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Wiley InterScience | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  Conservation BiologyVolume 21 Issue 3, Pages 875 - 879 Published Online: 9 Mar 2007 ©2010, Society for Conservation Biology Published on behalf of the Society for Conservation Biology
Abstract | References | Full Text: HTML, PDF (Size: 112K) | Related Articles | Citation Tracking  Cultural Erosion and Biodiversity: Canoe-Making Knowledge in Pohnpei, Micronesia Copyright 2007 Society for Conservation Biology KEYWORDS conservation • quantitative survey • traditional knowledge • traditional skills KEYWORDS conocimiento tradicional • conservación • encuesta cuantitativa • oficios tradicionales ABSTRACTAbstract: Erosion of traditional knowledge and practice is a serious and accelerating problem, but quantitative work on traditional knowledge loss and its importance to biodiversity conservation is lacking. We investigated traditional knowledge of canoe making, a skill heavily dependent on plant biodiversity, on Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, through a survey of 180 island residents. Our results showed that there has been an intergenerational erosion of canoe-making skills. Given current trends, the present generation of Pohnpeians may be the last to retain any knowledge of this traditional craft. We also identified several correlates of knowledge loss—including Western educational level and occupation—that highlight potential avenues for skill conservation via governments, traditional leadership, and schools. These institutions could intervene to emphasize traditional knowledge, which would reinforce institutional contexts in which traditional knowledge and practice is valued. The heightened awareness of the value of biodiversity that is linked to traditional knowledge is key to biological conservation on Pohnpei and can help support local conservation programs. ABSTRACTResumen: La erosión del conocimiento y práctica tradicional es un problema serio y en aceleración, pero se carece de trabajo cuantitativo sobre la pérdida de conocimiento tradicional y su importancia para la biodiversidad. Investigamos el conocimiento tradicional sobre la manufactura de canoas, un oficio estrechamente dependiente de la biodiversidad de plantas, en Pohnpei, Estados Federados de Micronesia, mediante una encuesta a 180 residentes de la isla. Nuestros resultados mostraron que ha habido una erosión intergeneracional de las habilidades para la manufactura de canoas. Con las tendencias actuales, puede que la generación presente de Pohnpeianos sea la última en retener cualquier conocimiento de esta artesanía tradicional. También identificamos varias correlaciones de la pérdida de conocimiento—incluyendo nivel educativo y ocupación Occidentales—que ponen de relieve potenciales avenidas para la conservación del oficio por medio de gobiernos, liderazgo tradicional y escuelas. Estas instituciones podrían intervenir para enfatizar el conocimiento tradicional, que podría reforzar los contextos institucionales en los que se valoran el conocimiento y prácticas tradicionales. El incremento de la percepción del valor de la biodiversidad que está ligada al conocimiento tradicional es clave para la conservación biológica en Pohnpei y puede ayudar a apoyar programas locales de conservación. Paper submitted November 15, 2005; revised manuscript accepted November 14, 2006. | 
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Free Article from Conservation Biology |  |
The article One Hundred Questions of Importance to the Conservation of Global Biological Diversity is now available FREE online. | |
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Conservation Letters |
Conservation Letters is a new, online-only scientific journal publishing empirical and theoretical research with significant implications for the conservation of biological diversity. |
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Conservation |
Conservation is a sophisticated, readable, and utterly practical magazine for people who are serious about conservation. |
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 | New Perspectives on Psychology and Human–Animal Interactions |
This issue of Journal of Social Issues focuses on human attitudes toward the use of other species, the effects of relationships with companion animals on human health and well-being, and the ethical and policy implications of our interactions with other species. | |
