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Micronesian canoe making on the wane

How many plants does it take to make a canoe? Well, according to a great paper in the latest Conservation Biology, the answer is 27, at least in Pohnpei, both wild and cultivated. Unfortunately, canoe-making skills and knowledge are eroding fast: “Given current trends, the present generation of Pohnpeians may be the last to retain any knowledge of this traditional craft.” The authors issue a bit of a challenge at the end of their paper:

Because of the immense scale of traditional knowledge erosion in virtually all areas of the globe, we invite other researchers, conservationists, and development workers to assess the loss of traditional knowledge and practices, identify areas for interventions, and help make those interventions happen in the areas where they work. Efforts at strengthening awareness of the link between culture and the environment can be very helpful in supporting local conservation programs, and important for personal, community, and environmental well-being around the world.

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Ecosystems services to the fore

316 1866 F1

The map shows human impact; the percentage of human influence relative to the maximum influence recorded for each biome. I got it from Resilience Science, which got it from Science magazine (where, I confess, I missed it). It deals with reshaping ecological processes on domesticated land. Anyway, rather than write my own version of the paper by Peter Karieva and his collaborators (which is behind a paywall), I point you straight to Resilience Science, noting in passing that I am certain I would not have done as good a job.

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Biodiversity for people

David Kaimowitz, ex Director General of CIFOR, and Douglas Shiel, have written a paper that asks Conserving What and for Whom? Why Conservation Should Help Meet Basic Human Needs in the Tropics. It argues strongly for “pro-poor conservation”. The thousands of species on which poor people depend for their basic needs and livelihoods are more deserving of conservation and protection than many of the current favourites among conservationists. Unfortunately, the paper seems to be behind a paywall. Fortunately, Mongabay has an extended post about it.

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Decentralized biofuel distillation

A report in The Financial Express of India makes perplexing reading. It cites a report from CIAT, the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture, that advocates small-scale conversion of starchy crops such as sweet potato and cassava into ethanol for use as biofuel. Initial processing would be a village-level activity, resulting in 50% alcohol (by volume). This would be transported to a central distillery to make 99.5% alcohol. I see a couple of problems.

First, experience in, for example, the Kolli Hills of India shows that when poor rural farmers grow industrial feedstock (cassava for starch factories) they do not earn enough the replace the nutrition they used to grow and that is now displaced by the industrial crop.

Secondly, drunkeness. I’m serious. I’ve lost track of the number of diversification and income-generating projects in which the women have to be in charge because if the men get their hands on the additional cash they spend it on drink. So, let’s cut out the middle man and make drink the object of the exercise?