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Ethnobotany in the Kailash Sacred Landscape, Nepal: Implications for Conservation Through Interactions of Plants, People, Culture and Geography
Title
Ethnobotany in the Kailash Sacred Landscape, Nepal: Implications for Conservation Through Interactions of Plants, People, Culture and Geography.
Creator
Kunwar, Ripu Mardhan, Fadiman, Maria, Cameron, Mary, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Geosciences
Abstract/Description
Little is known about the vegetation, forests, useful plants and their patterns of use at the gradients of climate, geography and culture in Baitadi and Darchula districts, far western Nepal. The interactions among plants-people-places were analyzed using data from phyto-sociological studies, community interviews, and literature. Ecological sampling, participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and informal discussions were held between February and September 2017. We compared plant...
Show moreLittle is known about the vegetation, forests, useful plants and their patterns of use at the gradients of climate, geography and culture in Baitadi and Darchula districts, far western Nepal. The interactions among plants-people-places were analyzed using data from phyto-sociological studies, community interviews, and literature. Ecological sampling, participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and informal discussions were held between February and September 2017. We compared plant collection, use and management of two culturally distinct groups (Baitadi and Darchula), who inhabit different physiographic regions, yet share the same ecological landscape, environmental resources and livelihood challenges. We hypothesized that the salient (visible, apparent and accessible) plants and places are likely to be more frequently foraged than the non-salient ones. We also hypothesized that the elderly, native and traditional healers living in rural and remote physiographic conditions possess more diverse and detailed knowledge of plant use and conservation than young, non-native and non-healer people. A total of 18 forest types including eight from the study districts showed that the study area is rich in forests and plants. A total of 975 plant species including 82 new species records and 23 new use reports to Baitadi and Darchula districts were recorded. There were 305 (31%) useful plant species including 122 useful reported in the present study. The people of study area showed a large repertoire of knowledge that helps them execute different strategies of plant use suited to their environment and geography. The knowledge of plant use follows a pattern according to ecological conditions (availability) as well as the cultural significance (transhumance, settlement) of the landscape. However, the latter prevails. Predominate foraging by the agro-pastoral communities from the remote undisturbed forests for quality products and medicines in Darchula district was divergent from the collections from ruderal areas in Baitadi district by generalist collectors for ritual purposes. The extensive usage of plants for socio-economic reasons, livelihood and rituals indicates that the plants and culture are inseparable. Conservation measures with acknowledgement of human, cultural, geographical and environmental variables, are therefore encouraged for sustainable management of the natural resources and traditional knowledge of the Baitadi and Darchula districts.
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Date Issued
2018
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013082
Subject Headings
Ethnobotany., Darchula (Nepal : District), Baitadī (Nepal : District), Kailash Sacred Landscape
Format
Document (PDF)
The Non-Random Selection of Medicinal Plants Theory: a Case Study of a Kichwa Community in the Ecuadorian Amazon
Title
The Non-Random Selection of Medicinal Plants Theory: a Case Study of a Kichwa Community in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
Creator
Robles Arias, Daniela M., Fadiman, Maria, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Geosciences
Abstract/Description
The non-random selection of medicinal plants theory, which states that phylogeny affects the selection of medicinal plants, was proposed by Daniel Moerman to indirectly prove that traditional medicinal systems are rational and based in part by the therapeutic efficacy of plants. The logic of this theory is that because members of a taxonomical group share similar characteristics, some groups will be more medicinal and will be over-used in pharmacopoeias, while other groups bereft of secondary...
Show moreThe non-random selection of medicinal plants theory, which states that phylogeny affects the selection of medicinal plants, was proposed by Daniel Moerman to indirectly prove that traditional medicinal systems are rational and based in part by the therapeutic efficacy of plants. The logic of this theory is that because members of a taxonomical group share similar characteristics, some groups will be more medicinal and will be over-used in pharmacopoeias, while other groups bereft of secondary metabolites and therapeutic potential will be under-used medicinally. To test this theory, Moerman linearly regressed the total number of medicinal plants per family against the total number of plants per family present in an area and examined residual values to find over-used and under-used medicinal plant families. The method has been praised for its simplicity. Nonetheless, shortcomings have been noted and criticized, inspiring researchers to propose new procedures to test for phylogenetic biases in pharmacopoeias. Negative Binomial regression and examination of studentized residuals, the method used in this investigation, ameliorates the original one with a few corrections, conserving the simplicity and solving for all the criticized flaws. Also, this study incorporated different sociodemographic factors to determine if the intracultural homogeneity of traditional knowledge affects the results of the non-random selection of medicinal plants theory analysis. By testing Moerman’s theory, which is one of Ethnobotany’s major theories, this investigation is in agreement with the call to have more hypothesis-driven research within a theoretical framework to continue to advance the Ethnobotany field.
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Date Issued
2018
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013000
Subject Headings
Medicinal plants, Ethnobotany, Ecuador, Amazon River Region
Format
Document (PDF)
Neolocalism and Activating the Urban Landscape: Economics, Social Networks and Creation of Place
Title
Neolocalism and Activating the Urban Landscape: Economics, Social Networks and Creation of Place.
Creator
Watson, April A., Fadiman, Maria, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Geosciences
Abstract/Description
This work examined the role of the craft brewers of Florida in creating alternative economies. This work argues that craft brewers function in ways that they can create a space in which other, smaller entities might then take advantage. Craft breweries' expansion, and continued success rests on the ability of the brewer to harness the power of transformation, the prism effect, or the refaceting of a space with different meanings. Craft breweries meet many of Jacobs' (1961), as stated in her...
Show moreThis work examined the role of the craft brewers of Florida in creating alternative economies. This work argues that craft brewers function in ways that they can create a space in which other, smaller entities might then take advantage. Craft breweries' expansion, and continued success rests on the ability of the brewer to harness the power of transformation, the prism effect, or the refaceting of a space with different meanings. Craft breweries meet many of Jacobs' (1961), as stated in her seminal work, conditions for diversity in the city, especially in the role of self-government. Craft brewers function as informal forms of government for communities, by making smaller entities more visible, by serving as a warrior and weaver for political action in the city, and offering subversive defiance, by which they subtly challenge the dominant disconnected economic structure. Craft breweries serve as a way to create an embedded economy, or as a way of grounding local businesses, social issues, and individual actors together. In this way, the research addressed deeper ethical issues that transcend the idea of craft brewing in general, that the success of craft brewers reflects a form of activism, and a visible way for individuals to circumvent the global processes which left them disengaged in their community.
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Date Issued
2016
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004667, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004667
Subject Headings
Bars (Drinking establishments) -- United States, Beer -- Economic aspects, Beer -- Social aspects, Beer industry -- Florida, Breweries -- Florida, Drinking customs -- United States, Economic geography, Physical geography, Political culture
Format
Document (PDF)
Domestic Water in Northern Trinidad: Access, Collection and Quality
Title
Domestic Water in Northern Trinidad: Access, Collection and Quality.
Creator
Lakhan, Siana, Fadiman, Maria, Root, Tara L., Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Geosciences
Abstract/Description
Trinidad is highly dependent on surface water as a source for domestic water supply. Due to lack of infrastructure some areas have limited access to potable/reliable source of water. Increases in industrialization and population are putting more pressure on water resources, exacerbating the problem. Part of this study looks at how, and from where people in different geographic regions in northern Trinidad collect and store water. Results indicate that urban areas rely on public water as a...
Show moreTrinidad is highly dependent on surface water as a source for domestic water supply. Due to lack of infrastructure some areas have limited access to potable/reliable source of water. Increases in industrialization and population are putting more pressure on water resources, exacerbating the problem. Part of this study looks at how, and from where people in different geographic regions in northern Trinidad collect and store water. Results indicate that urban areas rely on public water as a water source. The urban fringe relies on a public water supply as well as self-supplied sources. Rural regions depend solely on a selfsupply source. Also, I look at how nitrate and nitrite concentrations in drinking water vary with geographic location. Results indicate water quality varies with source and collection method. Further research is needed to confirm this.
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Date Issued
2007
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00000785
Format
Document (PDF)