A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Human Impacts on the Rainforest Environment in Ecuador

Abstract

Renowned for biological diversity, Amazonian rainforests are also regions of high cultural diversity. However, in recent decades, most indigenous rainforest people have become settled and acquired titles to large tropical forest areas, are increasingly integrating into the market economy, and are experiencing rapid sociocultural change. In this chapter, we examine five ethnic groups in the northern Ecuadorian Amazon and highlight the importance of sociocultural and economic contexts in understanding indigenous patterns of forest use. Using ethnographic and survey data collected in 2001, we compare and contrast these indigenous populations in terms of demographic characteristics, involvement in the market economy, and patterns of forest conversion and faunal exploitation, observing different degrees of external pressures and opportunities, cultural values, and historical constraints, which, taken together, influence their choices about resource use and market contact and their long-run prospects for cultural survival.