Management of Native Flora in Successional and Forest Spaces in Embera Territories of the Middle Atrato, Antioquia

Abstract

Written by an agronomic engineer from the OIA-European Union program, a forestry engineer, and a professor from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, this article documents floristic-resource management practices of Embera Indigenous communities in the Middle Atrato region of Antioquia. The authors describe the system of fallow plots classified by resting cycles, and the practice of selective slash-and-burn agriculture that favors useful species and facilitates forest regeneration, presenting tables of tolerated plant species, food plants for humans and wildlife, and species used for housing construction and utensils. The text documents how the Embera perceive the territory as an integral unit, applying knowledge such as guidance by lunar phases, and concludes by highlighting the food-security risk posed by the fragmentation of the Middle Atrato forests.