Naturaleza y Sociedad. Desafíos Medioambientales

Nat. Soc.: Desafíos Medioambient. | eISSN 2805-8631

Traditional landscape knowledge in Mexican Indigenous communities

No. 12 (2025-05-23)
  • Gerardo Bocco Verdinelli
    Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
    ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4542-3544
https://doi.org/10.53010/nys.dia.07

Abstract

Research and dissemination of traditional landscape knowledge, recognized as part of local and, in some cases, Indigenous environmental knowledge, is less than studies derived from academic work in ethnobotany, ethnoecology, and, partially, ethnopedology. Evidence of this is a significant number of publications and several scientific societies that focus on ethnobiological topics in a broad sense.  However, from a local perspective, landscape is relevant as a part of cultural heritage and a tool in searching for solutions to environmental problems in rural areas. This text concisely presents arguments on traditional landscape knowledge as a modality of traditional environmental knowledge in Indigenous peasant areas in Mexico. First, it reviews, in a synthetic way, the concept of landscape and the approaches that have encouraged its study. Then, it considers the contributions of traditional knowledge to the topic, focusing on the landforms or geoforms present in the landscape in question. Finally, it presents conclusions and suggestions for further studies. It is a reflection based on bibliography and field experience, seeking to clarify the value of a type of knowledge that, in many cases, is in vulnerable conditions and at risk of disappearing

Keywords: environment, ethnobotany, ethnoecology, local knowledge, peasant communities, indigenous communities

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