IB Environmental systems and societies 5.2H Traditional or Indigenous Methods Notes

Living Off Natural Capital: Getting Food Without Converting Land

1. Most food comes from converting natural land into intensive farmland, which clears habitats and lowers biodiversity.
2. Wild harvesting and low-productivity indigenous systems obtain food by living off natural capital, taking the natural income of an ecosystem without destroying the stock that produces it.
3. This ties the case studies below to the food theme: a society can feed itself while keeping ecosystems intact.

Harvesting Wild Species Versus Converting Land for Farming

1. Harvesting wild species uses naturally occurring plants, fungi, or animals instead of converting land for farming.
2. Traditional harvesting often relies on local ecological knowledge, allowing sustainable use without large-scale habitat destruction.
3. Converting land for agriculture usually involves deforestation, drainage, burning, or clearing, which removes habitats and reduces biodiversity.
4. Sustainable wild harvesting can support local livelihoods, maintain ecosystem functioning, and protect biodiversity.

Why Traditional Harvesting May Be More Sustainable

1. Traditional harvesting needs little or no land clearing, so forests, wetlands, and grasslands stay intact.
2. Wild species regenerate naturally when harvest rates stay below replenishment rates.
3. Many wild species depend on intact ecosystems to grow, so harvesters have a reason to protect the habitat itself.
4. Traditional methods are often low-impact, using hand tools instead of heavy machinery.
5. Communities using these methods often set cultural taboos, seasonal rules, or quotas that prevent overharvesting.
6. These systems draw on diverse species, spreading pressure across many populations and keeping ecosystems resilient.

Examples of Sustainable Wild Harvesting

Brazil Nuts: Harvest That Needs Intact Rainforest

1. Brazil nut trees depend on pollination by forest-dependent insects and seed dispersal by agoutis, so they cannot be grown in large plantations.
2. Nearly all global production comes from intact Amazon rainforest in Peru, Brazil, and Bolivia.
3. Harvesting fallen pods does not damage trees, so it is a non-destructive process.
4. The Brazil nut trade supports indigenous livelihoods, lowers the incentive to deforest, and provides food, oil, and local employment.
5. Because the trees only thrive in healthy ecosystems, sustainable harvest helps maintain rainforest biodiversity.

Truffles: A Harvest Tied to Healthy Forest Soil

1. Truffles are underground fungal fruiting bodies that form mutualistic links with oak and other tree roots.
2. Traditional harvesting uses animals with a strong sense of smell, usually dogs, to find truffles without digging up the soil.
3. Truffle production depends on healthy forest soils, giving harvesters a reason to protect the trees.
4. Cultivation involves inoculating tree seedlings with spores, which needs careful soil chemistry and long growth periods.
5. Climate change threatens truffle yields by shifting soil moisture and temperature.

Bamboo: Fast-Growing But Not Always Biodiverse

1. Bamboo grows very fast and needs no fertilisers and little water.
2. Sustainable harvesting removes mature stems while leaving the root system intact.