THE USE OF TROPICAL FOREST (AGROECOSYSTEMS AND WILD PLANT HARVESTING) AS A SOURCE OF FOOD IN THE BRIBRI AND CABECAR CULTURES IN THE CARIBBEAN COAST OF COSTA RICA 1 CARLOS RAMOS GARCiA-SERRANO AND JUAN PABLO DEL MONTE Ramos Garcia-Serrano, Carlos and Juan Pablo Del Monte (Departamento de Producci6n Vegetal: Botdnica y Protecci6n Vegetal Escuela Superior TJcnica de Ingenieros Agr6nomos, Ciudad Universitaria Sn, 28040 Madrid, Spain; email
[email protected]). THE USE OF TROPICAL FOREST (AGROECOSYSTEMS AND WILD PLANT HARVESTING) AS A SOURCE OF FOOD IN THE BRmPd AND CABECAR CULTURES IN THE CARIBBEAN COAST OF COSTA RICA. Economic Botany 58(1):58-71, 2004. For the Bribri and the Cabecar Indians of Costa Rica the environment is divided in two: the "near", indigenous space; and the "'far", natural space, which they think does not belong to them. In the former, the following agroecosystems can be distinguished according to biodiversity and intensity of human activity: tropical home garden, rotating slash- and-burn agriculture, plantain polyculture, and plantain monoculture. In the "far" space, these two culturally close groups harvest wild plants observing ancestral rules, which have helped ensure a sustainable use of forest resources. Their diet is based on 84 species, of which 24 are harvested in the "'far" environment (hombr6n, semko, platanillo, tacaco, etc.) and 60 are obtained in the "near" environment (maize, bean, cacao, manioc, etc.). Owing to acculturation, exotic species (mainly rice, sugarcane, plantain, cacao and citrus fruit) have become part of their diet and crops. El Maneso del Bosque Tropical (Agroecosistemas y Recoleccion de Flora Silvestre) coho base de la Alimentacion en las Culturas Bribri y Cabecar de la Costa Caribera de Costa Rica.