Home Institution
Tufts University
Publication Date
Fall 2005
Abstract
The term “agroecology” is used to describe the sustainable design and management of agricultural systems by the application of ecological concepts and principles. The resulting agroecosystems, often practiced by indigenous or poor farmers in marginal environments without access to external technologies, are systems of food production that integrate cultivated crops into surrounding ecosystems. The Naso-Teribe, an indigenous community of approximately 3,800 individuals living in the forests of western Panama, practice a complex agroecological system. The Naso farmers’ agricultural practices contribute to, and are dependent on, the biodiversity of resources available. The ways in which Naso farmers manage, maintain, and preserve the biodiversity on which their agroecosystems depend, affects not only the conservation of their forests, but the preservation of their culture. This paper examines the diversity of resources managed by the Naso farmers, while also addressing the broader cultural and socioeconomic issues influencing their traditional practices.
Disciplines
Agricultural and Resource Economics | Anthropology | Natural Resources and Conservation | Social and Cultural Anthropology
Recommended Citation
Ganz, Maisie, "Agroecology of the Naso-Teribe: The Management and Conservation of Traditional Agroecological Systems" (2005). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 434.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/434
Included in
Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons
Program Name
Panama: Development and Conservation