Browsing by Author "Sarmiento, Fausto O."

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    Agrobiodiversity in mountain territories: family farming and the challenges of social-environmental changes
    (Springer, 2023) Ibarra Eliessetch, Jose Tomas; Marchant, Carla; Olivares, Fernanda; Caviedes, Julián; Santana Sagredo, Francisca; Monterrubio-Solís, Constanza; Sarmiento, Fausto O.; Pontifica Universidad Católica de Chile
    Family farming plays a fundamental role in food production. However, it faces rapid processes of social-environmental change, such as the application of hegemonic agrarian modernization policies and restrictions on the circulation of traditional seeds. Institutional changes are also altering practices and social relations, while climate change is the main factor in biodiversity loss and increased human vulnerability and the threat to livelihoods. The negative effects of these processes are particularly alarming in mountain territories. These systems are considered “biocultural refuges” since they often contain high levels of agrobiodiversity, complex systems of knowledge, and unique agricultural practices with identity value for local communities and indigenous peoples. This chapter examines the role of mountain family farming as a biocultural refuge and discusses the challenges it faces in a context of social-environmental crises, describing cases of mountain agricultural systems in nine of the world’s main mountain territories and showing that they are fragile spaces and highly vulnerable to certain processes of social-environmental change. For this reason, we urge the identification and promotion of strategies to foster the adaptation and resilience of mountain family farming as a way of contributing to the food security and sovereignty of the communities that inhabit these territories.
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    Critical biogeography of mountains: towards a biocultural landscape frontier of montology
    (2016) Sarmiento, Fausto O.; Ibarra Eliessetch, José Tomás; Barreau, Antonia; Pizarro, J. Cristóbal; Rozzi, Ricardo; González, Juan A.; Frolich, Larry M.; Milligan, Richard A.
    Mountains have remained stronger targets of geographical enquiry than most other landforms. Whether physical edifices, cultural manipulations on slopelands, or even metaphorical ethical and spiritual heights, many angles of mountain research have informed current narratives of global environmental change. In this paper we review how Mountain Geography as a disciplinary field has developed through stages of shifting geographic paradigms, from the Humboldtian to the sustainability paradigm at present. We propose advancing theoretical frameworks for mountain research by analyzing contributions of critical biogeography on integration of biocultural heritage and biodiversity conservation narratives of nature—culture hybrids, and how bridging sciences and humanities enlightens the development of geographical enquiry on the Americas. In all these sites biocultural frameworks of original research guide the understanding and agency of biocultural mountain landscape dynamics. With situated exemplars from wild edible plants, medicinal plants, sacred trees, agrifoodstuff, ritualistic plants, terrestrial and marine mammals, birds and amphibians, we seek to convey the need for a cohesive understanding of mountains as both biocultural and social—ecological systems. The transdisciplinary field of Montology deserves integration to engage future geographers and interdisciplinary researchers in assessments for resource protection, food sovereignty, and sustainable development of fragile biocultural and social—ecological mountain systems throughout the Americas
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    Socio-ornitología: una aproximación integradora y crítica para el estudio de los sistemas aves-gente en Chile
    (2017) Ibarra Eliessetch, José Tomás; Pizarro, J. Cristóbal; Barreau, Antonia; Piñones Cañete, César; Sarmiento, Fausto O.
    Las relaciones entre las aves y la gente son parte del complejo vínculo entre la diversidad biológica y las culturas. Este vínculo es evidente en la forma en que los problemas ambientales (deforestación, desertificación, contaminación, sobre-explotación) y sociales (pobreza, inequidad, erosión cultural) impactan a las aves y a las comunidades de forma sinérgica. Por esto, una aproximación interdisciplinaria pero también crítica es necesaria para abordar esta relación. Sin embargo, la elevada ultra-especialización académica evalúa las causas de estos problemas de forma disociada y entiende los impactos sobre las aves o sobre la gente también de forma aislada. Nosotros proponemos una " socio-ornitología " basada en un ciclo de tres pasos que (i) entiende las relaciones aves-gente dentro de sistemas socio-ecológicos interconectados, (ii) examina los problemas socio-ambientales usando " lentes críticos " de las ciencias naturales y sociales (e.g. ecología, historia, educación ambiental, etnociencias, artes) y (iii) propone acciones de conservación interdisciplinaria que aborde factores multi-escalares y multi-dimensionales de estos problemas. Se entregan casos de Chile para ilustrar este análisis socio-ornitológico. Finalmente, se sugiere que ornitólogos trabajando en iniciativas de conservación requieren de un entrenamiento interdisciplinario y contextualizado por la relación recíproca que existe entre los problemas sociales y ambientales en el país.
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    Towards a cohesive and critical socio-ornithology for the Neotropics
    (2015) Ibarra Eliessetch, José Tomás; Pizarro, J. Cristóbal; Barreau, Antonia; Sarmiento, Fausto O.; Martínez Mauri, Mónica; Piñones Cañete, César; Medrano, Celeste
    Bird-human relationships represent the complex linkage between biological and cultural diversity, and thus integrative but also critical approaches are needed for their effectiveconservation. The Neotropics is a vast ecozone including Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean, with the world’s greatest bird diversity and nearly 1,000 human languages. Neotropical languages and other cultural dimensions (e.g. ontology,medicine, food, politics, art) are inextricably linked to birds. This link is evident in the way that environmental (deforestation, desertification, urban sprawl) and social (poverty, inequalities, cultural erosion) problems synergistically impact avian and human communities. However, increasing academic ultra-specialization narrowly treats causes of environmental problems, and isolates their impacts over either bird or human communitieswithin the ecozone. We propose a cohesive and critical “socio-ornithology” that aims to (i) understand bird-human relationships as units comprising interconnected systems, and (ii) examine environmental problems drawing on critical stands from natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities (e.g. ecology, history, environmental education, ethnosciences, ontology, political ecology, arts). We provide cases from Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Latin American immigrants in North America, to illustrate how the analysis of the interwoven nature of bird-human relationships informs about multi-scale and multi-dimensional drivers impacting bird-people systems. We suggest that ornithologists working on conservation initiatives in the Neotropics require an interdisciplinary training with local relevance because of the reciprocal links between regional environmental and social problems.