What is the main thrust of the book

QUESTION

You are a scholar writing a
review of the textbook by L. Maffi and E. Woodley, Biocultural Diversity Conservation: A Global Sourcebook
(Earthscan 2010). Write a 200-250+
word review that addresses the following aspects:

What is
the main thrust of the book? Which key scientific concepts does the book
address?
How does
the book serve as a “global sourcebook” to biocultural diversity
conservation?
Citing two
case studies from the book that particularly impressed you, describe how
these case studies specifically exemplify biocultural diversity and the
demonstrate feasible ways to conserve it.
Who would
you recommend read this book? Why? How is it applicable to real life
conditions or professions?

ANS:

You are competing for a new
competitive writing fellowship offered by the American Anthropological
Association. The theme of the fellowship is “Endangered Species,
Endangered Cultures”. Your entry to the competition is a 250-300 word
abstract on this topic.

Within
your abstract, consider the following questions: how can both species and
cultures be endangered? What are the connections between endangered species and
endangered cultures? How could we conserve both biological species and ethnic
cultures at the same time, or in the same location? Throughout your abstract,
you need to clearly link your assertions (hypotheses) with real-life examples,
drawn from the class films, class readings, internet sites, or from your
group’s term paper.
ANS:
+ Endangered species are populations of animal or
plant that is considered seriously at risk of extinction. The causes for
species extinction are climate change, change in sea levels, disease, invasive
species, and us (human). Endangered cultures are group of indigenous people who
lived off with wild life and are in danger of losing their certain culture
traditions. Both of cultures and species are connected together. If one is
missing, the other will eventually become extinct. An example

+ In order to converse both biological species and
cultures, we need to understand the connection between them. We read many of
the readings in our class, and most of the books have proved that a lot of
people don’t understand the connection between species and cultures. For
example: From the readings on Hopi culture, they all talked about how Hopi people
connected with their nature and how they conserve their cultural traditions with
planting, cultivating, harvesting, dancing, and preparing corn. Their life,
spirits are linked with every single species. Some of westerners think that
land is always free to use, and they don’t realize what is currently connected
with the land or who is currently using it. When the westerners want to invade
and expand the land, the local tribes are suffering and losing their cultural
knowledge, traditional practices, and even their ancestry. They should do some
researches about the culture, history, and use of the land, then species would
not go extinct and we could also save endangered cultures from extinction as
well.

3.
You are a
freelance writer blogging about Nature and Culture for a major online magazine.
You are writing a blog reviewing the readings and films from Module 7-8 and
10-12. Your blog focuses on common themes that emerge from the different
authors/film protagonists, stemming from their widely varying experiences with
redwood trees, lichen, wolves, bears, parrots, swallows, etc.. Taking SIX of
the readings or films, cite verbatim a key phrase from each reading or a key
scene from the film, and write a 200-250 word blog of how these different
authors/film protagonists demonstrate interconnected themes.

+ Ken Lamberton (2000) – “Their nature, like many
things in the world, is cyclic; they live inside the regular heartbeat of the
land. Ebb and flow, flex and flux, rise and fall. It’s a pattern I can live
with, one that gives me hope. As long as
the swallows come in the spring and go in the fall, come and go and come, I’ll
feel their rhythm, measuring it out as a change of seasons.” (pg 31)

+ Reene Askins (2003) – “She is of her own nature
and yet I recognize my own impulses in her action. I see reflected in her my
hungers and fears, my curiosity and contentment through her I begin to fathom
an ancient relationship with the wild. My strength, for this moment, is greater
than hers. Nonetheless, her senses
surpass mine. Her diminutive presence
connects me, includes me, and I recognize that I am, like her, merely a pulse
in the rhythm of the world.” (pg 15)
+ Julia Butterfly Hill (2000) – “One day, as I was
climbing around Luna and the fog slipped back to the coast, sunlight hit a
spider web still glistening with drops of moisture. It shot these beautiful
spectral colors in every direction. The diversity of life is like those strands
of the spider’s web: the strands weaving together make the web strong and
balanced and, even more amazing, make it beautiful as well.” (pg 16)

+ Kimmer (2003) – “In indigenous ways of knowing, we
say that a thing cannot be understood until it is known by all four aspects of
our being: mind, body, emotion and spirit. The scientific way of knowing relies
only on empirical information from the world, gathered by body and interpreted
by mind.” (pg 211)
+ Gonzalez (2001) – “ Maize is not a mere crop, but
a powerful being living in the midst of humans at all times: present at
festivals, baptisms, weddings, and funerals, inside churches, homes, and human
bodies, surrounding ranch houses and villages. Maize is a wonderful plant
person with a long memory, a strict moral code, and an unshakable will.” (pg
106)
+ Laduke (2007) – “A cultural community that
persists in its farming tradition does not simply conserve indigenous seed
stock because of economic justifications. The seeds themselves become symbols,
reflections of the people’s own spiritual and aesthetic identity, and of the
land that shaped them.” (pg 8)

I chose these six phrases because I feel that they
are interlinked the readers with nature. Each phrase shows that nature is
something that we can feel, and touch it just like humans. All six readings
prove to us that we (human) share the planet with every single species. We need
to connect and feel their life, just like any other humans. We live together in
the planet, and we all have special roles and meaning. In order for every
living species to survive and keep moving, we must live and share. Do not
against each other.

4.
You are a
research associate with a branch division of a United Nations agency focusing
on humans and invasive species. You have been charged with researching an
example of a culturally invasive species that has not already been
described in the two studies on file in the agency library: the case study by Pfeiffer & Ortiz (2007)
on California native plants and traditional basketry; and the review article by
Pfeiffer & Voeks (2008).

Your job is to research your own UNIQUE
case study [via Google or Google Scholar] of a culturally invasive
species (plant, animal, fish, insect, fungus, or microorganism [bacteria,
virus, etc.]) that is:

a.
Ecologically
impacting a culturally important native species (such as a cultural keystone
species), and in turn, affecting cultural practices and cultural diversity;
AND/OR
b.
Leading to the creation/adoption of new
cultural traditions, and in turn, affecting cultural diversity.
(Question 4, continued)

Write a 100 – 150 word case study of a
culturally invasive species and the cultural traditions/practices it has, or
is, impacting. Include the URL address(es) of the website(s) you used in your
answer.
+Brown tree snake (Boiga Irregularis) –
in the last 60 years, it has become a major problem in the Pacific island of
Guam. This invasive species was accidentally brought over from a ship cargo
just after World War II. Since the appearance, it has killed many native bird
species in the island. It has also caused the extinction to some of the birds.
These native birds play some very important roles in the forest such as
spreading out the seeds, pollinating flowers and controlling insects. The trees
in the forest are also relied on these birds to disperse their seeds far beyond
their normal range and the range of seed predators and fungi.
+.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080808090313.htm”>http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080808090313.htm
+.utsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080821/news_1c21guam.html”>http://www.utsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080821/news_1c21guam.html

5.
You have been
invited to participate as a panelist at a public forum on climate change. You
will be speaking on how indigenous peoples are being impacted by climate
change. Because you only have ten minutes to speak, you have decided to focus a
synopsis of four case studies. In advance of your panel presentation, you are
providing a summary to the program organizer.

Write a 100-150 word summary where you
discuss FOUR ways in which Native cultures are experiencing significant impacts
from climate change. You can perform your own independent online research,
AND/OR you can reference Dr. Pfeiffer’s Elluminate webinar on this topic.
Include the URL address(es) of the website(s) you used, or other relevant
citations, in your answer.

+The most significant impact from
climate change is drought in the areas where they need rain for agriculture. It
is really threatened food security. For example

+
Another impact is high temperatures in tropical rainforests. This can affect
the patterns of rainfall. So when there is not enough rainfall, it can lead to
a lot issues such as fishing, farming. For example: in the webinar, Dr.
Pfeiffer explained how some tribes were not able to catch fish because there
were not enough rainfall. Also in the video “Fish Kill 2014, Yurok Seek
Answers” it showed how salmon died because lack of rainfall

.youtube.com/watch?t=622&v=CbHUb6aLizw”>https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=622&v=CbHUb6aLizw

+
Also many indigenous people live within the rainforest, and most of them do
hunting. So with high temperatures in rainforest can also affect the species’
distribution. For example

+
The fourth impact is global temperature change which rises surface
temperatures. For example: From the video Trust Alaska, it explained that the
local people has been affected by the climate change. Fruit harvest fell more
than 20%. Also in the video “Culture and Ecology in Micronesia: Plant Use and
Forest conservation”, it shows that the Pohnpei people had to farm in the
mountain due to severe drought.

.org/video/48/trust-alaska”>http://ourchildrenstrust.org/video/48/trust-alaska
.youtube.com/watch?v=t8Zx6vYfQLI&feature=youtu.be”>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8Zx6vYfQLI&feature=youtu.be

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