Agricultural diversity conservation for sustainable development in the Peruvian highlands: Case study of the Parque de la Papa.

摘要

The Parque de la Papa is a collaborative effort of indigenous Peruvian Quechua communities to ensure food sovereignty for the region through conservation of their legendary agricultural diversity as well as traditional agrarian systems. The Park is the initial case study of the Indigenous Biocultural Heritage Area development model proposed by Asociacion ANDES, which emphasizes community-led conservation based on traditional knowledge and rights-based development. Through ethnographic interviews with Quechua residents of the Park and participant observation, I consider how the model fits the sustainable development framework and if the goals of the project are in harmony with the community members. The technical in situ agrobiodiversity conservation is contributing to food sovereignty but is also reinvigorating cultural pride centered on agricultural heritage. The project's efforts are connecting the comuneros with other indigenous populations facing similar threats as well as respectfully linking them international research institutions. These dynamic unions deconstruct past assumptions and hierarchies of traditional local knowledge systems and global scientific knowledge.