Biocultural Landscapes Research Articles

Pang-ngooteekeeya weeng malangeepa ngeeye (remembering our future: bringing old ideas to the new)

In this paper, we highlight the poor health of the Australian environment and propose a new framing for how we care for Maar Country. We identify the basis for our Law/Lore of the Land and describe six guiding principles for our proposed biocultural landscape restoration approach. We also explore the way that our ancestors used cultural stories to guide the management of Country and we reflect on how we are adopting these same approaches today by giving culturally significant entities primacy in our approach to caring for Country. Finally, we extend an invitation to non-Aboriginal scientists, conservationists, and government agencies to work with us to care for Country, in a respectful and holistic manner. Position statement We, the authors of this paper, are all either Aboriginal Australians or employed by the Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation. We are all actively participating in the Pang-ngooteekeeya weeng malangeepa ngeeye project.

Biocultural Landscapes and the Scalability of Biocultural Heritage

La perspectiva geográfica puede ayudar a resolver la actual falta de estructura en el abordaje de los distintos niveles de agregación del fenómeno biocultural. Para ello, se necesita un marco conceptual que aborde la escalabilidad del fenómeno y su correspondencia con escalas geográficas. Desde el surgimiento del concepto de diversidad biocultural se han planteado importantes preguntas de investigación sobre los patrones de distribución espacial de la biodiversidad, la cultura y el lenguaje, y la última década del siglo XX vio nacer un nuevo campo académico interdisciplinario. En la última década el nivel de paisaje se señaló como el nivel adecuado para evaluar las relaciones cultura-naturaleza, no obstante poco se ha discutido sobre los diferentes niveles de integración del patrimonio biocultural y cuáles son los elementos básicos que son considerados en los niveles superiores de integración, por ejemplo a nivel de paisaje, así como su relación con las escalas geográficas. No existe claridad sobre lo que puede ser considerado un paisaje biocultural. Se propone aquí un marco incipiente para la exploración de los diferentes niveles de integración del patrimonio biocultural. El esquema general relaciona principalmente las expresiones tangibles de la bioculturalidad con el espacio geográfico, y considera hasta el momento seis niveles de integración: recursos, entidades, lugares, territorios, paisajes y regiones. Los elementos listados son todos resultado de la interdependencia entre naturaleza y cultura, y representan diferentes niveles de agregación del fenómeno biocultural; estos niveles son a su vez relacionados con otras dimensiones como la organización socio-espacial para el manejo de la naturaleza, así como las dimensiones biológicas y lingüísticas asociadas. Se proponen las escalas geográficas relevantes para abordar cada nivel de integración.

A hermeneutic phenomenological exploration of the cultural components of the bio-cultural landscape of the Wayanad dwarf cattle

A hermeneutic phenomenological exploration of the cultural components of the bio-cultural landscape of the Wayanad dwarf cattle

New criteria for sustainable land use planning of metropolitan green infrastructures in the tropical Andes

ContextUrbanization is rapidly increasing worldwide, with about 60% of the global population currently residing in cities and expected to reach 68% by 2050. In Latin America's tropical Andes region, managing these changes poses challenges, including biodiversity loss and vulnerability to climate change.ObjectivesThis study assesses urban growth and agricultural intensification impacts on the ecological functionality of metropolitan green infrastructures and their capacity to provide ecosystem services using a landscape sustainability and sociometabolic approach. Specifically, it aims to identify landscape configurations promoting socio-ecological sustainability amidst rapid urbanization.MethodsA landscape-metabolic model (IDC) was applied to evaluate the interactions between land use changes and ecosystem functions in the metropolitan region of Cali.ResultsAgricultural intensification and industrialization, coupled with uncontrolled urban growth, have significantly transformed the landscape, posing threats to its sustainability. The prevailing biocultural landscapes hold a substantial potential to provide essential ecosystem services to the metropolis. The IDC offers an approach that utilizes a land cover map and agricultural production/metabolism data to calculate an indicator closely related to ecosystem services and multifunctionality.ConclusionsThe IDC model stands out for efficiently capturing landscape dynamics, providing insights into landscape configuration and social metabolism without extensive resource requirements. This research highlights the importance of adopting a landscape-metabolic and green infrastructure framework to guide territorial policies in the tropical Andes and similar regions. It stresses the need for informed land use planning to address challenges and leverage opportunities presented by biocultural landscapes for regional sustainability amidst rapid urbanization and agricultural expansion.

Urban sacred forests support human well-being through cultural ecosystem services

PurposeSacred forests are biocultural landscapes deeply rooted in centuries-old traditions of spiritual veneration. These sacred sites, including shrines, temple forests churches and graveyards, have historically been significant reservoirs of traditional resource management practices underpinned by spiritual reverence. However, despite their cultural and ecological importance, the cultural ecosystem services inherent to these sacred forests remain unexplored, particularly in urban settings.Design/methodology/approachThis study focused on six sacred sites within Kanazawa City, Japan, using a meticulous face-to-face survey with 342 participants. We collected data on the extent of forest utilisation, the breadth of activities engaged in by visitors and their holistic appraisal of the rendered cultural ecosystem services. The findings illustrate the multifaceted benefits of urban sacred forests, encompassing participation in religious ceremonies, cultural events and festivals, complemented by educational programming that elucidates the historical and traditional underpinnings of the shrines and their surrounding communities.FindingsIt has been observed that urban forests have a crucial role in providing spiritual and communal connectivity, preserving traditional heritage, offering vital aesthetic values as green spaces and making visitors connected with nature while they are in the urban landscape. However, a concerning trend has emerged, as the younger demographic appears to lack interest in participating in the stewardship and cultural activities associated with these biocultural landscapes. Community engagement strategies must be strengthened, conservation measures should be implemented and cultural awareness programs need to be established to ensure the perpetuation and appreciation of these valuable urban sacred forests.Originality/valueThis study provides original perspectives on the measurable cultural ecosystem services and intangible values associated with urban sacred forests using the sacred forests in Kanazawa City, Japan. Our research illuminates the various advantages that visitors derive by examining the intersection of spiritual traditions, resource management practices and cultural significance, which has been relatively unexplored. The present study provides a significant basis for establishing initiatives that seek to promote the cultivation of respect and responsibility towards urban sacred forests.

Narratives of land abandonment in a biocultural landscape of Spain

Rural abandonment is a significant process in the Mediterranean region, posing sustainability challenges for rural and urban areas. Although there is an increase in studies focusing on the ecological implications and impacts of land abandonment and the role of rewilding, there is a knowledge gap in the study of the socio-cultural dimension of abandonment from the local perspective, even though it is crucial for land management decision. This study focuses on a case study in Western Spain, where a social survey was used to assess the perceptions of local communities regarding land abandonment and their implication on nature’s contributions to people and quality of life. A survey campaign was administered in the case study region during the summer of 2020, collecting 205 face-to-face surveys. The results show that local communities overall have a negative reaction toward rural abandonment. In addition, local respondents recognize how traditional agriculture is the main source for maintaining nature’s contributions to human well-being. Additionally, four groups of narratives toward rural abandonment were identified representing clusters of respondents with different motivations and interpretations of rural abandonment. This paper calls for understanding better the perceptions, values, and motivations toward rural abandonment and how their outcomes can be used as input for landscape management. Our results indicate that the local population perceives that the loss of rural livelihoods may entail serious environmental and societal problems, as locals are forced to abandon their rural-associated ways of life and migrate to urban areas.

The nature of a ‘forest transition’ in Thừa Thiên Huế Province, Central Vietnam – A study of land cover changes over five decades

Informed from historical case studies of land cover change and development in northern countries, forest transition (FT) theories have a tendency to precast specific conclusions. Considering the case of a so-called FT in Thừa Thiên Huế Province in tropical Central Vietnam, we investigated 1.) whether such a ‘FT’ indeed reflects a resurgence of genuine forest, 2.) whether the land cover changes can be explained through conventional ‘pathways’ of FT, and 3.) in which ways the changes may or may not portend ‘sustainable development’. Using satellite imagery and topographic maps, we produced maps for twenty land cover types for the years 1966, 1973, 1979, 1988, 1998, 2008, 2016 and 2019 and analysed land cover change over time. We contextualize these results with reference to the historical and scientific literature on Vietnam, and find that 1.) the forestlands represent a historically rich bio-cultural landscape; 2.) considerable forest destruction resulted from the Second Indochina War rather than classical degradation pathways; 3.) in the post-war period altered forestland spaces and re-emerging land uses interacted with state-led re-territorialization and socialist plans for land resource development, influencing shifts in forest cover; 4.) during 1979–1988 state-led intensive timber logging in remaining rainforests (causing widespread forest degradation) somewhat paradoxically (in terms of conventional FT models and theories) coincided already with a slight increase in lower-biomass tree cover; 5.) after 1988 logging in natural forests was officially prohibited (logging bans), and forestry shifted to a reliance on wood produced in acacia-based plantations (largely on lands officially allocated to households); and 6.) this shift went along with a significant state-led restructuring and development of land use policies and the promotion of forest-relevant economic industries. ‘Restoration’ of tree cover mainly consisted of the expansion of exotic tree plantations, but – at least intermittently – this may also have mitigated impacts on natural forests. We conclude with some reflections on the FT-outcome, its ‘sustainability’, and future trajectories and possibilities of land cover changes in TTHP.

Locating Kadu in Adivasi portrayals of protected forest areas in Southern India

Globally, Indigenous Peoples are the stewards of a large portion of the global land base, and their interactions and associations with the land have shaped and sustained it for centuries. Yet conservation studies and land management practices still struggle to understand or use Indigenous interpretations of the natural world. In many cases, this perpetuates a colonial sensibility across land use policies, which also dangerously misrepresents Indigenous relationships with that land. This paper focuses on Kattunayakans, a hunter-forager Adivasi (Indigenous) community living within the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala, India. Our focus is how they characterize kadu (‘forest’ in Kattunayakan language), both what it is constituted of and what it means from an Adivasi point of view. Using open-ended interviews, transect walks, and spatial mapping we find that for Kattunayakans, the forest is seen as an entity with agency; and a body of discrete biocultural landscape units classified as: a convergence of good places and God people; and a realm of spaces populated by kinfolk with fluid human-and-nonhuman identities that do not follow any physical boundaries of protected areas. This understanding of what a protected area forest is and is comprised of is neither adequately represented and discussed in the history of India's protected areas nor addressed in forest and wildlife management policies and approaches. This is highly consequential for Adivasi communities such as Kattunayakans, who do not have written or material evidence of their productive and historical relationship to forest land. We argue, as well, that when engaged appropriately, Adivasi portrayals of the kadu can bolster equity in land management and strengthen collaborative governance that more broadly advances human rights alongside the goals of biodiversity conservation.

Recalcitrant maize: Conserving agrobiodiversity in the era of genetically modified organisms

Societal Impact StatementThe problem of genetically modified maize contamination in Mexico is the result of both planned and unplanned consequences of scientific and political choices. We show how a risk management strategy based on the modernist dichotomy between “modern” and “native” has failed to protect Mexican landraces and has marginalized other forms of knowledge that are urgently needed to understand and support the fluidity of Mexican biocultural landscapes. Farmers' seed systems are a fundamental source of crop resilience and evolution. They can constitute safe pathways for creating new maize varieties able to withstand climate and societal changes.Summary In 2001, an alert on the contamination of Mexican maize landraces by genetically modified (GM) maize spurred new actions to conserve the world's biggest reservoir of maize genetic diversity. We analyze how the largest maize collection effort in Mexican history, and the definition of the conservation procedures employed in it, either involved or marginalized different approaches to this environmental problem. The article is grounded in the sociohistorical analysis of the controversy of GM maize contamination and brings together new historiographical perspectives on Mexican scientific and political interest in native maize. It also draws on ethnographic approaches, extended fieldwork, and analysis of data from Mexican government agencies. We show how different epistemological traditions have made the risk of GM maize contamination (in)visible and thereby generated normative choices. We illustrate how the GMO controversy brought the theme of native maize back onto the Mexican political and scientific agenda. The normativity that shaped the controversy in the 2000s influenced current knowledge and how the problem of GM maize introgression is still addressed today. The entanglements between biotechnology, native landraces, and farmers' practices are too dense to be “scientized” and kept separate to be made manageable as areas of purely technical “risk.” The result is a geography of maize infused with all sorts of temporalities and materiality, which escapes the bounds of technoscientific framings. This intricate environment‐making process calls for new collaborations among epistemic cultures to tackle the possible consequences of GMOs for agrobiodiversity, seed systems, and their resilience.

Landscape, agrobiodiversity, and local knowledge in the protected area “Quebrada de los Cuervos y Sierras del Yerbal,” Uruguay

IntroductionAgrobiodiversity and local knowledge are fundamental components in the domestication and structuring of rural landscapes. In a context of threats to agroecosystems resulting from changes in production systems and rural–urban migration processes, the conservation and valorization of agrobiodiversity is a pressing challenge. “Quebrada de los Cuervos and Sierras del Yerbal” is a protected landscape in Uruguay where a rural community of approximately 30 families with a long-standing tradition resides.MethodsThe research aimed at identifying current and abandoned (taperas) domestic contexts, and the plant genetic resources found in the area, categorizing their uses and management practices through interviews and participant observation.Results and discussionEthnographic research revealed 185 species (121 exotic, 64 native) with diverse growth habits, 10 categories of uses, and 11 categories for management practices. The differences found between houses and taperas revealed that the abandonment of activities in rural areas is a relevant factor in the loss of agrobiodiversity. Among the 185 species, a notable group of plant genetic resources of high cultural significance is recognized due to their consensus of use, frequency of management practices, and number of uses. These include introduced fruit trees (peach, citrus, and fig) and native fruit trees (guayabo del país, pitanga, and arazá), vegetable landraces, native trees with multiple uses, yerba mate, and medicinal species such as Aristolochia fimbriata. For domestic contexts, a model of spatial distribution of agrobiodiversity is proposed, cultivated spaces where the plant genetic resources are located in home gardens and small plots, managed spaces where the resources are found in the surroundings of houses, and promoted and intervened wild spaces where the species are used from natural grasslands and wild environments. The obtained information reaffirms the need to conserve this biocultural landscape, placing agrobiodiversity and local knowledge as a focal point in the protected area. The management plan must be formulated with active participation from the rural community, aiming for valorization through integration into agroecological production chains, among other possibilities.

An integral approach to environmental restoration in the face of climate change, cultural identity, and archaeological heritage: the case of Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán, México

[Introduction]: Conservation and restoration of the ecological and cultural heritage is a necessity given the current environmental crisis, in particular when considering the effects of climate change. This can be achieved through interdisciplinary research that allows the creation of strategies for restoring complex biocultural landscapes. [Objective]: To propose strategies for ecocentric, biocultural and productive ecological restoration in Tzintzuntzan (place of hummningbirds) a landscape dominated by precolumbian archaeological remains in the riverbanks of lake Paztcuaro, México, considering the expected effects of climate change. [Metodology]: A GIS was created with information about gthe socioenvironmental conditions of the study site, a climate change model was also elaborated for year 2050 and the loss of water lake water level was estimated. [Resultados]: From the present conditions of the vegetation, climatic modelling and the presence of archaeological remains we obtained that for the year 2050 most of the area (89%) of forests dominated by oaks and pines will have a climate appropriate for dry tropical vegetation. Considering the distribution of archaeological remains and the urban area we propose ecocentric, biocultural and production restoration strategies. [Conclusions]: A biocultural approach to restoration is desirable because it allows the recovery of ecological and cultural elements of the socioecosystem, with a emphasis in adaptation to climate change and the recovery of hummingbird habitat, being the hummingbirds the most important link between nature and culture in the region.

Human–Nature Relationships in Defining Biocultural Landscapes: A Systematic Review

Abstract The growing interest of researchers in the topic of biocultural diversity has resulted in the research field expanding from its initial focus on places inhabited by indigenous communities to rural and then to urban landscapes. The aims of this study are to summarize and review the current state of knowledge on biocultural landscape (BCL), present a spectrum of human activities leading to their formation, and based on that, focus on typology of these landscapes. Moreover, the connections between cultural ecosystem services (CES) and BCLs were examined, and the research on these unique landscapes in individual countries and the proportion of studied landscape types were graphically displayed. BCLs are threatened all over the world; therefore, there is a need to identify and recognize them, and provide them with effective legislative protection.

Towards a landscape-metabolism model for the tropical Andes. Application in the metropolitan region of Cali (Colombia)

We hypothesize that biocultural landscapes configured by indigenous, peasant, and afro traditional agricultural systems, significantly contribute to the ecological functionality of the metropolitan region of Cali (Colombia). Current landscapes reflect an ongoing local transition from organic-based agriculture to an industrial one that began in the first half of the 20th century. This transition has happened within a complex sociopolitical and cultural context in which the rural livelihoods are at a crossroads with regional agroindustry development. We propose an integrated landscape-metabolism assessment based on georeferenced farm system typologies (local scale) and the region's land cover data (landscape scale). The results expose the rupture between society (sociometabolic flows) and nature (ecological processes) in this metropolitan region driven by land-use intensification. Our findings support the hypothesis of the contribution of biocultural landscapes to the region's ecological functioning, and that show that agroforestry mosaics can offer promising contributions to biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services provision in metropolitan regions.This landscape-metabolism assessment offers an opportunity to enrich intersectoral land policy formulation for highly biological and culturally diverse regions where agriculture constitutes a fundamental pillar to its economy, the local culture, and rural livelihoods. Given the confluence of the Colombian post-conflict implementation agenda, the global (un)sustainability crisis, and the UN development goals, there is a need to bring biocultural landscapes into a broader interdisciplinary dialog and evaluate the sustainability, political feasibility, and social desirability of current agricultural development

Integrating biodiversity conservation and local community perspectives in China through human dimensions research

Abstract Biodiversity in China coexists alongside large ethnically diverse rural human populations within linked ‘biocultural’ social–ecological systems. Cumulative and changing local anthropogenic pressures linked to human population growth and economic development are driving unsustainable resource exploitation, habitat loss and extensive species declines. However, these pressures vary between species and systems, and efforts to conserve regional biodiversity may also have unintended negative impacts on local communities and their long‐term relationship with nature. Based on our extensive experience working across China's diverse but vulnerable biocultural landscapes, we showcase a series of case studies that illustrate the differing interactions between biodiversity and local community use of natural resources, and the differing consequences of conservation management on local livelihoods. We highlight that some social–ecological relationships in China can maintain and support biodiversity, and we advocate for management underpinned by interdisciplinary conservation research that engages local communities, associated with robust evidence‐based assessment and evaluation frameworks to ensure effective monitoring and optimization of impacts. We frame a series of steps required to understand and mitigate local pressures on threatened species in China and identify potential ‘win–win’ approaches for the regional maintenance of biodiversity, ecosystem services and sustainable livelihoods, with directions proposed for future research, engagement and management. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Modelling ecological scarcity considering the long-term interaction between human and nature in dry agricultural landscapes. Application in Qazvin (Iran)

Land Use and Cover Change (LUCC) is a pervasive driver of today's global socioecological crisis. In light of the LUCC in many agricultural landscapes worldwide, natural resource conservation is critical. Put-aside dry agricultural landscapes have significant limitations when attempting to guarantee long-term food production and other ecosystem services in ecological scarcity conditions under climate change scenarios. In this research, an Intermediate Disturbance-Complexity (IDC) model was applied to evaluate how ecological scarcity in NW Iran can be affected by anthropogenic disturbance and landscape complexity. This model calculates both the behaviour of the Human Appropriation of Net Primary Production (HANPP), a proxy of the amount of anthropic disturbance, and a Landscape Ecology (Le) metric, which measures complexity as a heterogeneous and well-connected land matrix. HANPP results show how dry pastures are affected by human pressure, while the results for Le indicate how human activities are affecting ecological corridors linking the northern and the southern parts of the study area. Finally, IDC results show that intermediate disturbance can have a positive effect on the provision of human needs and, at the same time, can help maintain the landscape's ecological functionality. The analysis confirms that land use policies should consider the landscape as a whole and should avoid applying a string of ad hoc decisions to minor pieces of the territory. Our findings support the view that a strong relationship between intermediate disturbance and landscape complexity exists, which highlights the importance of traditional economic activities as ways of maintaining biocultural landscapes.

The Approach to Typology of The Biocultural Landscape In Slovakia.

The European Landscape Convention aims to promote landscape protection, management and planning. This must be done based on identification and knowledge of those basic landscape types that were created by the interaction of human and nature over the course of historical development. This paper presents a methodological approach for creation and evaluation of representative biocultural types of landscape, in order to elaborate an effective strategy for landscape protection, and proposes a management strategy of sustainable use of representative biocultural landscapes of Slovakia. That will ensure the regular maintenance of the landscape in view of current global trends and factors affecting the landscape. Our interdisciplinary approach is based on previous landscape classifications and the interaction of natural and cultural elements. The classification of the biocultural landscape is obtained as a result of multi-criteria analysis in GIS and synthesis of maps of potential vegetation, real ecosystems and current land use, abiotic conditions of representative geoecosystems of Slovakia, and other specific statistical data. We assessed the perception and significance of individual landscape types by way of a questionnaire survey. In Slovakia, seven basic types of landscape were singled out, ranging from natural to semi-natural to anthropogenic, within which other subtypes were specified. We assessed the protection of individual types, as well as threats and degradation of the landscape. Insufficient protection is given to the most valuable types of biocultural landscape and new tools and methods of support and protection have to be implemented.

Challenges for Social Participation in Conservation in the Biocultural Landscape Area in the Western Sierra of Jalisco

The protection of biocultural heritage has generated alternative proposals for the conservation of rural areas. Varied organizations collaborate in a pioneering conservation model, the Biocultural Landscape (BL), where local participation is paramount, that operates in the Western Sierra of Jalisco. The objective of this work was to analyze social participation, conditions, and characteristics of the model based on the WWF and IUCN guidelines. Information about the context, management, and planning was collected and synthesized. The data of territorial management, conservation, knowledge, and local conflicts about participatory processes were collected from 12 stakeholders and analyzed with ATLAS.ti software. It was found that, although local people are familiar with the concept of the protected natural area and the BL model, they cannot clearly identify its objective. The most informed are the interested population that collaborates closely. There are conflicts of interest between those who collaborate directly with the BL and those who do not, which have been resolved through the active participation of the different levels of government and experts who have intervened as mediators. Environmental awareness about the importance of conservation has been achieved by integrating the communities. Given that it is not a restrictive protection model and the rules were created in conjunction with the community, local participation is encouraged.

Review: Types of socioecological production landscapes of the Philippines based on dominant biodiversity: status, problems and future directions

Abstract. Buot IE Jr, Buhay AFV. 2022. Review: Types of socioecological production landscapes of the Philippines based on dominant biodiversity: status, problems and future directions. Biodiversitas 23: 3755-3770. The dominance of human activities in socioecological production landscapes (SEPLs) known as biocultural landscapes in some literature, results in the overutilization of natural resources and loss of critically important biodiversity, either cultivated or wild. The anthropocentric perspective prevailing at this time of the Anthropocene Epoch, disrupts the traditional harmonious human-nature relationship in biocultural landscapes, particularly, the socioecological production landscapes (SEPLs) known as satoyama landscapes in Japan. This adversely affects biodiversity and hence, ecosystem services in surrounding communities in the Philippines and beyond. In this paper, SEPLs, biocultural landscape and satoyama are used interchangeably to refer to landscapes where human culture has greatly influenced the resulting biodiversity of a landscape. This study provides an overview of the SEPLs in the Philippine context. It reviews and furthers the inquiry in a previous study which identified examples of satoyama landscapes or SEPLs in the Philippines based on the main crop or dominant biodiversity. The objectives of the current paper are to present an updated list of SEPLs in the Philippines based on the main crop or dominant biodiversity; determine its status and problems; analyze its role in sustainable development and map future directions to sustain a harmonious human-nature relationship that would result to an abundance of biodiversity and overflowing ecosystem services. The local and international scientific literature on the status and problems of the identified SEPLs in the Philippines were reviewed. Results indicated that in addition to the three types identified by Buot and Osumi in 2004, nine more were included in this paper. The 12 SEPLs types identified were classified according to their main crop, namely: rice in muddy walled or stone-walled terraces; rice mixed with other crops; corn; vegetables, sweet potato, gabi/taro; cassava; coconut; coffee; cacao; tobacco; and rice-fish. These SEPLs contribute to various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), either directly or indirectly. Incidentally, there are prevailing problems observed such as exploitation of natural resources due to the increasing population of migrants in the upland as a result of poverty. Simultaneously, the indigenous sustainable practices were weakened with the aging population while the youth showed a lack of interest in farming, leading to biodiversity loss and cultural erosion. Strategic actions including strengthening institutional partnerships, empowering indigenous communities, sustainable management of natural resources, and ensuring good governance and equitable sharing of resources are discussed. These steps will ensure biodiversity conservation and harmonious living in Philippine SEPLs.

Operationalizing the biocultural perspective in conservation practice: A systematic review of the literature

The term ‘biocultural’ brings together the words ‘biological’ and ‘cultural’ to emphasize the interconnected nature of life and human culture. Over the last 50 years, biological and cultural diversity have shown concomitant declines in abundance, leading researchers, policy makers, activists and Indigenous Peoples to increasingly turn towards biocultural theory for potential pathways forward. Amidst increasing conversations and uses of the term ‘biocultural’, we sought to interrogate the current state of knowledge within biocultural theory and to identify the various ways the term ‘biocultural’ is being applied in the academic literature on conservation. To explore this research question, we conducted a systematic review of the literature that has meaningfully engaged with biocultural theory between 2002 and 2019 to explore the most concrete and promising pathways forward for effective and ethical on-the-ground implementation. After tracing key definitions and the evolution of the term over time, we find that the word ‘biocultural’ is most commonly being applied in the realms of biocultural diversity, biocultural heritage, and biocultural approaches. After offering an overview of each of these areas, we conclude with three central findings. Firstly, we find that biocultural theory remains deeply rooted in seminal discussions around biocultural diversity. It is from this foundation that new areas of research and application have emerged in the last decade, including biocultural heritage, biocultural approaches to conservation, biocultural landscape and biocultural rights, amongst others. Secondly, biocultural theory retains strong roots in Indigenous rights and advocacy, which were originally articulated in the Declaration of Belem (1988) and continue to be evidenced by the large percentage of papers in our sample which focused on Indigenous perspectives related to biocultural diversity. Finally, we find that biocultural theory remains largely conceptual in nature, with indications that only in recent years have more applied, on-the-ground case studies started to emerge in the literature.

Exploring connections between pollinator health and human health.

Despite recent advances in understanding the role of biodiversity in ecosystem-service provision, the links between the health of ecosystem-service providers and human health remain more uncertain. During the past decade, an increasing number of studies have argued for the positive impacts of healthy pollinator communities (defined as functionally and genetically diverse species assemblages that are sustained over time) on human health. Here, we begin with a systematic review of these impacts, finding only two studies that concomitantly quantified aspects of pollinator health and human health. Next, we identify relevant research relating to four pathways linking pollinator health and human health: nutrition, medicine provisioning, mental health and environmental quality. These benefits are obtained through improved pollination of nutritious crops and an estimated approximately 28 000 animal-pollinated medicinal plants; the provisioning of pollinator-derived products such as honey; the maintenance of green spaces and biocultural landscapes that improve mental health; and cleaner air, water and food resulting from pollinator-centred initiatives to reduce agrochemical use. We suggest that pollinator diversity could be a proxy for the benefits that landscapes provide to human health. This article is part of the theme issue 'Natural processes influencing pollinator health: from chemistry to landscapes'.