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Abstract
The Andean lapwing (Vanellus resplendens Tschudi) prompts rethinking of ethnoecology in neotropical cloud forests and páramos and challenges notions about conservation in mountain protected areas. Using archaeological, historical, and current evidence, I argue that the role of humans in shaping viable high‐mountain bird populations is an important factor in the conservation priorities of tropandean landscapes, particularly in the mountains. The presence of the Andean lapwing demonstrates the intricate linkages between culture and nature in the Andean region. I highlight a paradox of conservation, using the Andean lapwing as the avian indicator of global environmental change as an example of the contest between landscape change, biodiversity, and ethnoecological insights. Landscape stewardship, conservation easements, and cultural landscapes are options for inclusion in the repertoire of scenarios for the survival of healthy avifaunal assemblages in high‐mountain environments that have evolved in synchrony with humans, such as in páramos, cultural landscapes worth protecting in the tropical Andes.
* This study was presented at the panel on “Human Dimensions on Tropical Environments” during the 2007 annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers and was also discussed at the 2009 International Union of Biological Sciences' workshop on “Traditional Knowledge and Global Change.” Portions of the work were funded by Office of the Vice President for Research–Wilson Center for Humanities and Arts and by the Geography Department of the University of Georgia and the Exposition Foundation of Atlanta. I appreciate the feedback I received from Michael Steinberg, Juan González, Victor Toledo, Betty Smith, Carol Harden, and Marteen Kappele. I am grateful to several members of the Cotopaxi National Park Service, the Center for Mediation, Peace, and Resolution of Conflict–International, the Fundación de Rescate Apoyo Aeronáutico, and the Ecuadorian Museum of Natural Sciences for support during my field research; and I thank the communities of Sulfana, Mariano Acosta, Guamaní, Cangahua, Zumbahua, Mulaló, Aláo, and Guajaló Chico in Ecuador for sharing their knowledge with me.
* This study was presented at the panel on “Human Dimensions on Tropical Environments” during the 2007 annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers and was also discussed at the 2009 International Union of Biological Sciences' workshop on “Traditional Knowledge and Global Change.” Portions of the work were funded by Office of the Vice President for Research–Wilson Center for Humanities and Arts and by the Geography Department of the University of Georgia and the Exposition Foundation of Atlanta. I appreciate the feedback I received from Michael Steinberg, Juan González, Victor Toledo, Betty Smith, Carol Harden, and Marteen Kappele. I am grateful to several members of the Cotopaxi National Park Service, the Center for Mediation, Peace, and Resolution of Conflict–International, the Fundación de Rescate Apoyo Aeronáutico, and the Ecuadorian Museum of Natural Sciences for support during my field research; and I thank the communities of Sulfana, Mariano Acosta, Guamaní, Cangahua, Zumbahua, Mulaló, Aláo, and Guajaló Chico in Ecuador for sharing their knowledge with me.
Notes
* This study was presented at the panel on “Human Dimensions on Tropical Environments” during the 2007 annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers and was also discussed at the 2009 International Union of Biological Sciences' workshop on “Traditional Knowledge and Global Change.” Portions of the work were funded by Office of the Vice President for Research–Wilson Center for Humanities and Arts and by the Geography Department of the University of Georgia and the Exposition Foundation of Atlanta. I appreciate the feedback I received from Michael Steinberg, Juan González, Victor Toledo, Betty Smith, Carol Harden, and Marteen Kappele. I am grateful to several members of the Cotopaxi National Park Service, the Center for Mediation, Peace, and Resolution of Conflict–International, the Fundación de Rescate Apoyo Aeronáutico, and the Ecuadorian Museum of Natural Sciences for support during my field research; and I thank the communities of Sulfana, Mariano Acosta, Guamaní, Cangahua, Zumbahua, Mulaló, Aláo, and Guajaló Chico in Ecuador for sharing their knowledge with me.