Traditional ecological knowledge and practice for edible wild plants: biodiversity use by the Rarámuri in the Sierra Tarahumara, Mexico

The Rarámuri who live in the Sierra Tarahumara of Chihuahua State, Mexico have developed local knowledge and harvesting strategies for edible wild plants that have the effect of conserving the biodiversity of their forest ecosystem. This paper presents the results of ethnobotanical research undertaken in the community of Basíhuare in the Sierra Tarahumara, to provide details on some practical aspects of the Rarámuri worldview regarding interconnections between people and their environment. This traditional philosophy forms the basis for the use of edible wild plants and the harvesting strategies practiced in Basíhuare, such as selective harvesting, environmental modification and domestication. These activities provide the opportunity for harvesters to monitor the landscape and the plant resources that occur on the land, as well as present a setting for the communication and exchange of traditional ecological knowledge. However, Rarámuri harvesting practices are under stress because of increased external pressures from commercial timber extraction and other development. We discuss the state of traditional ecological knowledge and its transmission in the context of development activities in the region. The key to sustainability in the Sierra Tarahumara may be the maintenance of traditional management practices for edible wild plants, and other non-timber forest products, that lead to the conservation of biodiversity by creating patchiness and renewing the plant cover on the land