The Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine Debates Series

Guest Editor:
Nemer Eduardo Narchi, PhD, El Colegio de Michoacán, Mexico

Marine ethnobiology focuses on the intricate relationships between human societies and marine ecosystems. Given the alarming state of our oceans - marked by pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss, and fisheries decline - there is a pressing need to evaluate the scope and priorities of marine ethnobiological research. Should the field concentrate primarily on fisheries and their conservation due to their critical role in global food security? Or is it more imperative to preserve the entire spectrum of marine ethnobiological knowledge, which may offer diverse insights into sustainable practices and cultural heritage, despite the severe ecological disruptions? How can marine ethnobiologists balance the urgency of fisheries management with the broader goal of safeguarding all local and traditional marine knowledge in a world facing profound environmental changes? What ethical considerations and methodological approaches should guide this balance in order to support both ecological sustainability and the rights and wisdom of Indigenous and Local Knowledge holders?

Guest Editors:
Giulia Mattalia, PhD, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain
Irene Teixidor-Toneu, PhD, Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d’Écologie Marine et Continentale, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, France

Ethnobiological studies typically document and discuss Indigenous and Local Knowledge about the uses and perceptions of biodiversity. While exploring these corpora of knowledge is crucial for addressing the complexity of the current global changes and curving systemic discrimination, there are increased concerns about intellectual property and data accessibility. Ethnobiologists are challenged to navigate the Nagoya Protocol, the international agreement aiming at sharing benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources and local knowledge of these resources in a fair and equitable way, which is not signed by all countries and whose legal applications vary across regional and national contexts. How should intellectual property be protected? To which extent should data be made accessible? How are international protocols guiding and contributing to making decisions about these aspects?

Guest Editor: 
Alfred Maroyi, PhD, University of Fort Hare, South Africa

The role of policy and governance can be seen as more or less crucial in diversifying and increasing opportunities for livelihoods in several regions of the world. In forest and woodland areas, for example, wild edible fruits, indigenous or traditional leafy vegetables, or medicinal plants and their processed products represent sources of important activities and livelihoods, such as production of food and medicines, generation of income from sales of raw and processed goods, as well as community and cultural aspects that support spirituality, indigenous knowledge, and several ecosystem services. In this debate, experts argue on whether policy processes and governance at all levels (locally, nationally, and internationally) manage to, or fail to, really recognize and represent those diverse livelihoods derived from the variety of forms of biodiversity, discussing their role in shaping the resilience of local ecological knowledge.

Guest Editor: 
Andrea Pieroni, PhD, University of Gastronomic Sciences, Italy

In recent decades, local ecological and medical knowledge and practices have been the core of a number of white papers at international level and are rapidly becoming more visible within the public arena. However, some may argue that there is a serious risk to romanticize these local knowledge systems far beyond their essence and to neglect the fact that local knowledge is often fuzzy, hieratic, heterogeneous, contradictory, and especially needing to be seriously assessed by experimental studies.

Guest Editor: 
Andrea Pieroni, PhD, University of Gastronomic Sciences, Italy

As recently postulated, local ecological knowledge sometimes may not be maintained because of positive values about the environment and by the choice of local communities, but quite the opposite, by their lack of choice underpinned by poverty or deprivation. We invited expert authors to make the case for and against this thesis.

Guest Editor: 
Andrea Pieroni, PhD, University of Gastronomic Sciences, Italy

Key expert authors argue for and against the need to de-emphasise the role of classical folkloric studies in research in ethnobiology and ethnomedicine.