Ethnobotany and rights of nature in the aja shuar: case study Nankais parish, Nangaritza canton, Zamora Chinchipe province, Ecuador

Abstract

The 2008 Constitution of Ecuador recognizes nature as a holder of rights, in this context the communities that still preserve their ancestral knowledge and ecosystems are experiencing acculturation processes, with little ethnobotanical documentation, which implies a progressive loss of biodiversity and quality of life. With this background, the present study aims to conduct an analysis between the rights of nature and the ethnobotany of seven Shuar Ajas in the Nankais Parish, southern region of Ecuador. Thus, participatory workshops and interviews with the informants were conducted to document the ethnobotany and management carried out in the aja, as well as an inventory of the Ajas (20 ha) to identify in situ the species used by the community. In addition, an analysis was carried out based on the legal system with emphasis on the right of the communities to conserve and promote their biodiversity management practices and their natural environment. A total of 67 species, 57 genera and 33 botanical families were reported. The most representative families were Arecaceae and Solanaceae. It was recorded that 20 species have medicinal uses and 18 species are for food use. It should be noted that the community benefits harmoniously from the use of NTFPs (Sumak Kawsay) and applies management techniques based on traditional ecological knowledge compatible with the primordial right of nature to its existence, maintenance and regeneration of its life cycles, structure, functions and evolutionary processes enshrined in the Ecuadorian and international legal system.