Taking Stock In Ethnobiology: Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?

Abstract

For ethnobiology as a field to achieve its full relevance in the scientific and social realms, ethnobiologists need to take stock of the field as a collective. In 2008, the members of the International Society of Ethnobiology (ISE), Society of Ethnobiology (SoE) and the Society of Economic Botany (SEB) were surveyed to determine the demographics of the societies, member interests and priorities, and the future they envision for each society and for the field as a whole. The three societies share relatively few members, suggesting that the societies fulfill substantively different roles for ethnobiologists. The ISE strives to be a meeting ground for all stakeholders internationally and draws more biologists. The SoE was founded with an academic emphasis and draws most members from North America and anthropological traditions. SEB is also an academicallyoriented society with a strong focus on botany. We call for synergies and networking among these societies and a broader ethnobiology constituency to leverage the insights and applications of the field to contemporary ecological and social crises.