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Home > People > Graduate Students > Tamia Souto
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Tamia Souto MS Student Ethnobotany Track Contact Information University of Hawai`i at Manoa Affiliations |
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Thesis Title: Ethnoecology and forest dependency level of four indigenous and non-indigenous communities in the Lower Caura River, Venezuela Abstract: The role that tropical forests play in poor peoples livelihoods is one of the least understood areas in international development. Traditional societies depend to different extents on their local environment and the natural resources these provide. This dependency might have changed from a subsistence basis to an economic reliance. However, forests continue to be central to the livelihoods of millions of people worldwide. The following project will explore some of the relationships between poverty, forest use and conservation in indigenous and non-indigenous communities in the Caura river of Venezuela. It will explore these relationships by identifying the extent to which people rely on the forests for their livelihoods and by assessing the effects that different livelihood strategies have on the population structure of valuable plant species. Specifically, the aim of the study is to gain a greater understanding of how socio-economic factors, such as income, level of education, market proximity and wealth status affect local resource management, ethnobiological knowledge, forest dependency levels and measures of resource conservation. The project will employ an interdisciplinary methodology that integrates different field techniques from the natural and social sciences. More specifically, it will use population ecology to quantify the impact of extraction of the plants considered as the most valuable, and ethnographic methods such as structured and semi-structured interviews to determine forests dependency level, socio economic status and ethnobiological knowledge. The findings of this project will contribute to conservation and development programs that intend to tackle poverty and promote biodiversity conservation. Research Interests:
Personal Statement: As a latin woman, I am interested in pursuing a career in the field of South American Ethnoecology with a strong focus on the interrelations among culture, forests, and poverty alleviation, with a particular focus on women's ecological knowledge and their position in society. I believe that there is a growing necessity to study the role of timber and non-timber forests products (NTFPs) in the livelihoods of local people, and to search for realistic long-term options that can promote biodiversity conservation, as well as the well-beings of these local communities. Awards:
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