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The Importance of Place Names in the Search for Ecosystem-Like Concepts in Indigenous Societies: An Example from the Bolivian Andes

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Abstract

This paper aims to deepen the search for ecosystem-like concepts in indigenous societies by highlighting the importance of place names used by Quechua indigenous farmers from the central Bolivian Andes. Villagers from two communities in the Tunari Mountain Range were asked to list, describe, map and categorize the places they knew on their community’s territory. Results show that place names capture spatially explicit units which integrate biotic and abiotic nature and humans, and that there is an emphasis on topographic terms, highlighting the importance of geodiversity. Farmers’ perspectives differ from the classical view of ecosystems because they ‘humanize’ places, considering them as living beings with agency. Consequently, they do not make a distinction between natural and cultural heritage. Their perspective of the environment is that of a personalized, dynamic relationship with the elements of the natural world that are perceived as living entities. A practical implication of the findings for sustainable development is that since places names make the links between people and the elements of the landscape, toponymy is a tool for ecosystem management rooted in indigenous knowledge. Because place names refer to holistic units linked with people’s experience and spatially explicit, they can be used as an entry point to implement an intercultural dialogue for more sustainable land management.

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Notes

  1. While in Tirani the local organization preferred to plan transects with the researchers, in Chorojo they privileged participant observation for the researchers, arguing that so they would best learn about their territory and their knowledge.

  2. The whole map can be found in Online Resource 1

  3. There are many interpretations of the notion of Pachamama which also play a role in contemporary Bolivian cultural politics and among urban groups. For lack of space, we cannot extend further discussion of the concept, but focus exclusively on the notion of Pachamama in the rural context, as referred to in the rituals aimed at improving agricultural production (Van den Berg 1990).

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Acknowledgments

We thank all members of the communities of Chorojo and Tirani for their collaboration and engagement in the research process. Fieldwork in Bolivia was carried out in collaboration with the Centre for Agroecology (http://www.agruco.org) at the Mayor de San Simon University of Cochabamba. Boillat, Serrano and Rist’s work were supported by the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North–South: Research Partnerships for Mitigating Syndromes of Global Change. Additionally, Boillat’s fieldwork was supported by the Swiss Commission for Research Partnerships with Developing Countries (http://www.kfpe.ch) and his stay at the University of Manitoba is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation’s Prospective Researchers Program (Grant PBBEP1_135314). Berkes’ work was supported by the Canada Research Chairs Program (http://www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca/).

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Correspondence to Sébastien Boillat.

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Online Resource 1 Toponymic map of the community of Chorojo (EPS 7380 kb)

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Boillat, S., Serrano, E., Rist, S. et al. The Importance of Place Names in the Search for Ecosystem-Like Concepts in Indigenous Societies: An Example from the Bolivian Andes. Environmental Management 51, 663–678 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-012-9969-4

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