Indigenous Children\u2019s Knowledge About Non-timber Forest Products in Suriname

Tim Van Den Boog,Janette Bulkan,Tinde Van Andel

doi:10.1007/s12231-017-9400-4

Tim Van Den Boog, Janette Bulkan + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-017-9400-4

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Abstract

Childhood and adolescence are important life stages for the acquisition of knowledge about non-timber forest products (NTFPs). We show at which stage in life traditional plant knowledge is learned and analyze whether cross-cultural ethnobotanical knowledge transmission takes place. We evaluate whether the degree of forest dependency influences ethnobotanical knowledge by comparing two indigenous communities in Suriname. Traditional knowledge was documented and vouchers collected during forest walks with adult informants. Questionnaires were completed by 74 schoolchildren (age 4 to 14) to capture their knowledge of names and uses of nine important NTFPs. We tested for knowledge differences by ethnicity and NTFP categories. Local names for NTFPs were analyzed to determine cross-cultural transmission of ethnobotanical knowledge. Children from the forest-dependent Trio community (n = 23) possessed similar knowledge of NTFPs as their more urbanized peers from Apoera (n = 51). NTFP uses were acquired at an earlier age than plant names. Food and commercial NTFP uses were better known than medicinal plant uses. Cross-cultural transfer of knowledge occurred between the two communities. NTFP knowledge of children appeared to be influenced more by the time they spent within the forest, either walking to school or walking to agricultural plots, than by the level of forest dependency or acculturation.

Highlights

The body of traditional knowledge about nontimber forest products (NTFPs) held by indigenous peoples has been declining over the past century
Other losses are due to changes in the livelihoods and lifestyles of indigenous peoples in which certain NTFPs are substituted by modern goods that are less time-consuming to prepare, more effective, and considered up-to-date (McCarter and Gavin 2015; Quave and Saitta 2016; Voeks and Leony 2004)
Informants from Apoera scored slightly higher than Trio informants, there was no significant difference found in NTFP knowledge between children of both communities (p = 0.210)

Summary

Introduction

The body of traditional knowledge about nontimber forest products (NTFPs) held by indigenous peoples has been declining over the past century. Some losses of traditional ethnobotanical knowledge are triggered by restricted access to forests imposed by industries or governments that exclude local communities from the harvesting of NTFPs on their customary territories (Blaser et al 2011). Other losses are due to changes in the livelihoods and lifestyles of indigenous peoples in which certain NTFPs are substituted by modern goods that are less time-consuming to prepare, more effective, and considered up-to-date (McCarter and Gavin 2015; Quave and Saitta 2016; Voeks and Leony 2004). Formerly important ethnobotanical knowledge tends to become superfluous and may be quickly forgotten or deliberately rejected when no longer used in (traditional) activities, thereby reshaping the forest dependency of local communities

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