presented as a case study for interdependent conservation of both germplasm and culture. Her method, which combines ecological and cognitive data with oral history, has identifiable benefits for the local population, including the provision of alternatives to modern, large-scale agriculture systems.
Description
Metadata only record
Keywords
Plants, Biodiversity, Alternative farming, Culture, Germplasm, Indigenous community, Agrobiodiversity, Local knowledge, In situ conservation, Conservation strategy, Gender, Farming systems, Traditional farming, Germplasm conservation, Biodiversity conservation, Ethnobiology, Gene banks, Seed banks, Human ecology, Cultural memory, Sweet potatoes, Bukidnon, The Philippines, Memory banking, Ecosystem Farm/Enterprise Scale