Work

Afro-Descendant Oral Tradition as a Tool for the Sustainable Biocultural Restoration of the Tropical Dry Forest, Patía Valley, Colombia

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: The restoration of tropical dry forest (TDF) faces low community integration and limited cultural relevance, especially in the territories of Afro-descendant communities. This study proposes a quantitative framework to systematize the biocultural memory contained in oral tradition as an input for the biocultural restoration of the TDF. A corpus of 401 works from the Afro-descendant community of the Patía Valley (Cauca, Colombia) was analyzed, coded in a multidimensional database of 10 categories. Three indices are proposed: the Biocultural Density Index (IDBC), the Biocultural Vulnerability Index (IVB), and an adaptation of Winter's framework for flora (IVBw), reported in a total version and a version restricted to wild/native species. The results identify the works of greatest biocultural density (IDBC max. = 84) and distinguish between cultivated/introduced species of high cultural value (Limón, Yuca, Caña de azúcar), unsuitable for ecological restoration of the TDF, and wild/native species (e.g., Caña brava, Cañafístula, Guayacán, Ceiba) that constitute the restorable core. Cultural practices are the hubs of the system, and traditional medicine is the most at risk of loss; food security concentrates 43% of the flora records. These findings provide replicable tools to integrate Afro-descendant biocultural knowledge into TDF restoration protocols.

Source: Sustainability

DOI: 10.3390/su18178754

Authors: Luis Eduardo López Vargas, Yenni Paola Samboni Ceballos, Diego Jesus Macías Pinto, Hernando Rafael Vergara Varela, Fernando Andrés Muñoz

Institutions: University of Cauca, Universidad Santo Tomás

Language: English

Topic: Environmental and Cultural Studies in Latin America and Beyond

Subfield: Ecology

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Life on land

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,896