This paper describes in detail a community-based participatory mapping project that was carried out in collaboration with the Maijuna of the Peruvian Amazon. We use this project as a case study to explore the role that participatory mapping can play in ethnobiological studies and to examine the rich and diverse range of data that this methodology can generate, ultimately shedding light on how indigenous and local communities use, perceive, and interact with their environment and resources. Additionally, participatory mapping can be a powerful tool for biocultural conservation and community empowerment. This is especially critical given that many ethnobiologists work with marginalized indigenous and local communities experiencing enormous sociocultural and environmental change and challenges. Given the great potential of this methodology we strongly feel that participatory mapping can and should play a more significant role in ethnobiological studies.
Maijuna, Peruvian Amazon, participatory mapping, ethnobiological methods, biocultural conservation, community empowerment
Este artı´culo describe en detalle un proyecto comunitario basado en el mapeo participativo que se elaboro´ en colaboracio´n con los Maijuna de la Amazonia Peruana. Usamos este proyecto como estudio de caso para explorar el papel que el mapeo participativo puede tener en los estudios etnobiolo´gicos y para examinar la amplia y rica gama de datos que se pueden generar con esta metodologı´a para determinar co´mo las comunidades indı´genas y locales usan, perciben, e interactu´an con su medio ambiente y sus recursos. Adema´s el mapeo participativo puede ser una poderosa herramienta para la conservacio´n biocultural y el fortalecimiento comunitario. Esto es especialmente importante, ya que muchos etnobio´logos trabajan con comunidades indı´genas y locales marginalizadas que esta´n experimentando enormes cambios y retos socioculturales y medioambientales. Dado el gran potencial de esta metodologı´a creemos firmemente que el mapeo participativo puede y debe tener un papel ma´s relevante en los estudios etnobiolo´gicos.
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