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2020/2021

Biocultural Diversity

Code: 43058 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
4313784 Interdisciplinary Studies in Environmental, Economic and Social Sustainability OT 0 1
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
Victoria Reyes García
Email:
Victoria.Reyes@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
english (eng)

Other comments on languages

Readings will be all in English and Spanish.

Teachers

Petra Johanna Benyei Peco
Esteve Corbera Elizalde

Prerequisites

Students need to show interest in the links between human cultures and biodiversity at the local and global levels. Basic knowlege on conservation science would be recommended (e.g. notions on natural resource management and/ or management of natural protected areas), since conventional approaches to conservation will be critically examined during the course. The course will also mobilise advanced concepts from Geography, Anthropology, Ecological Economics and Environmental and Social Science research in general and therefore background knowledge on these fields would also be beneficial, although not strictly required. Good command in spoken Spanish (read in English) and teamwork skills are required.

Objectives and Contextualisation

Biodiversity loss is a well-known phenomenon. According to most projections, over the next thirty years, 20 percent of the world's existing species may cease to exist. Less widely known, though attracting increasing attention, is the loss of the world's cultural diversity. Several authors have remarked that the overlap between biological and cultural diversity is not random and that the loss of cultural and biological diversity are linked. 

In this course, we study biocultural diversity, what it is, why it’s important and what factors can result in its erosion and maintenance. The course is divided in three thematic areas a) Biocultural diversity (sessions 1-4); b) Traditional Agroecological Knowledge (sessions 5-8); and c) Change, resilience and adaptation (9-11).  Most of the lectures will be presenting case studies from ongoing research. Overall, the case studies have been selected to illustrate the overlap between biological and cultural diversity, how the loss of cultural diversity can affect biodiversity, and local responses to maintain biocultural diversity.

At a methodological level, this course will introduce the studen to the analysis of related literature through the use of tools for literature search (i.e.,  Web of Science, Scopus) and enhance their abiliy to construct a database for scientific analysis.

 

Competences

  • Analyse how the Earth functions on a global scale in order to understand and interpret environmental changes on the global and local scales.
  • Communicate and justify conclusions clearly and unambiguously to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Integrate knowledge and use it to make judgements in complex situations, with incomplete information, while keeping in mind social and ethical responsibilities.
  • Seek out information in the scientific literature using appropriate channels, and use this information to formulate and contextualise research in environmental sciences.
  • Solve problems in new or little-known situations within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to the field of study.
  • Work in an international, multidisciplinary context.

Learning Outcomes

  1. "Describe the concepts related to the idea of ""biocultural diversity”. "
  2. Communicate and justify conclusions clearly and unambiguously to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  3. Express ideas and opinions on a complex topic (regarding (relationships of human groups and protection of biodiversity).
  4. Seek out information in the scientific literature using appropriate channels, and use this information to formulate and contextualise research in environmental sciences.
  5. Solve problems in new or little-known situations within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to the field of study.
  6. Work in an international, multidisciplinary context.
  7. Work with different case studies on the concept of biocultural diversity.

Content

The course is divided in three thematic areas a) Biocultural Diversity (sessions 1-4); b) Traditional Ecological knowledge (sessions 5-8); i c) Change, Resistance, and adaptation (9-11).

Many of the lectures will present case studies from ongoing empirical research. Overall, the selected case studies illustrate the overlap between biological and cultural diversity, how the loss of cultures – often involving indigenous and impoverished peoples' removal from their lands, suppression of their societies, and the loss of traditional environmental knowledge– can affect both biodiversity and livelihoods. From there, local responses, often stemming from environmental conflicts occurring worldwide, help to defend and sometimes restore their biocultural diversity.

The contents of each part will be developed according to the calendar presented in the 'Bibliography' section, and include the following topics:

1             The overlap between biological and cultural diversity: what role for protected areas?

2             Loss of traditional ecological knowledge and loss of cultural and linguistic diversity

3             Community based management.

4             Deforestation, fragmentation, and loss of biological diversity  

5             Traditional agroecological knowledge (TAeK): knowledge, practices and beliefs

6             TAeK erosion: Integration to the market, cultural change, and industrialization              

7             Citizen science as tool to preserve biocultural diversity.              

8             Environmental conflicts as driver of TAeK revitalization?

9             Climate change

10           Adaptation, coping and governance: how local communities face changes?

11           The role of biocultural diversity in natural resource management          

Methodology

The module is composed of 12 3-hour sessions. Each session is divided in two parts. During the first part (1.5h), students will attend a lecture and discuss associated readings (see program in bibliography). Students are expected to have read the 2 articles associated to each lecture before the class. During the second part (1.5h), students will work on systematic literature review (meta-analysis) on a topic related to biocultural diversity.

 

 

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Lecture and reading discussion 18 0.72 1, 3, 5, 2, 7
Type: Supervised      
Systematic litterature review 18 0.72 4, 7, 6
Type: Autonomous      
Essay writting and oral presentation 34 1.36 4, 3, 5, 2, 6
Search and reading of scientific texts 80 3.2 4, 7, 6

Assessment

The final grade of the course will include the following parts:

15%: Active participation in theoretical part of the class, showing understanding of the topic and readings.

15%: Presentation of work during the practical part of the class.

35%: 2.000-word essay on a topic to be chosen by the student.

35%: 15-minute oral presentation of the essay. Creative presentation formats are welcome.

Attendance is mandatory. If a student misses any part of a class, s/he will have to write a 500-word critical essay on the corresponding readings.

Topic of the essay must be communicated to professors by 13th December (latest). Essay is due on 29th January 2018.

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Essays 35% 0 0 4, 3, 2, 7
Oral presentation of the final essay 35% 0 0 3, 7
Participation in the class 15% 0 0 4, 1, 3, 5, 6
Work in the systematic litterature review 15% 0 0 4, 7, 6

Bibliography

 

Agrawal, A. Perrin, N. 2008. Climate adaptation, local institutions, and rural livelihoods. International Forestry Resources and Institutions Program, IFRI. Working Paper W08I-6.

Berkes, F., Colding, J., & Folke, C. (2000). Rediscovery of traditional ecological knowledge as adaptive management. Ecological Applications, 10(5), 1251-1262.

Burke, B. J., & Heynen, N. (2014). Transforming participatory science into socioecological praxis: Valuing marginalized environmental knowledges in the face of neoliberalization of nature and science. Environment and Society: Advances in Research, 5, 7–27.

Calvet-Mir, Laura., P. Benyei, L. Aceituno-Mata, M. Pardo-de-Santayana, D. López-García, M. Carrascosa-García, A. Perdomo-Molina, V. Reyes-García (under review). Contribution of traditional agroecological knowledge as a digital commons to agroecological transitions: the case of the conect-e platform. Sustainability

Gomez-Baggethun, E., & Reyes-Garcia, V. (2013). Reinterpreting Change in Traditional Ecological Knowledge. Human Ecology, 41(4), 643-647.

Gómez-baggethun, E., Mingorría, S., Reyes-garcía, V., Calvet, L., & Montes, C. (2010). Traditional Ecological Knowledge Trends in the Transition to a Market Economy : Empirical Study in the Doñana Natural Areas. Conservation Biology, 24(3), 721–729.

Klein, J.A., Hopping, K.A., Yeh, E.T., Nyima, Y., Boone, R.B., Galvin, K.A. (2014) Unexpected climate impacts on the Tibetan Plateau: Local and scientific knowledge in findings of delayed summer. Global Environmental Change 28, 141-152.

Maffi, L. (2005). Linguistic, Cultural, and Biological Diversity. Annual Review of Anthropology, 34, 599-618.

Marin, A. (2010) Riders under storms: Contributions of nomadic herders’ observations to analysing climate change in Mongolia. Global EnvironmentalChange 20, 162-176.

Pèlachs, A., Changes in Pyrenean woodlands as a result of the intensity of human exploitation: 2,000 years of metallurgy in Vallferrera, northeast Iberian Peninsula.

Porter-Bolland, L., E.A. Ellis, M.R. Guariguata, I. Ruiz-Mallén, S. Negrete-Yankelevich, V. Reyes-García. Community managed forest and forest protected areas: An assessment of their conservation effectiveness across the tropics.  Forest Ecology and Management. 268(SI):6–17. 2012.

Reyes-García, V., L. Aceituno-mata, L. Calvet-Mir, T. Garnatje, E. Gómez-Baggethun, J. J. Lastra, R. Ontillera, M. Parada, M. Rigar, J. Vallès, S. Vila, and M. Pardo-de-Santayana. 2014. Resilience of traditional knowledge systems: The case of agricultural knowledge in home gardens of the Iberian Peninsula. Global Environmental Change 24:223–231.

Reyes-García, V., P. Benyei, and L. Calvet-Mir. 2018. Traditional Agricultural Knowledge as a Commons. Page in J. L. Vivero Pol, T. Ferrando, O. de Schutter, and U. Mattei, editors. Routledge Handbook of Food as a Commons. Routledge, London, UK.

Schmook, B. van Vliet, N. Radel, C. Manzón-Che, M.J. McCandless, S. 2013. Persistence of Swidden Cultivation in the Face of Globalization: A Case Study from Communities in Calakmul, Mexico. Human Ecology 41: 93–107.

Toledo V.M. & Barrera-Bassols, N. 2008. ¿Qué es la memoria biocultural?. Introduction in Toledo and Barrera-Bassols (Eds.) La memoria biocultural: la importancia ecológica de las sabidurías tradicionales. Icaria, Barcelona.