II CONFERENCE OF THE PROGRAMME ON ECOSYSTEM CHANGE AND SOCIETY
Two-day multi-actor dialogue workshop on biocultural diversity and resilience of social-ecological systems
November
11-12
2017
Organizers:
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Juliana Merçon, Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico
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Julieta Rosell, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico
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Bárbara Ayala-Orozco, Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico
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Patricia Balvanera, Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico
Facilitators:
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Juliana Merçon, Instituto de Investigaciones en Educación, Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico
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Julieta Rosell, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico
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Bárbara Ayala, Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico
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Gerardo Alatorre, Instituto de Investigaciones en Educación, Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico
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Isabel Bueno, PhD candidate, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico
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Loni Hensler, PhD candidate, Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico"
OBJECTIVES:
1.Discuss the role of biocultural diversity in the resilience of social-ecological systems through a collaborative learning approach.
2. Foster knowledge generation through the dialogue and cross-fertilization among different actors (scientists, practitioners, local communities, and policy makers), cultures and ways of knowing.
3. Assess how different perspectives and knowledge systems, practices, and institutions contribute towards the resilience of social-ecological systems (past, present, future).
4.Weave networks across scales (local, regional, international) and sectors (academia, civil society organizations, local, indigenous and peasant groups, and government) related to the maintenance of biocultural diversity.
BACKGROUND:
In a world of accelerated environmental change, biocultural diversity plays a key role in maintaining the resilience of social-ecological systems. Biocultural diversity includes the diversity of life, human cultures, and languages (Maffi 2005), and emerges from the close interactions among biological and cultural diversity. Communities who depend directly on natural resources have developed practices, institutions, and knowledge to adapt to social and environmental changes (Folke et al. 2003); and many of these communities hold precious knowledge of how biological and cultural diversity can enhance the ability of societies to cope with present and future global changes (Toledo 2003, Ruiz-Mallén and Corbera 2013).
Considering the opportunities that can emerge from collaborative learning among practitioners from indigenous and non-indigenous communities, scientists and policy makers, this multi-actor initiative intends to contribute to increasing awareness about the links between cultural and biological diversity, as well as fostering good governance for social-ecological systems.
DESIRED PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS:
Participants from different sectors: academics and students, from civil society organizations, from environmental NGOs, indigenous leaders, from government, from global agencies, from a local private foundation with environmental and social foci, traditional cooks, artists, filmmakers, communicators.