The cultural context of biodiversity conservation [Elektronische Ressource] : seen and unseen dimensions of indigenous knowledge among Q'eqchi' communities in Guatemala / Petra Maass

ow are biological diversity, protected areas, indigenous knowledge and religious 2 Göttinger Beiträge zur Ethnologie Hworldviews related? From an anthropological perspective, this book provides Band 2an introduction into the complex subject of conservation policies that cannot be ad-dressed without recognising the encompassing relationship between discursive, politi-cal, economic, social and ecological facets. By facing these interdependencies across global, national and local dynamics, it draws on an ethnographic case study among Petra Maass Maya-Q'eqchi' communities living in the margins of protected areas in Guatemala. In documenting the cultural aspects of landscape, the study explores the coherence of diverse expressions of indigenous knowledge. It intends to remind of cultural values and beliefs closely tied to subsistence activities and ritual practices that define local The Cultural Context of Biodiversity Conservationperceptions of the natural environment. The basic idea is to illustrate that there are dif-Seen and Unseen Dimensions of Indigenous Knowledge ferent ways of knowing and reasoning, seeing and endowing the world with meaning, which include visible material and invisible interpretative understandings.