Geoscience Reference
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Scientists must interact with local communities in more respectful and open-minded
ways in order to better assist and participate in Earth stewardship.
Hideaki Shibata presents an elegant example of how scientifi c and traditional eco-
logical knowledge can complement each other. His overview of Japanese ecosystems
and cultures introduces the experience of his country's Long-term Ecological
Research network (JaLTER), which explores social-ecological interactions along
with the more usual focus of LTER programs on biophysical patterns and processes.
Shibata shows that traditional ecological knowledge continues to be important to the
biogeochemistry of landscapes, and that environmental ethics and belief systems that
respect nature can be guiding references for plans to develop a sustainable future.
The example of JaLTER's incorporating traditional ecological knowledge in its core
research mandate is a powerful one.
In Chinese philosophical traditions, as well as in everyday life, the aesthetic
appreciation of nature is central. Shan Gao examines how aesthetic appreciation of
nature is also aesthetic appreciation of
ch'i
, a core concept in Chinese philosophy
that has no physical form, is invisible, and is always in an unceasing process of
movement that produces and reproduces life. Both Shibata and Gao examine ways
of understanding nature that include visible and invisible realities (the
kami
among
Japan's Ainu population), and how such understanding shapes social-ecological
relationships. Shibata affi rms that “from ancient times, there has been an estab-
lished traditional religion that fosters respect for diverse natural objects, including
both visible and invisible entities, through a belief in nature deities that reside in
various natural places such as mountains, forests, lakes, and oceans.”
Visible and invisible realms of reality also play an essential role in Andean
worldviews in South America. Based on his research on sacred sites, Fausto
Sarmiento introduces the dynamic integration of the physical, the psychological, and
the spiritual realms in the Quechua worldview. The triad of body, mind, and spirit is
not exclusive to humans. As a member of an Aymara community and a feminist in
Bolivia, Vicenta Mamani presents another Andean worldview. She shows how
Aymara life is framed in rituals regarding the
Pachamama
or Mother (
mama
) Earth
(
pacha
), based on a close and communicative relationship with nature. Humans and
their social organizations, nature, and the spirits of humans, nature, and the divine,
constitute an indissoluble unit. The Aymara worldview is based on male-female
pairing because reciprocity, duality, and complementarity are fundamental con-
cepts. Even personhood is not granted to the individual but to the couple in Aymara
societies. Collective complementarity is the basis of labor relations and forms of
collective labor continue to be an important dimension of community life and for
respecting the
Pachamama
as a living being. Hard work, honesty and truthfulness,
generosity and hospitality are Aymara values that reinforce collective labor practices.
These values could acquire a broader cultural signifi cance within the Earth
Stewardship Initiative.
Also starting from the Aymara worldview, Roy May discusses the concept of
Earth Stewardship. He highlights how this concept arises from peasant societies
where the earth or land is fundamental to their well-being. Many ancient peasant
traditions (including that of Adam and Eve), emphasize the earth as the substance of
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