Towards an Environmental Anthropology for the Appropriation of Biocultural Heritage of Indigenous Peoples in Latin America

Abstract

This work incorporates the concept of biocultural heritage to the discussion on the alternatives for the socio-environmental crises promoted by globalization and transnationalization of the economy. Climate global change represents the largest failure the markets have ever seen, and interacts with other market imperfections. From a southern perspective, environmental politics does not trust globalization as an alternative to solve global environmental crisis, even under a “green economy” concept. Poverty and ecocides as components of the neoliberal colonialism are the intrinsic logic to the extractivism suffered in Latin America: green fields with millions of hectares of transgenic corn and soya, massive deforested areas for timber plantations, mega hydro electrical projects for mining concessions and fracking for shell gas extraction are just a few examples which have invaded our landscapes. From the multi diverse movements in Latin America, the critical interculturalism, indigenous philosophies, biocultural memory, the ecological importance of traditional knowledge and well living, it seeks approaches that go beyond this abysmal nature-culture duality  and the instrumental western idea about body and nature. Since 2000 the concept of biocultural diversity has emerged and the idea of heritage was added to this concept, as an essential component of “defend what is ours” idea. In this work I intend to link the concept of biocultural heritage with the southern epistemology.