Doctoral Dissertation Research: Management of Useful Palms: Ethnobotany of the Waorani in Eastern Ecuador

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The concept that people act as plant managers, actively manipulating their resources instead of just gathering them for use, is becoming a central theme in ethnobotanical studies. Of particular interest to many researchers have been the study of indigenous people in the Amazon Basin, where a series of studies has built a comparative framework for examining how different societies have managed and used different plant resources. For example, with respect to palm resources, many of which are derived from wild stands, researchers have identified at least nine specific plant-management practices. This doctoral dissertation research project will focus on a case study of management and use of the chambira palm (Astrocaryum chambira) by the Waorani (Huaorani) people in the Amazon lowlands of eastern Ecuador. Drawing on previous studies, this project hypothesizes that the Waorani manage their palm resources through both conscious and inadvertent manipulation. The study will address the general premise of economic geography that people will travel farther (although less frequently) to obtain products of relatively high value than they will to obtain products of lesser value that may be needed more frequently. The project will examine the amount of time that Waorani people spend caring for particular palms, relating its productivity with its distance from home, paths, or other places of human activity. Data will be gathered through household surveys as well as through informal interviews with different kinds of plant managers. Ecological data on chambira palms in a series of stratified plots around the Waorani settlement also will collected and analyzed. Plant specimens gathered during this part of the project will remain at the herbariums of the Universidad San Francisco de Quito and the University of Texas at Austin. This project will provide valuable new insights into the use of palms and their significance for the livelihood of an indigenous people who manage and use palms, a plant that provides products in many different locales through the world. The project also will provide insights into the spatial behavior of a group of people who traditionally have been resistant to outside influence. Analyses of the plant-management practices of the Waorani provides a valuable setting for exploring a broader range of policies encouraging or dissuading similar kinds of activities regarding flora manipulation in any country in which people use natural plant materials. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.