Policy interpretations and manifestation of biocultural diversity in urbanized Europe: conservation of lived biodiversity

Birgit H M Elands,Arjen E Buijs,Kati Vierikko,K Freerk Wiersum

doi:10.1007/s10531-015-0985-6

Birgit H M Elands, Arjen E Buijs + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-015-0985-6

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Abstract

Biocultural diversity, which refers to the inextricable link between biodiversity and cultural diversity, has been predominantly associated with the traditional ways in which indigenous people in tropical countries interact with the natural environment. But it does not have to be restricted to these circumstances. Biocultural diversity may also be regarded as an interesting concept for understanding how people in industrialized and globalized societies deal with nature. This paper explores biocultural diversity in 20 European cities by considering (i) how biocultural diversity is interpreted in urban planning and governance, and (ii) what actual manifestations of biocultural diversity are present in these cities. Despite the fact that the concept of biocultural diversity was hardly recognized by city authorities, interviewees gave many examples of how biodiversity and cultural diversity are taken into account in (in) formal city policies. The research revealed two main manifestations of biocultural diversity within urban Europe: biocultural diversity grounded in ecological features, and cultural values as a basic foundation for biocultural diversity. Consequently, urban biocultural diversity was found to have two spatial levels: the city level and the site level. The former is the domain of governmental policy makers who discuss biocultural diversity in ‘green space networks’ in a rather static way. The latter is the domain where citizens participate in decisionmaking and the management of green spaces; it is here that cultural dynamics are most acknowledged.

Highlights

IntroductionThe 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity states that biodiversity conservation programmes should recognize the knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous peoples and local communities regarding biodiversity
Biocultural diversity: origins and discussionThe 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity states that biodiversity conservation programmes should recognize the knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous peoples and local communities regarding biodiversity
Biocultural diversity, which refers to the inextricable link between biodiversity and cultural diversity, has been predominantly associated with the traditional ways in which indigenous people in tropical countries interact with the natural environment

Summary

Introduction

The 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity states that biodiversity conservation programmes should recognize the knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous peoples and local communities regarding biodiversity This notion was further elaborated in 1999, when the United Nations Environment Programme published an overview of the cultural and spiritual values of biodiversity as a contribution to the Global Biodiversity Assessment (Posey 1999). The concept was specified as involving the diversity of life in all its manifestations—biological, cultural, and linguistic- all of which are interrelated (and are likely to have co-evolved) within a complex socio-ecological system (Persic and Martin 2008). This link between nature and culture has especially been explored in tropical countries (Maffi 2005; Maffi and Woodley 2010). The concept of biocultural diversity has often been discussed within a dichotomizing model that contrasts the retention of biocultural diversity amongst indigenous people with its loss due to socioeconomic modernization (Rapport and Maffi 2010)

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