气候变化领域集成服务门户(CCPortal): An intergenerational transmission of sustainability? Ancestral habitus and food production in a traditional agro-ecosystem of the Upper Guinea Forest, West Africa

CCPortal

DOI	10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.01.013
	An intergenerational transmission of sustainability? Ancestral habitus and food production in a traditional agro-ecosystem of the Upper Guinea Forest, West Africa
	Fraser J.A.; Frausin V.; Jarvis A.
发表日期	2015
ISSN	0959-3780
卷号	31
英文摘要	The need for sustainable alternatives to industrial farming has led to a revival of interest in traditional agro-ecosystems. Whilst it is well recognised that traditional agro-ecosystems are both social and physical-technical - few case studies have examined interactions between both these dimensions in a single system. For a system to be considered sustainable it needs to be shown to have retained key characteristics over several generations. Case studies therefore demand a location where intergenerational transmission of agro-ecological knowledge and practice is ongoing. This paper examines the intergenerational transmission of social and physical-technical dimensions of a traditional agro-ecosystem of the Loma people in NW Liberia. We engage an innovative interdisciplinary combination of methodologies in analyzing interactions between: (i) energy efficiencies (yield to labour) in 3 different Loma food production systems, using longitudinal quantitative surveys, and, (ii) the social institutions that mediate food production practice, using qualitative methods. Our energy efficiency calculations show that AfDE cultivation is more than twice as efficient at producing calories as either shifting cultivation or forest and river extractivism, yet GPS mapping demonstrates that AfDE cultivation is highly spatially restricted despite clear opportunities for expansion and optimisation. This raises an important question: why have the Loma not expanded AfDE cultivation? We propose that despite being fully aware of the opportunities AfDEs present, a Loma 'ancestral habitus' and substantive economic rationality restrict areal expansion and optimisation of AfDE cultivation, curtailing growth and structuring a social-ecological system in dynamic equilibrium. Our findings underline that sustainability is not simply a physio-technical issue; social and belief issues appear to be far more important in framing behaviour in traditional agro-ecosystems. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd.
英文关键词	Ancestor worship; Anthropogenic dark earths; Indigenous knowledge; Sustainable development; Traditional agro-ecosystems
学科领域	energy efficiency; food production; GPS; human activity; indigenous knowledge; innovation; interdisciplinary approach; intergenerational transfer; shifting cultivation; sustainable development; Guinea; Liberia [West Africa]
语种	英语
scopus关键词	energy efficiency; food production; GPS; human activity; indigenous knowledge; innovation; interdisciplinary approach; intergenerational transfer; shifting cultivation; sustainable development; Guinea; Liberia [West Africa]
来源期刊	Global Environmental Change
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://gcip.llas.ac.cn/handle/2XKMVOVA/117531
作者单位	Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, United Kingdom
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Fraser J.A.,Frausin V.,Jarvis A.. An intergenerational transmission of sustainability? Ancestral habitus and food production in a traditional agro-ecosystem of the Upper Guinea Forest, West Africa[J],2015,31.
APA	Fraser J.A.,Frausin V.,&Jarvis A..(2015).An intergenerational transmission of sustainability? Ancestral habitus and food production in a traditional agro-ecosystem of the Upper Guinea Forest, West Africa.Global Environmental Change,31.
MLA	Fraser J.A.,et al."An intergenerational transmission of sustainability? Ancestral habitus and food production in a traditional agro-ecosystem of the Upper Guinea Forest, West Africa".Global Environmental Change 31(2015).