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1. Human–plant relations shed light on forms of reciprocity in Indigenous territorial stewardship. This article shows how Cofán, Siona and Siekopai (also Secoya or Airo Pai in Peru) Indigenous Peoples in the western Amazon collect, cultivate and use yoco (Paullinia yoco) to promote communal conviviality, reclaim once-threatened cultural practices and advance new forms of collective stewardship to promote social-ecological well-being. Yoco is a caffeine-rich liana closely intertwined with the daily life and spiritual practices of many Indigenous Amazonian Peoples, particularly within the tri-border region of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. 2. We centre Indigenous storytelling as pedagogy and methodology, something common in the Amazon and relevant to yoco, as it is consumed socially and often while stories are shared. 3. Through collaborative transdisciplinary research, we assess the forms of relationality and reciprocity yoco fosters in three ways. First, we discuss histories, uses and cultivation of yoco. Second, we consider the divergent pathways that communities have had with yoco, from loss to recuperation of human–plant relations across time. Third, we show examples of how differentiated use of yoco in Cofán, Siekopai and Siona communities supports cultural revitalization, territorial defense and stewardship initiatives evidenced by renewed efforts to enhance intergenerational transmission of local knowledge. 4. Cofán, Siona and Siekopai stewardship of yoco is not merely ecological management of a plant but represents a dynamic interaction between cultural identity, spiritual practice and political resistance. As Siona, Siekopai and Cofán communities confront external pressures such as deforestation, extractive industries and socio-political marginalization, relationships with yoco facilitate pathways to sustain cultural and ecological relations in the face of profound change. 5. Reclaiming and maintaining human–plant relations is a form of self-determination that can inform effective and ethical biocultural conservation. Through yoco, the Cofán, Siekopai and Siona peoples demonstrate that biocultural conservation helps maintain social-ecological well-being while underscoring the importance of territory. The future of conservation must embrace Indigenous stewardship, where reciprocity and care for both human and non-human worlds are central.
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The many-headed Hydra: assessing the Indigenous-hydropower cycle in Costa Rica
This article explores the intersection of hydropower development and Indigenous rights within the context of climate governance. A historical rift between dam supporters and opponents has evolved into a contentious ebb and flow of dam proposal-resistance between hydropower industries and Indigenous communities around the world. Conflicts have recently intensified as dams are promoted as a climate mitigation strategy and are increasingly encroaching on Indigenous territories. Research analyzes a case study in Costa Rica, where an Indigenous-hydropower cycle emerged from a 50-year feud between the national electricity institute (Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad or ICE, pronounced E-say) and the Brörán peoples over development of the Térraba river—each time the state proposed a dam, the Brörán peoples defeated it, and another would emerge in its place. In this article, I ask why dam building continues despite the multitude of critiques and documented negative social-ecological consequences of hydropower projects. To address this question, I introduce the adaptive cycle, which serves as a heuristic model to investigate how and why the cycle continues, as well as to understand the power, justice, and equity issues involved in climate decision-making processes. Through a political ecology framework, I assess the hybridity of interrelated social-ecological, political, and economic factors encompassing the human-water nexus, conceptualized as a hydrosocial territory. Analysis suggests a rigidity trap that spans across multiple scales of governance causes the cycle to repeat, and given the current acceptance of hydropower within the climate governance arena, the cycle is likely to continue.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2104950
- PAR ID:
- 10479920
- Publisher / Repository:
- Journal of Political Ecology
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Political Ecology
- Volume:
- 29
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 1073-0451
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.2458/jpe.2998
