Social and Cultural Importance of the Paramo Ecosystem

National Science foundationSocial and Cultural Importance of the Paramo Ecosystem

Jeremy Rausch5/5/2011

This study will look at the different concerns, uses, and frequency of uses of locals of the paramo ecosystem. Those locals that will be covered by this study are the Saragurros and the Mestizos of the town of Tutupali and 28 de Mayo in Southern Ecuador. As well as the views and concerns of local decision makers of those areas as well as surrounding areas of the Yacuambi Wetlands system.

Introduction

Many aspects of cultural significance need to be understood by land managers, researchers and community leaders in order to develop proper management plans for protected areas across the world. Cultural awareness of different inhabitants of an area is key to understanding and planning for management uses (Blaikie & Brookfeild, 1987). As was shown by the study of Collins et. al (2006), two different cultures in the same area with the same resources placed different values and uses on each plant species and could lead to conflict amongst different users. A study by Dr. Vsquez (2011) looked at the differences groups have towards certain organizations based on a variety of demographic components, his results found that there were a wide variety of agreement based on individuals economic situation. Similarly by identifying and describing these different views and importances of the Paramo ecosystem to locals and decision makers in Southern Ecuador a management plan can be created that can take into account what is important to the locals residents and decision makers.

In a case study of mapping perceptions of environmental issues at the University of Sydney, the researchers found that although not all perceptions are aligned with that which is in the best interest of all stakeholders, by gaining the knowledge of those perceptions land managers were better able to develop a more effective plan because there was a broad knowledge of all the details of even the least influential stakeholders (Hensher et. al, 2002). A study by Saelemyr (2004) investigated a broad perspective of three different social/cultural scales of influence of people on the Podocarpus National Park (PNP) and how creating the protected area affected them in their lives. By interviewing participants at the international, national, and local scales, he was able to gain a broad perception of the stakeholders ideas and how the PNP affected the participants in different ways and how people in different influence scale levels understood this. The results of Saelemyrs paper showed that there were varying degrees of concerns and different perceptions of concerns amongst the different levels. This knowledge can be applied to not only different scales of influence but also varying opinions at the local scale, such as how varying cultures in the same locale utilize and place importance towards the Paramo and the PNP. This will be important in management and conservation efforts in creating use land use management plans. One such aspect that this project will investigate is the social and cultural importance of the Paramo ecosystem to the locals with relation to the two main different ethnic groups, the Saragurro and the Mestizo people and looking at the decision makers concerns and their views of local residents and local residents concerns.

Universidad Tecnica Particular de Loja (UTPL) members have an interest in creating a Ramsar protected wetland in the Yacuambi ecosystem to include protection of the Paramo ecosystem. They have this particular interest so as to preserve important watersheds, while still allowing locals to access the resources they need for their livelihoods. It is important to understand locals views towards an issue for facilitating the planning process and help managers, community leaders and decision makers in general to gain a better idea of peoples current attitudes and concerns towards the Yacuambi paramo ecosystem. A unique area with a wide variety of flora and fauna, the Yacuambi is an internationally recognized area that has multiple threatened, vulnerable, endangered, and endemic species. It is important to recognize the pressures on the Yacuambi ecosystem so that a Ramsar protected area can be created, while allowing locals to sustain their livilehoods.

Background

Geography

Ecuador is a country known for its high levels of biodiversity with a rich tradition of a significant cultural importance of the land to local people. The three main geographic regions include the Oriente (eastern jungle), the Sierra (Andean Mountains and highlands), and the Costa (costal plains) (CIA 2011), the region we will be focusing on is the Sierra. The biodiversity of Ecuador can be demonstrated through understanding the amount of diversity of species it possesses, 1600 bird species with a high number of endemic birds, approximately 4000 vascular plant species, and some of the most diverse aquatic species in the world due to the Galapagos islands being 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador (Saelemyr 2004). The Spectacled Bear is one of those diverse species (Tremarctos ornatus) and is listed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as vulnerable, the bear utilizes the unique Paramo ecosystem as habitat (Gallardo 2011). Another important aspect of the Ecuador ecosystem is the reliance on the watersheds for growth of crops. There has been an overall increase in industrial farming 140,000 ha for bananas and 160,000 ha for cocoa production, which is an important export for the country of Ecuador and all that requires more water (Borbor-Cordova, 2006). There are approximately 6200 people in our study area.

Paramo

The Paramo ecosystem is a general term for terrain which is located between tree and snowlines in neotropical regions (Saelemyr, 2004). The paramo ecosystem stretches along the Andean Mountains of South America. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) the Spectacled Bear is listed as vulnerable and the population trend is on a decline. The Spectacled Bear is listed as vulnerable due to recent increases in: mining, agriculture, energy production, and persecution on an international and local level (IUCN).

Yacuambi Wetland System

The main area of study in Southern Ecuador is located in the Biosphere Reserve Podocarpus-El Condor which contains the forest Corazon de Oro, Podocarpus National Park, and the Yacuambi. The Yacuambi wetlands system is located northeast of the city of Loja and contains 45,000 ha of paramos of which 28,500 ha is currently protected on the Yacuambi Municipal Reserve (Veronica, Personal Communication Brief Paramos Yacuambi II). The study area is primarily affected by the Saragurros which comprise of approximately 2/3 of our study population and the Mestizo comprise of approximately the other 1/3 and the study area conflicted with multiple problems on the wildland-rural interface (Gallardo 2011). In order to better understand and implement a management plan for this region, a further understanding of locals uses, frequency of uses, and importance of the Paramo located in the Yacuambi wetlands system to the local people (Saragurros and Mestizo) is needed as well as an understanding of decision makers and land managers concerns.

Saragurro

The Saragurros are a native highland Indian people that speak Quichua in temperate mid altitudes of 1800-2800m in the Andes Mountains (Beck et al., 2008). They are considered to be agro-pasturalists, raising cattle and cultivating maize, beans, potatoes, and other tubers. Recently stockbreeding has been their main source of economic income and a shortage of pasture lands has arisen. The solution that this local indigenous group has found is to expand into the mist forest and Paramo. In the past few decades there has been a further development of educational and occupational structure and Saragurros are the main ethnic identity that took advantage of this development. This has allowed for a more diverse range of occupations for the Saragurros suchs as commerce, handicrafts, business, politics, teaching, government administration, health care, justice and music entertainment. Due to this, many saragurros have sought employment opportunities elsewhere, but the main saragurro populations that still remain in Ecuador still practice the agro-pastural traditions. There are approximately 3,000 Saragurro people in our specific study area (Fundacin ecolgica Arcoiris. 2007).

Mestizo

The term Mestizo or Meso-colonos, describes a wide range of people who are of mixed Spanish and indigenous descent. Like the Saragurros they are agro-pastural farmers and practice subsistence farming. As well they grow small amounts of cash crops such as sugarcane, maize, peanuts, and coffee. Unlike the Saragurros, instead of emphasizing on cattle as a source of sustenance, they cultivate cash crops and timber extraction (Beck et al., 2008). There are approximately 1,300 mestizo people in our study area (Fundacin ecolgica Arcoiris. 2007).

Local Decision Makers

Following is a break down of the local decision makers and land managers. The provincial authorities or prefectos as they are called are the Gobierno Provincial del Azuay, and the other Gobierno Provincial de Zamora Chinchipe which is the provincial authority interested in supporting management of the Yacuambi Reserve. Next we get into the Alcaldes (mayors) Municipio de Yacuambi which is the authority of the Yacuambi Canton that is responsible for the water management and supply to communities in the Yacuambi. Municipio de Oa which is the main authority of the canton Oa and responsible for its water management and supply, within this territory are two of the three main wetland systems. Municipio de Nabn is the main authority of the canton Nab and is responsible for its own water management and supply, this territory contains some wetlands but they are farther from the study site. Municipio de Saraguro, this town is not specifically part of the wetland system Oa-Yacuambi but it has a large influence because of the road Saraguro-Yacuambi starts at this town and the main users are saraguro. On the next level of influence it gets even more local to Presidentes de Juntas Parroquiales and they are part of the cantons and the main ones of influence in our area are La Paz (of the Yacuambi), Tutupali (of the Yacuambi), and Cochapata (of the Nabn). We will be interviewing locals and key decision makers from the Tutupali and the 28 de Mayo (of the Yacuambi) parishes to understand those land managers and decision makers concerns and views of the locals.

Common Problems

According to Saelemyrs research in 2004, the local people near the Podocarpus National Park feel that they have lost culturally important areas of use that were historically theirs due to the creation of the park. Also they feel they have been restricted and not allowed to extract any resources within the Paramo and PNP without incurring penalties. They feel that there has been a recent degradation of resources such as soil erosion and conflicts with other locals due to an increase in development to allow for tourism in the PNP. The Shuar are allowed to use the land, and other locals feel they may run the risk of reprimands if they use the land for practices such as livestock grazing. On a larger scale, some issues that exist within the national level are a lack of funds and personnel to enforce management plans currently put in place on some National Park lands. At an international level, there are issues with lack of knowledge at a local level, as well as non-government organizations and corporations having conflicts over either wanting to mine land or non government organizations wanting to preserve areas of biodiversity (Saelemyr 2004).

Some of the issues that represent current and future increasing pressures from humans on the paramo include livestock grazing, invasive species of trout, road construction degredating habitat, and mining concessions. These practices can be detrimental to a pristine region if they are not conducted cautiously and with respect to their surroundings (Fausto, Personal Communication). For example in Lens article (2009), he discusses the intricacies of how road development is affecting the Podocarpus National Park both positively and negatively. Some positive aspects of road development are improving tourism access to scenic sites such as lakes and views of the paramo, sustainable recreation, and integrated economical and sustainable land use by locals. Some negatives of road development in the PNP consist of loss of pristine paramo ecosystems which affects soil health, vegetation loss, and polluted watershed systems (Len, 2009). These are some common problems throughout all of Southern Ecuador due to the increase in development according to UTPL members and the purpose for conducting this research is to understand the locals importances and concerns in order to support the wetlands protective area initiative to ensure and effective and long lasting management plan that can adapt to a changing and growing population.

Objectives & Research Questions

Objective

The primary objective of this study is investigate and understand the importance of the Paramo ecosystem in the Yacuambi Wetland System and surrounding area to local people as well as local authorities. This is key in understanding levels of support for the wetland system to become a protected area. This understanding will assist community leaders, decision makers, and locals in efforts to creat an effective managerment plan that considers and incorporates as many different views and concerns as possible.

Research Question

How do locals views towards the paramo ecosystem in the Yacuambi and surrounding area compare to the views of managers, community leaders, and decision makers?

Sub questions

What are the most important uses of the yacuambi for locals and decision makers? How do these views compare across different cultures and authorities?

How do locals feel about access to the paramo in the Yacuambi wetland system and surrounding area?

What flora and fauna are used and how frequently are they used?

What are their concerns over future access to the resources available in Paramo in the PNP and surrounding Paramo

Is there paramo outside of the park that locals have possible access too for resources?

Methods

Study Design

Data collection will occur near Loja, Ecuador in the Yacuambi wetland system and villages in the area. This area was chosen due to its high amount of study of experts such as Saelemyr (2004) and Clark et. al (2009). These studies lack a specific breakdown of varying local cultures and their varying views on the paramo and PNP. Clark et. al (2009) showed that there are apparent multiple issues with locals and pressure being placed towards the PNP. There are differing views on land use of the Paramo between local residents and public land managers. The area was also chosen due to its internation significance (biodiversity, long standing traditions and cultures, and because UTPL is working on a management plan for the Yacuambi and this study will directly assist them in their efforts to better incorporate locals attitudes and concerns into future management plans. It is necessary to better understand the locals varying views in this specific context so that future plans are more likely to succeed because they incorporate peoples values and attitudes.

We will address our research questions by conducting a concurrent mixed methods study. We will consult with members of the project from Loja, Ecuador on identifying exact site and populations of our approach and conducting a survey of locals to acquire their thoughts on our research questions. As well by conducting an in-depth interview with other decision makers and officials in order to better understand the dynamics of different stakeholders relationships with the Paramo. These investigations will create a better understanding of the most appropriate ways to incorporate cultural importance of the Yacuambi into future management plans. By integrating findings from the quantitative and qualitative study, we will gain a more clear idea of the most important factors to consider in future management plans. Our mixed methods approach will allow for a more representative understanding of locals views towards the paramo as well as a more in depth understanding of the most important decision makers views towards the Paramo. The two elements will allow for comparing and contrasting views of different stakeholders in efforts to find a common ground and develop a management plan that incorporates the most salient concerns.

Quantitative Questionnaire Survey

We will be administering questionnaires to locals in person assisting those that are illiterate in recording their views concerning the importance of the Paramo to their livelihoods. Using a modified snowballing technique we will identify people to survey by first having UTPL members identify people willing to take the survey. We will use this technique until we have identified and surveyed our sample size. The population for our study area contains approximately 6200 people, a sample size of 95 people will be used with a confidence interval of 95% and a confidence level of 10.(Bartlett et. al 2001; Fundacin ecolgica Arcoiris 2007). A standard five-level likert scale will be used to respond to questions and statements. See Appendix 1 for questions.

Variables

Uses of the Paramo

We will ask direct questions concerning locals thoughts and views on the paramo ecosystem and what their uses and frequency of uses are of it. The specific uses we will ask are going to be: transportation (roads), foraging (for food or materials), mining for resources, timber harvesting, and cattle grazing. These are the common problems that have been brought up multiple times through research from Fausto (Personal Communication, 2011), Saelemyr (2004), and Clark et. al (2009) and UTPL members also feel that these are the most prominent issues in the area.

Concerns

This section will investigate peoples level of concerns towards the Yacuambi. More specifically it will address the levels of concerns with increased: road development, mining, cattle grazing, and crop production; and also with preserving paramo ecosystem. These are issues that have been brought up and seen by UTPL members, and it is due to this concern that these aspects will be researched in our project. A study by Tessema et al. (2010) looked at relationships between local communities and established protected areas. The main concerns locals had was not that they viewed protected areas in a negative way, they wished to be a larger part in the development and management of the protected areas. They felt that since it was so close to them they should have some part in the cooperative management of the protected area.

Trust Towards Managers and Community Leaders

We will want to understand peoples trust that they place on land managers and whether they do or not and how trustworthy they think land managers are. Also investigating the trust in the community leaders is important to see if people will even follow the plans if they are implemented. It has been shown that if there is more trust in land managers then the more effective an implemented management plan will be (Shindler et al. 2003).

Demographic

The questionnaire will also include items to record age, sex, ethnic affiliation (Saragurro, Shuar, Mestizo or other), hometown/current location and how long theyve lived there, education and occupation to better understand the backgrounds of each individual. This will further allow us to analyze factors that may influence peoples attitudes towards the paramo.

Quantitative Data Analysis

Questionnaires will be analyzed using the statistical analysis programming package SPSS. In addition to measuring and recording basic descriptive statistics, we will dconduct analysis of variance tests- ANOVA tests to look at how groups differ in their answers to help identify the most salient and important factors that affect decision makers and locals views towards the paramo.

Qualitative Interviews

We will conduct interviews of decision makers that will be selected based on different government and non-government organizations that deal with the local paramo ecosystem and the other local peoples (Saragurro, and Mestizo) that were listed earlier. We will use a modified snowballing technique to identify individuals to interview, by starting with key authority figures. UTPL members will be key in selecting individuals for interviewing and in assisting and translating through the interviews. These interviews will be semi-structured and recorded with an audio recorder.

Qualitative Data Analysis

After receiving consent from the interviewee, interviews will be recorded, translated, and transcribed verbatim with the help from UTPL partners. Applying a coding scheme based on a general thematic analysis, interviews will be analyzed to identify the most important themes as well as the relationships between different themes (Ryan & Bernard, 2003).

Ethical Considerations

Approval of the study will be obtained from the University of Idaho Institutional Review Board, and participants will be voluntary and kept confidential. We will maintain confidentiality through keeping collected surveys and interviews in a locked filing cabinet as well as the information stored on a password secured computer. Consent will be sought before surveys or interviews are conducted, if they choose not to consent then there will be no further questioning. During the consent individuals will be notified of the benefits that participating in this approach will provide; which includes a better understanding of each groups uses and importance of the paramo for implementation of an effective management plan. I myself have completed the National Institutes of Health certification course to ensure the ethical treatment of participants.

Timeline

January-April: Proposal Work Time

May 11th: Proposal Presentation

May 17th: Transportation to Ecuador

May 19th-July 17th: Conduct Research

August-November: Data Analysis

December: Results Presentation

Deliverables

From this project all data collected will be compiled and analyzed and composed into a document such that the data may be used for further research. This summary of findings will be presented to the Universidad Tecnica Particular de Loja members for their distribution as they see fit throughout the process of creating a management plan.

Integration

This project is one of seven that will be conducted this summer and part of an ongoing research grant that has been funded for a total of three years, this being the first. The way that these projects are important to each other is it is necessary to know about climate change impacts to plant distribution, and impacts to bear habitat due to increased human pressure in the area, but its also necessary to overlay this with jurisdictional stakeholder mapping exercises, views towards the watershed and its management, and knowledge of social-cultural issues to examine how these factors overlap and integrate in order to get a holistic perspective. This data that will be collected and analyzed and summarized in reports can then lead to a more integrated management that considers all aspects and their relationships to be created as our the hopes of the UTPL members of this research.

Conclusion

In conclusion this project is important in understanding locals views and opinions through a quantitative questionnaire that will be distributed using a modified snowballing technique that will be identified by UTPL members. As well there will be a qualitative interview conducted of key decision makers in our area of interest to further understand their views. This project is valuable in gaining a vast knowledge of locals, land managers, and decision makers so that a comprehensive management plan can be developed and implemented.

Literature Cited

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Blaikie, P. M., H. C. Brookfield. 1987. Land Degradation and Society. London: Methuen.

Borbor-Cordodova M.J., E.W. Boyer, W.H. McDowell, C.A. Hall. 2006. Nitrogen and Phosphorus budgets for a tropical watershed impacted by agricultural land use: Guayas, Ecuador. Biogeochemistry Journal, 79:135-161

Central Intelligence Agency [CIA]. 2011. The World factbook: South America- Ecuador. Accessed 28 February 2011.

Collins S., X. Martins, A. Mitchell, A. Teshome, J.T. Arnason. 2006. Quantitative Ethnobotany of Two East Timorese Cultures. Economic Botany 60(4):347-361

Fausto, R.L. 2011. Personal Communication. Actors of the Yacuambi.

Fundacin ecolgica Arcoiris. 2007. Estudio de alternativas de manejo para el bosque protector Yacuambi, provincial de Zamora Chinchipe, cantn Yacuambi. Loja-Ecuador.

Gallardo, V.I. 2011 Personal Communication. Yacuambi Wetlands System.

Goldstein, I., X. Velez-Liendo, S. Paisley, D.L. Garshelis. 2010. Tremarctos ornatus. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. . Downloadedon 02March2011.

Hensher D.A., J. King. 2002. Mapping stakeholder perceptions of the importance of environmental issues and the success in delivery: a university case study. Environmental Education Research 8(2):199-224

Len, R.B. 2009. Road development in Podocarpus National Park: an assessment of threats and opportunities. Journal of Sustainable Forestry 28:735-754.

Ryan G.,H.R. Bernard. 2003. Techniques to identify themes. Field Methods 15(1): 85-109.

Saelemyr, S. 2004. People, park, and plant use: perception and use of Andean nature in the Southern Ecuadorian Andes. Journal of Geography 58:194-203.

Shindler, B., E. Toman. 2003. Fuel reduction strategies in forest communities: a longitudinal analysis of public support. Journal of Forestry 101(6):8-16.

Tessema, M.E., R.J. Lilieholm, ZT Ashenafi, N. Leader-Williams. 2010. Community attitudes toward wildlife and protected areas in Ethiopia. Society and Natural Resources 23:489-506

Vasquez J. 2011. Attitudes towards non-governmental organizations in Central America. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly Journal 40(1), 166-184.

Appendix 1

Survey Questionnaire Questions for Local Residents in the study area (This does not reflect the format of the survey, but does indicate the types of questions that will be included)

I. Using 5-point likert scale from not very concerned to really concerned. Well be looking at local residents concerns with development of roads, access to paramo land, mining, timber harvesting, agriculture lands encroaching on the paramo, livestock grazing, predator species, and management of the paramo. (i.e., For the following potential uses of the Paramo, please indicate on a scale of 1-5 how concerned you are about that use having negative impacts to the Paramo ecosystem?)

II. Using a 5-point likert scale from not very satisfied to very satisfied, we will measure local residents satisfaction with and confidence in local decision makers and land managers ability to effectively manage the Paramo in the future for social and biological considerations. (i.e., How satisified are you with your current level of access to the Paramo ecosystem? How confident are you in _____________ (pertinent decision maker) to make decisions about managing the Paramo to protect the biodiversity of the area? How confident are you in _________________ to manage the Paramo to allow future use and access of the area by locals? How satisfied are you with the current access availability for locals in this area? How satisfied are you with the current management practices of land in this region?)

III. Using a 5-point likert scale from not very frequently to very frequently (could define these more specifically like once a week, once a month, daily, never), well record local residents frequency of use of different plant and animal species in the surrounding Paramo ecosystem, as well as the frequency and purpose of accessing the Paramo for different reasons (e.g., recreation, resource extraction, religious/spiritual, subsistence timber, etc.). For plants and animals use, we will have a list of the pertinent plants and animals from relevant literature and ask participants to indicate how often they access the Paramo for that plant or animal, and how important that plant/animal use is to their livelihood, and what they use the plant/animal for exactly or generally (e.g., food, building supplies, medicine). Next, a list of uses for the Paramo (similar to values for the Paramo, such as recreation, subsistence, medicinal, utilitarian, spiritual) will be presented in the survey and respondents will be asked to indicate how important that use is to them, and how frequently they access the Paramo for that use/reason. For instance, the question will be worded as For the following uses of the Paramo ecosystem near (the study site), please indicate how important each use is to you and how frequently you access the Paramo for that use. Then, the uses, as mentioned above, will be listed and participants will answer the 2 questions for each use.

IV. Also, How familiar are you with the Andean Bear (1-5)? How important is protecting the habitat of the Andean Bear in the Paramo to you? (1-5). Are there Andean Bears in the Paramo ecosystem that you most regularly access? If so, how often, on average, do you see the Andean Bear in the wild? Do you compete for resources with the Andean Bear in the Paramo ecosystem in this region?

V. How important is the Paramo ecosystem in this area to your daily activities? (1-5). How important is the Paramo ecosystem to your upbringing and cultural traditions (1-5). Then, open ended question: Please list or describe the specific aspects of the Paramo ecosystem that is important to your culture/traditions.

VI. Basic demographic questions: sex, age, family size, occupation, education level, years living in that village.

***We will include open ended questions, or at least blank spaces in the survey so that participants can elaborate as they feel necessary or add a different plant species or different use of the area, for instance, in case not every aspect is represented in the survey.

Interview questions

These will be the questions for the structured interviews with local decision makers to be administered collaboratively with Danielle Merriman.

These will be the questions for the structured interviews with local decision makers.

1. Do you have any concerns about future use and management of the Paramo ecosystem in this region? If so, please tell me about these concerns.

0. Probing question(s): Are you concerned about _____________________ (separately ask follow up questions about specific threats to the Paramo such as increased development, timber extraction, mining, water pollution) affecting the Paramo ecosystem in a negative way? Why or why not?

1. What do you like and dislike about the current management system for the Paramo ecosystem in this region?

1. How do you feel local residents views should be incorporated into managing the Paramo ecosystem? Would you prefer an active involvement with local residents or a more top-down approach to managing the area? Please discuss your responses.

1. What do you see as the benefits of creating a protected area in this region that emphasizes stewardship of the land?

1. What do you see as the barriers and negative aspects of creating a protected area based on stewardship in this region?

1. Which uses of the Paramo ecosystem in this area are most important to you? What about to local residents? Which uses of the Paramo ecosystem do you feel are least important to you? What about to local residents.

1. How important is the Paramo ecosystem to the culture and traditions of this area? What exactly about the Paramo reflects the culture and traditions of residents?

1. Do you feel that local residents access to the Paramo should be restricted in order to protect the resources and habitat that the Andean bear depends on? Any particular areas where restrictions should be more or less?

1. Are there Andean Bears in the Paramo region adjacent to (study area)? Do you compete with the Bear in any way for resources? How important is the bear to your cultural traditions?

1. Should pressures on the Paramo, such as encroaching development, be restricted to protect the Paramo for future use? What do you like and dislike about restricting locals access to the Paramo to prevent over consumption and long term ecological damage? How do you think that local residents will react to restricting access to the area to avoid overconsumption of resources and/or ecological damage?

1