GLOBAL ECONOMY

ITK is place based. It is produced in particular places and environments through a process of trial and error that often spans generations. Thus, these local systems of knowledge are highly adapted to local conditions. Increasingly, however, the power of ITK is weakened through exposure to the economic forces of globalization. Sometimes the global economy applies such pressure to local subsistence economies that they become ecologically unsustainable. Subsistence economies are those that are oriented primarily toward production for local consumption, rather than the production of commodities for sale on the market. When an indigenous society organized for subsistence production begins producing for an external market, social, ecological, and economic difficulties often ensue.

Geographer Bernard Nietschmann’s classic study of the indigenous Miskito communities living along the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua showed how external markets can undermine local subsistence economies. Miskito communities had developed a subsistence economy founded on land-based gardening and the harvesting of marine resources, including green turtles. Marine resources were harvested in seasons in which agriculture was less demanding. The value of green turtles increased dramatically when companies moved in to process and export turtle products (meat, shells, leather). They paid cash and extended credit so that the Miskito could harvest turtles year-round instead of seasonally. Subsistence production in other areas suffered as labor was directed to harvesting turtles. Turtles became scarce, so more labor time was required to hunt them in a desperate effort to pay debts and buy food. Ultimately, the turtle population was decimated and the subsistence production system collapsed.

This study might sound like yet another tragic story of “disappearing peoples” or a “vanished way of life,” but it didn’t end there. Nietschmann continued his research with Miskito communities into the 1990s (he died in 2000), discovering, among other things, that the Miskito people did not disappear but continued to defend their cultural independence in the face of great external pressures from globalization. They responded to the collapse of their resource base in 1991 by creating, in cooperation with the Nicaraguan government, a protected area as part of a local environmental management plan. They were supported in this endeavor by academics, international conservation NGOs, and the Nicaraguan government. Known as the Cayos Miskitos and Franja Costera Marine Biological Reserve, it encompasses 5019 square miles (13,000 square kilometers) of coastal area and offshore keys with 38 Miskito communities. Through this program, the Miskito were able to regulate and control their own exploitation of marine resources while reducing pressures from outsiders. This is an ongoing experiment. Miskito communities continue to struggle with outsiders for control over their land and resources in the reserve. There are hopeful signs, however, that the government is cooperating in this struggle and that both the natural resource base and the Miskito people will benefit from this project.

The Miskito case demonstrates the resiliency of indigenous cultures, the limits of ITK, and the strength of global economic forces. It reflects recent studies of the cultural and political ecology of indigenous peoples, such as those conducted by geographer Anthony Bebbington. Bebbington conducted research among the indigenous Quichua populations in the Ecuadorian Andes to assess how they interact with modernizing institutions and practices. He found that, although the Quichua people often possess extensive knowledge about local farming and resource management, ITK alone is not sufficient to allow them to prosper in a global economy. For example, there is little indigenous knowledge about the way international markets work and thus little understanding of how to price and market their own produce. As a consequence, they have sought the support and knowledge of government agencies, the Catholic Church, and NGOs. He further found that indigenous Quichua communities use outside ideas and technologies to promote their own cultural survival, attempting, in essence, to negotiate their interactions with globalization on their own terms.