Evidence of the shifting baseline syndrome in ethnobotanical research

Natalia Hanazaki,Mel Simionato Marques,Dannieli Firme Herbst,Ina Vandebroek

doi:10.1186/1746-4269-9-75

Abstract

BackgroundThe shifting baseline syndrome is a concept from ecology that can be analyzed in the context of ethnobotanical research. Evidence of shifting baseline syndrome can be found in studies dealing with intracultural variation of knowledge, when knowledge from different generations is compared and combined with information about changes in the environment and/or natural resources.MethodsWe reviewed 84 studies published between 1993 and 2012 that made comparisons of ethnobotanical knowledge according to different age classes. After analyzing these studies for evidence of the shifting baseline syndrome (lower knowledge levels in younger generations and mention of declining abundance of local natural resources), we searched within these studies for the use of the expressions “cultural erosion”, “loss of knowledge”, or “acculturation”.ResultsThe studies focused on different groups of plants (e.g. medicinal plants, foods, plants used for general purposes, or the uses of specific important species). More than half of all 84 studies (57%) mentioned a concern towards cultural erosion or knowledge loss; 54% of the studies showed evidence of the shifting baseline syndrome; and 37% of the studies did not provide any evidence of shifting baselines (intergenerational knowledge differences but no information available about the abundance of natural resources).Discussion and conclusionsThe general perception of knowledge loss among young people when comparing ethnobotanical repertoires among different age groups should be analyzed with caution. Changes in the landscape or in the abundance of plant resources may be associated with changes in ethnobotanical repertoires held by people of different age groups. Also, the relationship between the availability of resources and current plant use practices rely on a complexity of factors. Fluctuations in these variables can cause changes in the reference (baseline) of different generations and consequently be responsible for differences in intergenerational knowledge. Unraveling the complexity of changes in local knowledge systems in relation to environmental changes will allow the identification of more meaningful information for resource conservation.

Highlights

The shifting baseline syndrome is a concept from ecology that can be analyzed in the context of ethnobotanical research
The results highlighted in this paper show that, in addition, it is necessary to pay concurrent attention to the status of environmental changes that may reflect declining plant resources
Such ecological changes that contribute to the loss or declining availability of plants obviously can lead to the loss of valuable information within traditional knowledge systems [27], and this is mediated by changes in people’s perceptions about these resources

Summary

Introduction

The shifting baseline syndrome is a concept from ecology that can be analyzed in the context of ethnobotanical research. Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) is an important component in the improvement of natural resource management [1,2,3,4] and in the practices related to protection of ecosystems and species [5] This kind of knowledge is developed by local communities through adaptive experiences with natural resources. Following the discussion of this syndrome some authors argue that a similar trend may be occurring among fishermen [8,9,10,11,12], in studies about forest cover changes [13,14], bird fauna, and agriculture [15] This syndrome allows a historical approach in assessing an environment, which can be combined with aspects of the current local situation [16]. For a study on shifting baseline it is necessary to analyze information on processes of change in the environment, resources, or any other conditions, using the perception of the people who observe or follow this process [4]

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