Abstract
Research on natural resource management suggests that local perceptions form the basis upon which many small-scale societies monitor availability and change in the stock of common-pool natural resources. In contrast, this literature debates whether local perceptions can be effective in guiding the sustainable management of natural resources. With empirical evidence on this matter still highly limited, this work explores the role of local perceptions as drivers of harvesting and management behavior in a small-scale society in Bolivian Amazonia. We conducted structured interviews to capture local perceptions of availability and change in the stock of thatch palm (Geonoma deversa) amongst the Tsimane', an indigenous society of foragers-horticulturalists (n = 296 adults in 13 villages). We analyzed whether perceptions of availability match estimates of abundance obtained from ecological data and whether differences in perception help to explain harvesting behavior and local management of thatch palm. Perceptions of availability of G. deversa are highly contingent upon the social, economic and cultural conditions within which the Tsimane' have experienced changes in the availability of the resource, thus giving a better reflection of the historical, rather than of the ecological, dimensions of the changes undergone. While local perceptions might fall short in precision when scrutinized from an ecological standpoint, their importance in informing sustainable management should not be underestimated. Our findings show that most of the harvesting and management actions that the Tsimane' undertake are, at least partially, shaped by their local perceptions. This paper contributes to the broader literature on natural resource management by providing empirical evidence of the critical role of local perceptions in promoting collective responses for the sustainable management of natural resources.
Highlights
Strong evidence suggests that small-scale societies are capable of designing robust institutional arrangements for managing natural resources sustainably (Ostrom 1999, Agrawal 2001, Basurto et al 2013)
With empirical evidence on this matter still highly limited, we explored the role of local perceptions as drivers of harvesting and management behavior in a small-scale society in Bolivian Amazonia
These user rights are generally defined according to the Tsimane' customary usufruct system, such that a stand of thatch palm belongs to the household or clan who first harvested it and is generally the property of households with closest access from their houses or agricultural plots, from which they generally trace their trails (Huanca 2008)
Summary
Strong evidence suggests that small-scale societies are capable of designing robust institutional arrangements for managing natural resources sustainably (Ostrom 1999, Agrawal 2001, Basurto et al 2013). Local knowledge and individual perceptions often form the basis upon which many small-scale societies monitor availability and change in natural resources (Maule and Hodgkinson 2002, López-Hoffman et al 2006). For this reason, local perceptions are considered critical in designing the success of the sustainable management of natural resources among small-scale societies (Oldekop et al 2012, McCarthy et al 2014)
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