Conservation through Biocultural Heritage—Examples from Sub-Saharan Africa

Anneli Ekblom, Anna Shoemaker, Lindsey Gillson, Paul Lane and Karl-Johan Lindholm
Additional contact information
Anneli Ekblom: Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, African and Comparative Archaeology, Uppsala University, Box 626, SE-751 26 Uppsala, Sweden
Anna Shoemaker: Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, African and Comparative Archaeology, Uppsala University, Box 626, SE-751 26 Uppsala, Sweden
Lindsey Gillson: Plant Conservation Unit, Botany Department, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
Paul Lane: Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, African and Comparative Archaeology, Uppsala University, Box 626, SE-751 26 Uppsala, Sweden
Karl-Johan Lindholm: Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, African and Comparative Archaeology, Uppsala University, Box 626, SE-751 26 Uppsala, Sweden

Land, 2019, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: In this paper, we review the potential of biocultural heritage in biodiversity protection and agricultural innovation in sub-Saharan Africa. We begin by defining the concept of biocultural heritage into four interlinked elements that are revealed through integrated landscape analysis. This concerns the transdisciplinary methods whereby biocultural heritage must be explored, and here we emphasise that reconstructing landscape histories and documenting local heritage values needs to be an integral part of the process. Ecosystem memories relate to the structuring of landscape heterogeneity through such activities as agroforestry and fire management. The positive linkages between living practices, biodiversity and soil nutrients examined here are demonstrative of the concept of ecosystem memories. Landscape memories refer to built or enhanced landscapes linked to specific land-use systems and property rights. Place memories signify practices of protection or use related to a specific place. Customary protection of burial sites and/or abandoned settlements, for example, is a common occurrence across Africa with beneficial outcomes for biodiversity and forest protection. Finally, we discuss stewardship and change. Building on local traditions, inclusivity and equity are essential to promoting the continuation and innovation of practices crucial for local sustainability and biodiversity protection, and also offer new avenues for collaboration in landscape management and conservation.

Keywords: biocultural heritage; sub-Saharan Africa; traditional ecological knowledge; hotspots; sacred forests; conservation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/8/1/5/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/8/1/5/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:8:y:2019:i:1:p:5-:d:194412

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().