Kombinowanie: agency,informality, and the poetics of self in Highland Poland

This article asks what role local models of agency and subjectivity play in the structure and interpretation of informal economic practices, and how this influences the ways in which people narrate their behaviour to others. Exploring the use of a common Polish idiom for informal activities – kombinowanie – amongst villagers in the Carpathian Highlands, it argues that the term acts as a ‘master‐trope’ for local identity, providing villagers with a narrative model for asserting and broadcasting their social agency to peers. Furthermore, it shows how in this particular ethnographic context, the retelling of instances of informal or illegal activity as kombinowanie can be seen as part of a Highlander ‘poetics of self’, in that each manifestation of the term carries with it a series of implicit sociohistorical and normative meanings that relate to notions of ‘typical’ Górale (Highland) behaviour. By characterizing kombinowanie as a type of tactics, I open up the term for comparative analysis with other local conceptions of agency which value insubordination.     

Rationality,Representation, and the Risk Mediating Characteristics of a Karakoram Mountain Farming System

Despite emerging appreciations of contextual knowledge systems, elements of diversity in mountain farming systems are often characterized as irrational and as obstacles to achieving the production goals of 'modernized' agriculture. In this paper, I suggest that these negative representations are produced at least in part as a function of the normalization of a large-scale agriculture as rational. A case-study of a mountain farming system in the Karakoram mountains of northern Pakistan is presented to expose a contextual rationality in relation to risk minimization and to challenge characterizations of this system as 'backward,' unsophisticated and irrational. Specifically I examine the risk mediating characteristics of practices such as field dispersal, delayed planting, intercropping, and polyvarietal planting and conclude that the characteristic feature of this local farming system is a contextually rational diversity. This conflicts with the modernist paradigm of rationality and economic growth subscribed to by a local development agency. Intervention based on ill-informed interpretations of traditional practice have the potential to increase vulnerability of villagers by failing to appreciate the contextual rationality of diversity.     

The implications of improved communications for participatory forest management in Tanzania

Following the 1998 National Forest Policy and Forest Act of 2002, participatory forest management (PFM) is being introduced in Tanzania. PFM has two key objectives: to reduce forest degradation thereby increasing ecosystem services, and to improve the livelihoods of local villagers. A unique data set collected in 2006 suggests that significant challenges remain with respect to communicating the new forest policies if the objectives of PFM are to be achieved. First, villagers as a group are much less well informed than other stakeholders, and their knowledge is often inaccurate. Second, women are less likely than men to have heard of the changes. Third, how PFM will contribute to poverty reduction (a key objective of PFM) is not always clear. Fourth, environmental degradation may not be reduced as much as anticipated – without alternatives sources, villagers often continue to cut trees for charcoal and firewood in the protected forests. Finally, several mismatches in perceptions are identified that could lead to difficulties in implementing PFM.     

Who Detects Ecological Change After Catastrophic Events? Indigenous Knowledge,Social Networks,and Situated Practices

Detecting ecological change is a critical first step in the process of local-level adaptation, yet few studies have explored the factors that predict knowledge acquisition following catastrophic events. This article empirically assesses individual variation in the ability of Solomon Islanders to detect ecological change following the alteration of local, shallow-water, marine environments by a major tsunami. We compare the results of marine science surveys with local ecological knowledge of the benthos. We also examine multiple socioeconomic variables, and employ social network analysis to measure the influence of social and expert networks. Results show that villagers with salaried work who are at the intersection of local and global knowledge were the most adept at detecting tsunami-induced changes to benthic surfaces. Social networks had no statistically significant influence on villagers’ abilities to detect change. We argue that these results counter common conceptualizations of indigenous knowledge that emphasize its normative, shared, inter-generationally transmitted characteristics rather than its heterogeneity, emergence, and practical application. Our findings have implications for theory about the foundations of indigenous knowledge research and the design of disaster mitigation efforts or resource management programs that incorporate indigenous ecological knowledge.     

Participatory Resource Monitoring as a Means for Promoting Social Change in Yunnan,China

Recent international forest policies stimulate involvement of communities in forest management as a strategy to improve biodiversity conservation and the quality of local livelihoods. Increasingly, the role of local people in monitoring forest resources is also acknowledged. This paper presents a participatory resources monitoring (PRM) system developed and implemented by representatives of 12 villages, six each within and adjacent to two nature reserves in Yunnan, China. The short-term objectives are to monitor resource and wildlife abundance, resource use, wildlife damage to crops, and land use. Main methods used by the village monitoring team are: (1) observation through forest walk, (2) village interview, and (3) market survey. Monitoring is implemented throughout the year to fit in the daily work of villagers. Staff from the nature reserve or forestry bureau provide support by visiting the villages several days per year. Results indicate that participatory monitoring is a valuable tool for villagers to engage in self-owned management actions. We discuss how monitoring is also a process which could lead to social change. Based on narratives we suggest that participatory monitoring builds trust between stakeholders, changes perceptions and attitudes and leads to more democratic and transparent decision-making. In discussing accuracy, we argue that all stakeholders perceive and interpret nature differently based on different worldviews, knowledge systems, values and beliefs. We argue that if participatory monitoring is to be sustainable, community-based monitoring – preferably linked to scientific monitoring and patrolling – should be designed as a discursive institution where the process of building social capital and inter-actor learning is extremely important. Finally, we briefly reflect upon efforts to scale up participatory monitoring.     

Hail‐induced mortality of Asian Openbill (Anastomus oscitans) in Southern Tropical China

Hailstorms has been reported to cause mortality of mammals or birds around the world, but the effect of hailstorms on tropical avian species has seldomly been documented. In April 2020, a hailstorm hit Xishuangbanna in south China and was reported to kill 45 Asian Openbills. We estimated the effect of hail by doing fieldwork and interviews. We walked along transects to survey the local avian diversity 3 days after the hail; checked the dead species along the transect; and also interviewed 67 local villagers in 14 villages in the impacted area. We found no evidence that other species were killed by the hail and recorded 40 bird species along the transects in April. Four months later, we surveyed the same transects and recorded 38 species, and the Asian Openbill stayed as one of the most dominant bird species. We concluded that the Asian Openbill is more vulnerable to hail compared with other local birds, but this single hail event did not have an obvious long‐term impact on the population. The result provided an important case study for a tropical bird''s response to extreme climate events and we suggested more similar observations to be made in the future.     

Tradisi and Moderen,Village and State: Emergent Tensions in a Sasak Health Quest

On Lombok island, in the province of West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, indigenous medicine and biomedicine coexist. Nevertheless, biomedicine, a product of modernity and the development of the state has been superimposed on village life along with other state institutions such as education. In this paper I analyse the processes involved in Sasak villagers' quest for health. Operating within various and sometimes overlapping social fields and conflicting discourses, villagers utilise both local indigenous practices as well as the Indonesian national health system in their quest. Because local or ordinary knowledge is a rich resource for interpretation, I describe the health quest through the participant individuals: family members, neighbours, doctors and nursing personnel involved. The subjectivity of the individual participants contributes to the intricate unfolding of health seeking quests to expose the various tensions which emerge between tradition (tradisi [I]) and modernity (moderen [I]) and between state and village.     

Projects Come,Projects Go: Lessons from Participatory Monitoring in Southern Laos

This paper examines how a biodiversity monitoring system based on data collected by protected area staff and local communities was established and maintained in Xe Pian national protected area, Laos. Monitoring activities commenced with project support in 1998. Protected area staff, district forestry staff and villagers continued the monitoring work after 2001 when the external advisers left. More than 2500 records of wildlife, natural resource use and threats to the protected area were collected by villagers and protected area staff, mainly through use of patrols, village discussions and village logbooks. The management interventions that followed the monitoring activities were a reaction to immediate threats or perceived trends in biodiversity rather than to trends revealed by analyses of the collected data. Patrols and village discussions came to a virtual standstill when external funding ceased, probably because of lack of supporting national policies. The annual running cost of the monitoring system was only about US$ 4000 or 0.02 per ha of forest habitat.     

Ethnobotanical survey of plants used in Afyonkarahisar-Turkey

Background

The traditional knowledge about plants and their uses in Turkey is disappearing in recent years because the new generations of villagers migrate to big cities for a better life. Afyonkarahisar located at the intersection of roads and phytogeographical regions (Mediterranean, Iran-Turan, and Euro-Siberian) has more than 2500 plant species. This richness of plant diversity promotes the indigenous commuity for the traditional use of wild plants. The aim of the study is to show wild plants’ ethnobotanical usages associated with medicinal, food, fodder, and household goods in 31 settlements within the boundaries of Afyonkarahisar province.

Methods

The ethnobotanical data were collected from 46 informants by means of semi-structured interviews from 2012 to 2014. Ethnobotanical uses of plants of the study area were conducted in the vicinity of Afyonkarahisar (5 districts, 8 towns, 15 villages, and 3 neighborhood centers).

Results

One hundred and thirty plant taxa belonging to 39 families were recorded and collected. Hundred and seventy-eight different uses of these plants were documented and used generally for medicinal (84), food (68), fodder (16), household goods (3), dyes (3), handicrafts (3) and religious (1).

Conclusion

This study provides interesting uses of plants in the local community of Afyonkarahisar and its surrounding area, in what purpose they make use of plants, how they make use of them and obtained results will contribute to economy of villagers. Since the local people, especially in villages, are poor and do not have health care, they use the plants to treat illnesses, food, fodder, household goods and other uses (evil eye). Also this study will light the way for posterity for next generations.

     

Spatial distribution as a measure of conservation needs: an example with Asiatic black bears in south-western China

Aim To create a fine‐scale map of the distribution of Asiatic black bears, identify landscape variables affecting the spatial range of this species and assess population trends using presence–absence data and opinions of local villagers. Location Sichuan Province, south‐western China. Methods We divided the province into 15 × 15 km cells, stratified them by forest cover, elevation and road density and randomly selected 494 cells (21% of province) for surveys. In each cell, we interviewed villagers and ground‐verified their reports of bear presence. We ground‐truthed reports of bear absence by conducting transects for bear sign in the best available habitat. We used logistic regression to identify key variables affecting presence of bears and predict their occurrence in unsampled cells. Results We detected bears in 360 cells (73%). Models correctly predicted bear occurrence in 90.3% of cells where we detected bears and 84.5% of sampled cells where bears were absent. Models predicted 42.7% of Sichuan to be occupied by bears. Bear occurrence was strongly related to forest cover throughout the province. Roads had a negative effect in western region of province. Agricultural lands had a negative effect only when they were distant from forests. Villagers were accurate in their knowledge of bear presence or absence. Interviewed villagers (n = 1816) thought that bears were increasing in 32%, stable in 10%, and decreasing in 58% of cells with bears. Where bear populations were perceived to be declining, villagers identified poaching as the most common cause. Main conclusions Our fine‐scale distribution map can be used for future monitoring and the key landscape factors related to occupancy by bears can be used in management plans for this species. Interviewing local villagers is an efficient and reliable means of assessing distribution, and changes therein, for animals such as bears that often interact with people and leave obvious signs.     

Adult Education, Language Change, and Issues of Identity and Authenticity in Kwara'ae (Solomon Islands)

Less endangered than other languages discussed in this issue, Kwara'ae provides a useful illustration of the early stages of language erosion and the importance of language to cultural survival. We argue that the foundation of a people's identity and cultural authenticity is their culturally shared indigenous epistemology, embodied in and expressed through their heritage language. We examine these points in nonformal adult education workshops aimed at rural villagers.     

Evolution in metacommunities: on the relative importance of species sorting and monopolization in structuring communities

Abstract: Adaptive evolution within species and community assembly involving multiple species are both affected by dispersal and spatiotemporal environmental variation and may thus interact with each other. We examined this interaction in a simple three-patch metacommunity and found that these two processes produce very different associations between species composition and local environment. In most conditions, we find a pattern we call "species sorting," wherein local adaptation by resident species cannot prevent invasions by other preadapted species as environmental conditions change (strong association between local environmental conditions and local community composition). When dispersal rates are very low relative to the other two rates, local adaptation by resident species predominates, leading to strong priority effects that prevent successful colonization by other species that would have been well adapted, a pattern we call "local monopolization." When dispersal and evolutionary rates are both very high, we find that an evolving species outcompetes other species in all patches, a pattern we call "global monopolization." When environmental oscillations are very frequent, local monopolization predominates. Our findings indicate that there can be strong modification of community assembly by local adaptive processes and that these depend strongly on the relative rates of evolution, dispersal, and environmental change.     

The diet of Pteropus voeltzkowi, an endangered fruit bat endemic to Pemba Island, Tanzania

The diet of the Pemba flying fox Pteropus voeltzkowi , a species endemic to the island of Pemba off Tanzania, was investigated. Faecal pellets, ejecta and dropped fruits were collected from under roosts to facilitate dietary analysis. This was supplemented by data from local villagers and school students. The main component of the diet was mango ( Mangifera indica ), but bats also ate breadfruit ( Artocarpus altilis ), figs ( Ficus spp.), flowers, leaves, and other fruit. Pollen from at least five plant species was also found in faecal pellets. Pteropus voeltzkowi may be one of the only species on the island that disperses larger seeds. The germination rate of bat‐ingested seeds was higher than that for seeds from ripe fruit, and this appeared to be linked to selective ingestion of viable seeds by bats.     

Skin test for paragonimiasis among schoolchildren and villagers in Namback District, Luangprabang Province, Lao PDR

As a part of a broader effort to determine the status of Paragonimus species infection in Lao PDR, an epidemiological survey was conducted on villagers and schoolchildren in Namback District between 2003 and 2005. Among 308 villagers and 633 primary and secondary schoolchildren, 156 villagers and 92 children evidenced a positive reaction on a Paragonimus skin test. Only 4 schoolchildren out of 128 skin test-positive cases had Paragonimus sp. eggs in their sputum, all of which was collected on 1 day. Several types of crabs, which were identified as the second intermediate host of the Paragonimus species, were collected from markets and streams in a paragonimiasis endemic area for the inspection of metacercariae. Among the examined crabs, only "rock crabs" (Indochinamon ou) harbored Paragonimus sp. metacercariae, and it is speculated that the life cycle of Paragonimus sp. was maintained via rock crabs in Namback District, Lao PDR.     

The Human–Macaque Interface: Conservation Implications of Current and Future Overlap and Conflict in Lore Lindu National Park, Sulawesi, Indonesia

Here, I examine overlapping resource use of forest and cultivated resources by villagers and tonkean macaques (Macaca tonkeana) in Lore Lindu National Park, Sulawesi, Indonesia. An integrative research design was employed, using methods from primatology and cultural anthropology, in conjunction with quantitative measurements of cacao crop loss. The results indicate that the current patterns of overlapping resource use may not be severely affecting the tonkean macaques or villagers in Lindu. The research does, however, point to possible future difficulty if cacao crop raiding by macaques increases, and as changing socioeconomic trends and loss of traditional folklore result in further modification of macaque habitat. Successful strategies to ameliorate human–macaque conflict may require efforts aimed at the adoption of alternative buffer zone crops that use shade-management systems, the deliberate protection of important macaque food species, and increasing local tolerance to crop raiding by exploring the role of macaques in forest regeneration.     

Fatal Outbreak from Consuming Xanthium strumarium Seedlings during Time of Food Scarcity in Northeastern Bangladesh

Background

An outbreak characterized by vomiting and rapid progression to unconsciousness and death was reported in Sylhet Distrct in northeastern Bangladesh following destructive monsoon floods in November 2007.

Methods and Findings

We identified cases presenting to local hospitals and described their clinical signs and symptoms. We interviewed patients and their families to collect illness histories and generate hypotheses about exposures associated with disease. An epidemiological study was conducted in two outbreak villages to investigate risk factors for developing illness. 76 patients were identified from 9 villages; 25% (19/76) died. Common presenting symptoms included vomiting, elevated liver enzymes, and altered mental status. In-depth interviews with 33 cases revealed that 31 (94%) had consumed ghagra shak, an uncultivated plant, in the hours before illness onset. Ghagra shak was consumed as a main meal by villagers due to inaccessibility of other foods following destructive monsoon flooding and rises in global food prices. Persons who ate this plant were 34.2 times more likely (95% CI 10.2 to 115.8, p-value<0.000) than others to develop vomiting and unconsciousness during the outbreak in our multivariate model. Ghagra shak is the local name for Xanthium strumarium, or common cocklebur.

Conclusions

The consumption of Xanthium strumarium seedlings in large quantities, due to inaccessibility of other foods, caused this outbreak. The toxic chemical in the plant, carboxyatratyloside, has been previously described and eating X. strumarium seeds and seedlings has been associated with fatalities in humans and livestock. Unless people are able to meet their nutritional requirements with safe foods, they will continue to be at risk for poor health outcomes beyond undernutrition.     

Education,gender, and generational change: The transformation of dowry in village Nepal

In a small Bahun village in Gorkha district, West Nepal, in only one generation, there has been a huge shift to educating young women and including them in modernity. Ideologies of ‘gender equality’ in education that are promoted in development programs and discourse, and in Maoist rhetoric, have been powerful drivers behind this. In this paper I highlight the gender and generational dynamics of the changing relationship of women to education in Nepal. I argue that the move to educating women is not a simple one, nor is it necessarily a development success story. The importance placed on educating the younger generation, including women, is also very much tied to local Bahun culture, marriage values and status. Bahun villagers of Ludigaun place great importance on both education and marriage. When combined, I argue, education has in fact become dowry. While there have been transformations in education and other modernising processes, as well as in dowry practices, in this paper I show that they have come to maintain traditional hierarchies and to support the status making of the educated Bahun man.     

People,Patches, and Parasites: The Case of Trypanosomiasis in Zimbabwe

Understanding the socio-ecology of disease requires careful attention to the role of patches within disease landscapes. Such patches, and the interfaces between different socio-epidemiological systems, we argue, have important implications for disease control. We conducted an interdisciplinary study over three years to investigate the spatial dynamics of human and animal trypanosomiasis in the Zambezi valley, Zimbabwe. We used a habitat niche model to identify changes in suitable habitat for tsetse fly vectors over time, and this is related to local villagers’ understandings of where flies are found. Fly trapping and blood DNA analysis of livestock highlighted the patchy distribution of both flies and trypanosome parasites. Through livelihoods analysis we explored who makes use of what areas of the landscape and when, identifying the social groups most at risk. We conclude with a discussion of the practical implications, including the need for an integrated ‘One Health’ approach involving targeted approaches to both vector control and surveillance.     

Natural selection, larval dispersal, and the geography of phenotype in the sea

Populations evolve generalist, specialist, and plastic strategies in response to environmental heterogeneity. Describing such within-species variation in phenotype and how it arises is central to understanding a variety of ecological and evolutionary topics. The literature on phenotypic differences among populations is highly biased; for every one article published on a marine species, at least 10 articles are published on a terrestrial species and eight focus on terrestrial plants. Here, I outline what we know from the marine literature about geographic variation in phenotype in the sea, with a principal focus on local adaptation. The theory of environmental "grain" predicts that the most likely evolutionary response (e.g., local adaptation, phenotypic plasticity, generalism, and balanced polymorphism) depends on the spatial scale of environmental variation relative to the distance that an organism disperses. Consistent with these predictions, phenotypic plasticity is stronger among invertebrates with geographically broad dispersal versus restricted dispersal (i.e., planktonic-dispersers versus direct-developers). However, contrary to predictions, the relative frequency, and spatial scale of local adaptation is not consistently greater among direct-developers relative to planktonic disperers. This indicates that the likelihood of local adaptation depends on other organismal or environmental traits. Two of the most vexing issues that remain include (1) predicting the extent to which barriers to dispersal are a cause versus consequence of phenotypic differentiation and (2) delineating the relative importance of evolutionary forces that favor or impede local adaptation. Understanding the mechanistic basis of the geography of phenotypic differences, or phenogeography, has gained recent momentum because of a need to predict impacts of global climatic change, anthropogenic disturbances, and dispersal of organisms to non-native habitats.     

Psychosocial assessment for victims of violence in Peru: the importance of local participation

This paper describes a pilot study assessing the psychosocial impact of political violence in the Peruvian Andes, utilizing a collaborative approach with local professionals and communities. The study team prioritized dialogue and information exchange with the local professional community and villagers participating in the assessment in order to raise awareness of psychosocial issues and provide education and support. Participation in the pilot study had positive therapeutic effects for villagers, and inspired ongoing discussion groups to address psychosocial problems in communities. This paper also describes a psychosocial assessment strategy utilizing qualitative methods and an adaptation of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire in collaboration with Andean villagers. Usefulness and limitations of the data will be reviewed, in terms of cultural and context relevance, usefulness for informing interventions, and comparisons with ethnographic methodologies and other survey instruments.