Traditional Resource Rights and Indigenous People in the Andes
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Sustaining Local Food Systems, Agricultural Biodiversity and Livelihoods Traditional Resource Rights and Indigenous People in the Andes ndigenous farmers in the Andean region of goods and ecological services for sustainable Peru are the most extraordinary innovators development. and conservers of agricultural biodiversity. Peru is one of four countries in which IIED IThe potato originates in this area, and during and its partners are analysing how decentralised centuries of experimentation and domestication governance, farmer participation and capacity farmers have bred and selected varieties that thrive building can promote the adaptive management of in each of the many different ecological niches of agricultural biodiversity in such a way that local the Andes. Conserving these varieties, and the food systems and livelihoods are improved and historical, cultural and social character of the supported.1 The others are India, Iran, and landscape – in the southern Andes alone there are Indonesia. IIED’s partner in Peru is ANDES – the 18 different agro-ecological zones – is extremely Quechua–Aymara Association for Sustainable important to the Andean indigenous communities. Livelihoods. ANDES is governed by a general People’s long experience and knowledge of the assembly which is largely composed of region’s plants and animals enables them to earn a indigenous people in different villages in the livelihood by developing, using, and managing their Andes. They have three professional staff in their resources. But these resources, and the complex office in Cusco, in southern Peru, while another systems that ensure their survival, are under threat. 15 technicians and university- trained The greatest current threats are social, economic professionals and 25 local villagers work in the and political and include: field with a number of local communities. • the undervaluation of native crops and animals; All four of the country research teams share • the introduction of new biotechnologies such the same basic principles and understandings, and as transgenic crops; there is a shared aim and objectives. It is up to • people’s extreme poverty; each country, however, to decide exactly what • inappropriate agricultural policies, including the activities would be most helpful in their situation. lack of pro-poor market and economic policies; In Peru ANDES has from the beginning worked • a lack of clear rights over knowledge and with local communities, making sure that at each genetic resources; stage those communities were able to say whether • a lack of political will; they wanted to slow down or not, whether they • a lack of secure land tenure; needed more information, and whether they were • loss of cultural identity and spiritual values; happy with the process. In the end the decisions • erosion and marginalisation of traditional about what activities to pursue and prioritise were knowledge; and made by the communities themselves. ANDES • poor understanding of the role of such 1 See: www.diversefoodsystems.org for more information on the ‘Sustaining Local knowledge and agrobiodiversity in providing Food Systems, Agricultural Biodiversity and Livelihoods’ action research. 2 Words and pictures The Andean communities that are part of this action research have a very rich oral culture which relies on symbols, ceremonies, rituals and elements in the natural environment. As an important part of this action research is about documenting indigenous knowledge to help the communities to demonstrate their ownership of it – and learn from sharing it with others – it was felt that video would be the most appropriate tool to record that knowledge. As part of the project’s farmer exchange activities, a collective of women ‘barefoot’ videomakers from India were able to visit the communities in Peru. The Indian women shared their experiences with using video not only to record events, but also to look back and analyse, and to edit and make the choices about how to present information to people outside their community. The 12-day exchange was a rich encounter for all those who took part. The Potato Park Women’s Video Collective increased their knowledge about not only the research process, but also the project overall and its outcomes. The Video Collective works with both the Potato Park and barefoot technicians to document traditional knowledge, making documentaries that show how the Park came into being and why a rights-based approach can help sustain not only local livelihoods, diverse food systems and culture, but also biodiversity – from genes to whole landscapes. and IIED arranged training for community The research methods combine traditional members in the facilitation and technical skills Quechua research techniques with ethnographic needed for collective deliberation, planning, and contemporary participatory enquiry analysis and action. It is evident from the methods that promote equity and social justice successes achieved so far that people are putting through the direct involvement of, and control their new skills into practice. of the process by, the local indigenous The action research facilitated by ANDES population. Quechua methods include the use of and IIED emphasises participatory and people- prophesies and myths (where community centred processes in sustaining local food processes and practices are communicated systems, diverse ecologies, livelihoods and through myths); traditional forecasting and culture. In the language of sustainable backcasting techniques; visual and narrative livelihoods, the research partners focus on the techniques; and memory, writing, recordkeeping relationship between ‘livelihood outcomes’ and informationcoding traditions. and the role of ‘transforming structures and Contemporary participatory methodologies processes’ such as organisations, institutions, include Participatory Rural Appraisals, laws and policies that transform assets community-based evaluation, methods for (natural, physical, financial, human, social, deliberation and inclusion, and practical cultural) into those outcomes. Examples of participatory governance evaluation. indigenous ‘transforming structures and Within this framework emphasis is given to: processes’ include: • The development of community- to- (1) The goals and interests of the Quechua community and farmer- to-farmer learning communities, which are about: networks based on the principle of Ayni • solving problems; (reciprocity). Exchange is promoted through • achieving through this process political goals the sharing of information, practices and such as social justice and having a voice in learning processes. ‘Barefoot technicians’, who policy and decision-making; and are elected by their own communities, • emphasising knowledge systems, the Quechua network with other communities and create world view, and particularly the importance of opportunities to share and transfer traditional indigenous cultural and spiritual values. knowledge and innovations. • The consolidation of local, grassroots (2) The equity and fairness of the research enterprises. These groups are anchored in process, including: Andean principles of reciprocity and a local • local control of decision-making; definition of well-being, and work using the • fair selection of participants; and principles of Andean economy with the goal • in-depth participation by the different of reinforcing local food systems. members of the community. 3 The overall aim of each of the country local fisheries-based communities the studies is to analyse how, and under priority in managing the use of and the what conditions, decentralised rights to aquatic resources. Food Sovereignty governance, farmer participation, and does not negate trade, but rather it promotes capacity building can help farmers to the formulation of trade policies and manage ecosystems well, ensuring that practices that serve the rights of peoples to local food systems continue to provide food and to safe, healthy and ecologically both food, medicine and incomes for sustainable production. local people, as well as conserving the landscape and agricultural biodiversity Context of work in Peru for future generations. The action research involves indigenous People have special rights when it Quechua people who live on the western comes to food, and claiming and slope of the Eastern Mountain Range of exercising these rights to ‘Food the Andes, between a latitude of 72°00’31” Sovereignty’ has become a movement and 71°21’20” west and a longitude of that is very much in tune with the work 13°13’10” and 13°58’43” south. of this project. The People’s Food The research area spans a corridor Sovereignty Network defines the 221km long covering approximately concept like this: 1,285,970 hectares between 1,200 and Food Sovereignty is the right of peoples 6,000 metres above sea level. It has been to define their own food and agriculture; to described as a micro-centre of origin for protect and regulate domestic agricultural potatoes and other important Andean production and trade in order to achieve crops. The Cusco region has more wild sustainable development objectives; to potato species than anywhere else in the determine the extent to which they want to world, as well as a high cultivated be self reliant; to restrict the dumping of (native) potato diversity. This research products in their markets; and to provide area alone contains more than 400 of Mapping history The Potato Park project has been using a mix of high-tech and innovative participatory mapping to capture